title: Why There Almost Certainly Is a God: Doubting Dawkins
author:  Keith Ward 
description: Keith Ward is a fellow of the British Academy and Professional Research Fellow at Heythrop College, London. He was formerly Professor of Religion at King's College, London, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, and a member of the Council of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. He is also a well-known broadcaster and author of over twenty books, including More than Matter? and Is Religion Irrational?
zlib_text: The Improbability of God  
  by Richard Dawkins  
  The following article is from Free Inquiry MagazineVolume 18, Number 3.  
  Much of what people do is done in the name of God. Irishmen blow each other up in his 
  name. Arabs blow themselves up in his name. Imams and ayatollahs oppress women in 
  his name. Celibate popes and priests mess up people's sex lives in his name. Jewish 
  shohets cut live animals' throats in his name. The achievements of religion in past 
  history - bloody crusades, torturing inquisitions, mass-murdering conquistadors, culture-
  destroying missionaries, legally enforced resistance to each new piece of scientific truth 
  until the last possible moment - are even more impressive. And what has it all been in 
  aid of? I believe it is becoming increasingly clear that the answer is absolutely nothing at 
  all. There is no reason for believing that any sort of gods exist and quite good reason for 
  believing that they do not exist and never have. It has all been a gigantic waste