It won't be ready this year, but on future Halloweens you'll be able to give your kids a good scare with Richard Dawkins's upcoming children's book. I can see it now . . .

"And then Uncle Dickie wagged his Finger of Doom at the naughty little girl who wouldn't stop reading fairy tales, and told her she was Very Stupid and Wicked and Ignorant and must go in the Big Dungeon with her Bad Parents who wouldn't stop reading the Bible!"

(Image © Andrew Tyra for Traverse)

Comments

[LeeQuod]

Dawkins said: "Looking back to my own childhood, the fact that so many of the stories I read allowed the possibility of frogs turning into princes, [...]"

NOW WAIT A MINUTE!!!! That's *exactly* what Darwinism says!!

Oh - you mean if it's instantaneous it's false, but if it takes millions of years, it must be true? My bad.

Or,...

[Gina Dalfonzo]

Hadn't thought of that, but you're absolutely right. :-)

[Matt]

I don't understand the evangelism of these atheists. Why do they care so much if other people believe in God or not?

[Chris Clukey]

I especially enjoyed this bit:

"The 67-year-old, who recently resigned from his position at Oxford University, says he intends to look at the effects of 'bringing children up to believe in spells and wizards'".

Well, Richard, let me know when you find some parents who are using the Harry Potter books to teach their children to believe they can cast spells and go to wizard school. In fact, I think it would be best if you cancel all public appearances and writing work and spend all your time looking until you find some...

[Samuel X]

How does he plan to test this, exactly? Adopt two children and raise one of them on science fiction and the other on fantasy?

And, running on the typical definition, doesn't this hypothesis' unfalsifiability render it an inappropriate subject for science?