PAArguably the world’s most famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, certainly does not shy away from making his voice heard – and when asked if he prayed following his highly publicized stroke back in February, he voiced his opinion pretty loudly.
When speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, the staunch atheist was asked by John Humphrys if during the recovery process following his stroke he had turned to God asking the benevolent being, ‘please God help me not to die or something like that?’.
Bluntly, the 75-year-old intellect answered Humphry’s question, saying ‘absolutely not, no’.
WikimediaSo there you have it folks. The world’s most famous atheist did not pray following a bat of ill health.
The Huffington Post reports that Dawkins continued to talk about the perils of his mild stoke, adding that the one thing he couldn’t do any more was sing, saying that he would consider his recovery to be entirely complete when he could blast out a hearty tune in the shower.
Coincidentally, this news falls on the same day as the anniversary of Dawkins’ critically acclaimed book, The Selfish Gene, which was published 40-years ago today.
Happy 40th birthday to @RichardDawkins 's The Selfish Gene. Lively discussion on @BBCr4today https://t.co/Q1c3CSmMvg
— Nick Levine (@nicklevine) May 25, 2016
Speaking to The Times about the anniversary Dawkins also spoke of his views on religious fundamentalism, particularly in Islam.
Referring to female genital mutilation and segregated seating at political meetings or university events, Dawkins said:
There’s a tendency among liberals in the West to bend over backwards because they’re terrified of being called racist. Islam gets a free pass.
