emember Richard Dawkins, prophet of the new religious atheism and author of The God Delusion? Dawkins has been criticised for his quasi-scientific but definitely ideological advocacy of atheism.

In a thoughtful and interesting article, Melanie Phillips at the Spectator points out that last month in public debate Dawkins observed that “a serious case could be made for a deistic God.” It’s not clear what that means for Dawkins’ debate so far. Admitting past error is likely to be one of the hardest things for a charismatic debater like Dawkins to do. But it will be interesting to see how Dawkins puts together his argument again, this time without simply discounting ‘the God delusion.’

This admission is no doubt in part to Dawkins’ involvement in lively debate with fellow scientists, for example this debate with John Lennox.