I wholeheartedly agree with Prof. Dawkins. I have read several of his books which are uniformly interesting, informative & thought provoking. His failing however is that he places too much faith in his fellow human beings. I am regularly surprised at what people believe. I once had a discussion with a woman who believed in God & I ended by saying she may just as well believe in fairies at the bottom of the garden. Her husband pulled me aside later & told me that she did in fact believe in fairies. I kid you not.
This documentary series presents a very balanced argument from both sides of the God debate & shows how religion can motivate good people to do a lot of good things. It also presents reasons why we don't (or should not) need religion to cause us to be able to live together harmoniously.I think this series is a big step in the right direction but relying on the general populace to think for themselves in a critical way is just asking too much of them. Most of us are happy to go with the flock & are terrified of standing out as different.
What I have never been able to understand, & would like to have seen explored more in this documentary, is how thoughtful & intelligent people such as scientists can follow a religious faith.On one hand their profession promotes an evidence based belief in science, & on the other hand religion promotes belief in magic. How in God's name do they reconcile those two belief systems?
A Blind Watchmaker indeed.
