I bought this book hoping that the parallel between Nicky Gumbel and Richard Dawkins would prove true. Both are glib, both are excellent public speakers/writers and both have an eerie skill with quotation. Hence I thought the former would be the Nemesis of the latter.
To some extent he does, and many of his arguments are the penetratingly effective stuff that Nicky Gumbel is good at. His arguments against religious belief being child abuse and against the 'God of OT' argument are both strong and compelling.
Unfortunately, due to all the other 'Flea' books, it comes over as a little tawdry and cliched (esp when doing the 'Mao & Stalin' or 'famous scientist' routine).
Despite this flaw, the content is rather good all in all, using some effective and strong arguments against Dawkins and his acoloytes. Two that I'm glad he's tackled are the C.S. Lewis trilemma one (about Jesus being 'honestly mistaken') and Hitchens' ridiculous argument that Martin Luther King based his morality on humanism.
Mr Gumbel also, unlike many fleas, puts forth some evidence and reasons why he believes what he believes as opposed to just damning Dawkins. Furthermore, he balances his clergyman's point of view with a theologians perspective - written by Dr Graham Tomlin, which is one of the best bits of the book.
So, all in all, this book is a good rebuttal of Dawkins, although it does sound cliched and is not as vivid as it could be. If you want a book that is definitely Gumbel in his element, try 'Searching Issues' or 'Telling Others'. In addition, if you want a good 'flea', try 'Darwin's Angel' or 'In God We Doubt', which are both quoted to good effect within this book.
To some extent he does, and many of his arguments are the penetratingly effective stuff that Nicky Gumbel is good at. His arguments against religious belief being child abuse and against the 'God of OT' argument are both strong and compelling.
Unfortunately, due to all the other 'Flea' books, it comes over as a little tawdry and cliched (esp when doing the 'Mao & Stalin' or 'famous scientist' routine).
Despite this flaw, the content is rather good all in all, using some effective and strong arguments against Dawkins and his acoloytes. Two that I'm glad he's tackled are the C.S. Lewis trilemma one (about Jesus being 'honestly mistaken') and Hitchens' ridiculous argument that Martin Luther King based his morality on humanism.
Mr Gumbel also, unlike many fleas, puts forth some evidence and reasons why he believes what he believes as opposed to just damning Dawkins. Furthermore, he balances his clergyman's point of view with a theologians perspective - written by Dr Graham Tomlin, which is one of the best bits of the book.
So, all in all, this book is a good rebuttal of Dawkins, although it does sound cliched and is not as vivid as it could be. If you want a book that is definitely Gumbel in his element, try 'Searching Issues' or 'Telling Others'. In addition, if you want a good 'flea', try 'Darwin's Angel' or 'In God We Doubt', which are both quoted to good effect within this book.
