Feeding the trolls

I was in Blackwell's this morning. They have the biggest Theology section of any bookshop I've ever visited. I noticed a big display of books critical of Richard Dawkins and all his works. Since Dawkins is "one of us" (Oxford Faculty) and has foisted his own mix of genius and nonsense on the world, I suppose it only just and right that some of his colleagues in the University do the same. Many of the (8? 10?) books in the display were by Oxford authors.

The title of my blog aludes, of course, to the glory days of Usenet, when some people would post articles simply to attract attention. The more contentious the point of view, the better. Feeding such trolls by responding to their arguments was frowned upon. I do rather wonder whether Richard's ramblings are worthy of responses from quite so many busy theologians, philosophers, and, indeed, scientists. "The God Delusion" would disappear all the quicker if the soon-retiring Professor of the Public Understanding of Science (or is that Misunderstanding?) were left to his own devices, methinks.

For there is a whole slew of books out there about new spirituality, about, on the one hand, a rise in spirituality. I've had "The Twilight of Atheism" on my half-read books pile for quite some time - but there are many more I could add to it, it seems. I have to say that among the people I mix with, I don't really see this happening - if anything, there is a rise of militant Atheist fundemaentalism. That seems terribly recherché in this postmodern age - but a great many scientists are struggling to re-think their philosophy, and cling to the epistemology they learned as undergraduates.

But I guess we all do. And if we're not careful, the things we read just reinforce that, instead of broadening our horizons. Which is why I fear for the "is/isn't" books, and want to leave the trolls well alone. Except that I just wrote this blog. Ooops.