“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

Source: The God Delusion (2006), p. 31 of the hardcover edition and p. 51 of the paperback edition; see also: Dan Barker, God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction, foreword by Richard Dawkins, 2016

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty…" by Richard Dawkins?
Richard Dawkins photo
Richard Dawkins 322
English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author 1941

Related quotes

Richard Dawkins photo

“[God is] a vindictive bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser, a misogynistic, homophobic racist, an infanticidal, genocidal, phillicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

Source: The God Delusion (2006)
Context: The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. (p. 31 of the hardcover edition and p. 51 of the paperback edition; see also: Dan Barker, God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction, foreword by Richard Dawkins, 2016)

W. Somerset Maugham photo
Steve Allen photo
Steven Wright photo
Michael von Faulhaber photo

“The God of the New Testament is not a different God from the God of the Old”

Michael von Faulhaber (1869–1952) German Roman Catholic Cardinal

Sermon 1
Context: In the Gospel of the New Testament the ancient conception of God is perfected and fulfilled... The same God who spoke from the bush on Mount Horeb had now appeared visibly in the Person of Emmanuel, God with us... The God of the New Testament is not a different God from the God of the Old.

Bernie Sanders photo

“The racist and homophobic attack on Jussie Smollett is a horrific instance of the surging hostility toward minorities around the country.”

Bernie Sanders (1941) American politician, senator for Vermont

29 January 2019 https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1090376521171304448 in regard to Jussie Smollett
2010s, 2019, January 2019

Joseph Campbell photo

“Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy.”

Episode 2, Chapter 22
Source: The Power of Myth (1988)

Related topics