SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Richard Dawkins is responding to what he called the "stirring towards atheism" in some Islamic countries with a programme to make free downloads of his books available in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi and Indonesian.
The scientist and atheist said he was "greatly encouraged" to learn that the unofficial Arabic pdf of the book had been downloaded 13m times. Dawkins writes in The God Delusion about his wish that the "open-minded people" who read it will "break free of the vice of religion altogether". It has sold 3.3m copies worldwide since it was published in 2006 – far fewer than the number of Arabic copies that Dawkins believes to have been downloaded illegally.
Richard Dawkins to give away copies of The God Delusion in Islamic countries
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
Richard Dawkins to Give Away Copies of the God Delusion in Islamic Countries
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 76 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Can anyone remember when the times were not hard, and money not scarce?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by tonyPick on Sunday March 25 2018, @01:13PM (3 children)
I used to believe that if we gave people access to information and the means to communicate that whole swathes of idiocy would be a thing of the past.
The last time I looked at an unfiltered youtube feed it was Flat Earthers, anti-Vaxxers, and an array of crazy conspiracy theories. I won't be holding my breath waiting for access to information to bring down religion any time soon.
It seems that the true believers aren't being fooled by anyone but themselves, and belief is just a way to hold on to the things they *want* to be true, regardless of how many times reality proves them wrong. All the communication in the world won't fix that.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Sunday March 25 2018, @01:57PM
True, kind of, but we also have more opportunities to challenge them.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 4, Insightful) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday March 25 2018, @02:01PM
Back in the day, the recent invention of television was regarded as a very promising way to bring education to everyone.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by srobert on Sunday March 25 2018, @02:31PM
The true believing religious fascists won't change their minds. (I'm not saying that all believers are in that category). But their children and grand children exposed to other ways of thinking don't usually opt for the extreme versions that previous generations practice. In short, easier access to outside ways of thinking will eventually lead to a triumph truth, greater freedom and tolerance worldwide. But probably not in my lifetime. And there is likely to be reactive backfire in the short run. Look for even more intolerance in the next few decades.