“If there is a God, it’s going to be a whole lot bigger and a whole lot more incomprehensible than anything that any theologian of any religion has ever proposed.” Richard Dawkins, from a debate hosted by Time Magazine between Dawkins and Francis Collins.
The unfortunate thing about any meaningful debate on this subject is that those defending the “GOD” position are usually people of particular religious persuasions. As an agnostic, I personally don’t object to those who hold to particular doctrines (though I add many caveats to my tolerance). But I cringe every time I read or hear a debate between an atheist and a creationist. The Dawkins/Collins debate was different, since Collins, while being a born again Christian, is also an evolutionist. I’d love to hear a debate among prominent leaders of Protestant traditions on the subject of “inerrancy of scripture,” and creationism vs evolution. But Collins is not, in my opinion, one best suited to make an argument for the existence of “GOD.” Those bound by religious faith will invariably find their apprehensible views of a divine being quite limiting, and increasingly subject to intellectual scrutiny.
Dawkins, in my opinion, has greater reverence for YHVH than every theologian I’ve ever known, with the exception of my late father, whose intellect was uncompromised even by his deep faith. Most imagine God can be understood in words, and reduced to qualities that, while understandably anthropomorphic, are yet kinda dumb. I would gladly challenge Dawkins to a debate myself, but he’s already capitulated to my argument with the above statement, to which I answer a resounding “NO SHIT.”