I very much doubt that a book titled “Comparing God and Science” would have attracted nearly so much attention though. Richard Dawkins was already fairly well known, and his books already had antireligious elements, but The God Delusion was far more famous than his previous books.
I find that Dawkins is often characterized as being rude on far less basis than people arguing for a different position would be, but he’s certainly brazen, and it’s made him a public figure in a way that he almost certainly wouldn’t have been otherwise, and allows him to reach a lot more people.
There are books in support of atheism which take a less openly provocative approach, and they may reach an audience that titles like The God Delusion don’t, but I can guarantee that fewer people picked up this book than The God Delusion.
I very much doubt that a book titled “Comparing God and Science” would have attracted nearly so much attention though. Richard Dawkins was already fairly well known, and his books already had antireligious elements, but The God Delusion was far more famous than his previous books.
I find that Dawkins is often characterized as being rude on far less basis than people arguing for a different position would be, but he’s certainly brazen, and it’s made him a public figure in a way that he almost certainly wouldn’t have been otherwise, and allows him to reach a lot more people.
There are books in support of atheism which take a less openly provocative approach, and they may reach an audience that titles like The God Delusion don’t, but I can guarantee that fewer people picked up this book than The God Delusion.