Well, Willie, maybe I should should listen to Richard Dawkins directly, instead of getting him filtered through people like Richard Bridge, who says he's "inclined to go with [Dawkins] that religions are all dangerous." - which is painting religion with the broad brush I complain about.

But on the other hand, I watched this video from Dawkins promoting his latest book, The Greatest Show on Earth (which is about evolution) - and I agree with everything Dawkins has to say on the video.

Here's another video from Dawkins on The New Atheism. Can't say I agree with everything he says, but he's certainly far more diplomatic and far more rational than he is portrayed by his supporters (not to mention his detractors). In listening to fifteen minutes of Dawkins, I didn't hear any of the broad antireligious generalizations that his supporters attribute to him.

In his talk on The New Atheism, Dawkins pokes fun at Pope John Paul II's claim to have been saved from assassination by "Our Lady of Fatima." I agree with Dawkins - I always thought that was JPII's silliest moment (and many progressive Catholics share my views on that).

I'll pay more attention to Dawkins in the future, and let you know later what I think. I have to say that I enjoyed and appreciated what he had to say.

So, did Dawkins actually say that "religions are all dangerous," or is that the Richard Bridge interpretation of Dawkins?

-Joe-