Dawkins now not sure there is no God, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph 24 February 2012. Richard Dawkins and Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, were involved in a public dialogue on the nature and origin of human beings. During the discussion Dawkins admitted he was less than 100 percent sure there was no creator. This startled the chairman of the discussion, philosopher Sir Anthony Kenny, into asking Dawkins: “Why don’t you call yourself an agnostic?” Dawkins answered that he did. Sir Anthony then challenged him: “You are described as the world’s most famous atheist.” Dawkins replied that he was “6.9 out of seven” sure of his beliefs, and added, “I think the probability of a supernatural creator existing is very very low.”
During the discussion the Archbishop said he was “inspired” by the “elegance” of Dawkins’ explanation for the origins of life, and agreed with much of it. He also said that the explanation for the creation of the world in the Book of Genesis could not be taken literally. He claimed: “The writers of the Bible, inspired as I believe they were, they were nonetheless not inspired to do 21st Century physics.”
Editorial Comment: So Dawkins is 1.4 percent less than 100 percent sure there is no Creator? (6.9 out of 7 is 98.6 percent) By calling himself an agnostic Dawkins puts himself in the same category as his hero Charles Darwin, who said he had “never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God … I think that generally (and more and more so as I grow older) but not always, that an agnostic would be the most correct description of my state of mind.” (Letter to John Fordyce, 7 May 1879)
It seems the Archbishop of Canterbury is also a follower of Darwin, preferring the theories of men who were not there in the beginning to the word of God who was there. However, the question that Dawkins and the Archbishop both need to answer is: What kind of god would create using a process of struggle, disease, famine and death? Certainly not the God revealed in Genesis, who is declared in the new Testament to be Jesus Christ, who created the heavens and earth and declared it to be “very good”, before it was ruined by man’s rebellion. Darwin’s world was never good, for life evolved only by death and struggle. Sadly, by the end of his life Darwin had rejected the Bible, and rejected Jesus Christ as the Son of God. However, as they say, while there is life there is hope, and who knows, maybe Dawkins’ 1.4 percent doubt in atheism could be turned into 1.4 percent faith in the Creator. Who knows, we may see him a Christian yet. Enough people pray for the man.
For the story of how Charles Darwin descended into disbelief see “The Descent of a Man” available as a PDF here.
Evidence News 29 February 2012