Richard Dawkins' Evolutionary Hero and the "Devil's Chaplain": Chapter One

Richard Dawkins who like Darwin calls himself the "devil's chaplain" is at it again. In his last book, "The God Delusion" Dawkins set out to prove once and for all that God does not exist.

Although "The God Delusion" was well received by his fan base, atheist and theistic philosophers and theologians were unimpressed by what was largely nothing more than raving rhetoric. His arguments read more like a temper tantrum for grown-ups.

Having failed to persuade philosophers and theologians of his argumentative prowess, Dawkins is now back to writing in his own field. In "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution" Dawkins is out to prove that evolution is once and for all true. So, I'm out with an open mind ready to assess the evidence.

In chapter one, Dawkins uses the old illustration of domestic dog breeding to show us that changes can occur within the gene pool of a species. O.k., so changes do occur within a species. We breed cows for more beef or milk. We breed dogs to be fighters or small and annoying barkers.

One is left to wonder however, when have we ever made a dog into a rabbit? Or when did a dinosaur become a bird? Changes occur within species, but do new species of animals come out of a species? Dawkins promises to show the answer is, "Yes." We'll see Richard, we'll see.