In article <kCAEL.350965$t5W7.18281@fx13.iad>,
Graham <g.stereo@shaw.ca> wrote:
>On 2023-02-07 3:33 p.m., Todd M. McComb wrote:
>>Dawkins is a real jerk (& his ideas are stupid too).
>Really? Which ones?

Obviously my earlier response didn't shed much light on my view,
and in hindsight, I've come to regret that decision. I didn't want
to continue (much) down an off-topic path though, and still don't,
so to attempt brevity....

A basic crux of my disagreement with Dawkins involves his equation
of religion with theism (an equation that happens to suit his
particular purposes...). As opposed to its content, the structure
of religion per se is about social relation, and specifically the
intergenerational transfer of knowledge. It therefore hinges on
education, and as such, by its nature, religion MUST pass through
the minds of children. Moreover, something WILL pass through the
minds of children, so there's no way simply to avoid this. So when
Dawkins, in the tradition of Hobbes, implies that adult men arrive
to the scene ex nihilo, ready to make "scientific" determinations,
he is factually/contextually mistaken regarding the phenomenon he
is attempting to discuss.