To the editor:

I am writing in response to a recent letter that equated a lecture by Richard Dawkins to that of a backwoods fundamentalist. I attended that lecture at the Lied Center and I can hardly believe that the writer of that letter and I attended the same event!

I will grant that Dawkins simplified some of the arguments to fit the time constraints of the presentation, but there was no viewpoint that was simplified to the point of being simplistic. There were no strawmen presented that night, and if there was any ignorance or dogma, it was not brought in by the brilliant lecturer on stage.

What I find telling about this person’s response is its failure to address a single one of the facts or conclusions brought up by Dawkins during his presentation. The writer also failed to give a single example of Dawkins’ “bigoted” behavior.

In my opinion, Richard Dawkins did a very good job of explaining his beliefs in the fact of evolution and in its superiority to all other explanations for how life arose on Earth. He also did a very good job of demonstrating how many of the aspects of religion that we take at face value could be considered ridiculous upon examination.

While I can understand the desire to lash out when one’s understanding of some central truth is challenged, it is unfortunate that this person’s chosen response was the low road of belittling one’s opponent rather than answering Dawkins’ criticisms head on.

Raymond Hodgson,

Lawrence