A Trip Down the Route of All Evil

This past Sunday night (September 26, 2006), the CBC's The Big Picture aired The Root of All Evil, a documentary, written and presented by British ethologist, evolutionary theorist, popular science writer, and atheist Richard Dawkins, in which he argues that the world would be better off without religion.

[I understand that this was not Dawkins' first choice for a title.]

Visitors to the CBC website's online discussion board for the Big Picture, people were asked for comments. These are my comments:

I very much enjoyed Mr. Dawkins' documentary. I believe in G-d, and this belief has a very strong influence on my moral and ethical behaviour. I also believe in the ability of science to explain many of the physical manifestations of our universe, and in the need for the "separation of church and state." Or is that church and hate?

I hope that Mr. Dawkins' conversation with Ted Haggard serves as an alert to "Western" people that there is a fundamentalist "Jihad" being waged in North America against science and progress. No, Mr. Haggard, you don't know anything about evolution, and your war against evolution in particular and science in general has no basis in fact, let alone in morality.

His conversation with the very disturbed Yousef al-Khattab demonstrates that there is no way to have a rational dialogue with someone who combines fundamentalism with whatever brand of madness afflicts Joseph Cohen - my anger at his raving about "fornication in the streets" and "dressing YOUR women as whores" was secondary to my deep sympathy for this deranged man!

Thank you for the opportunity to view this documentary and to share my reactions.