Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris
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Book Reviews of Letter to a Christian Nation
Book Review: Letter to a Steeler Fan....
Summary: 5 Stars
Steeler Fan in his review writes that anger is a very shaky platform for the launching of serious debate. SF might want to bone up on history. Anger galvanized Jews to form the state of Israel. It also energized women to push for suffrage and minorities to demand civil liberties. Workers harnessed their anger into a labor movement that ended centuries of abuse and exploitation. Anger, history teaches us, is quite an effective foundation for change.
The "invective of modern atheism" as SF describe it is, Harris explains, simply the disgust of rationalists, tired of the stupid and immoral (and very often criminal) acts committed in the name of God, Jesus, Allah,et al. Rather than wonder why the author is so angry, I suggest you worry why you are not more angry at the Christian obscenities detailed within this "little book." Why are you so supine and dismissive of his (dare we say it?) righteous anger. Or is righteous anger reserved only for dieties?
I do not think Harris has penned a perfect book. It it is however a very moral one--provocative and for the most part very well-reasoned. If at times he pushes to hard with some arguments I think it better to err in a passionate defense of reason and moral behavior than to bleat like sheep, unthinking and unquestioning. Harris's best point is that the moral high ground has been ceeded for too long to those who love to roll in the gutter. Rationalists arise! Your country needs you! Criticisms from the anti-Harris reviewers helps prove one of his most chilling points: Great power in the hands of stupid people is a dangerous thing.
Book Review: Atheist Apologetics--Hard-Hitting 'Tough Love'
Summary: 5 Stars
Having just read THE END OF FAITH by Sam Harris, I was eager to read his second book. This one's actually a "letter" -- like some ancient 'epistle' -- written to conservative, fundamentalist Christians who own the narrow platform that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God and that Creationism is a doctrine still worth holding. Harris' critique of these positions is as concise and clear-headed as it is devastating, and I would encourage any religious person to read this book and take stock of what Harris says.
If you are an atheist, I have to say that a better apologetic for atheism I haven't yet read. Harris engages the fundamentalist, conservative, creationist believer and attempts to counsel them out of their out-dated beliefs. If you are an open-minded religious person concerned about the spiritual health and well-being of your fundamentalist neighbors and friends, you could no better than to get a copy of this book, immerse yourself in Harris' arguments and examples, and then engage those who are imprisoned in narrow-minded Iron Age beliefs in a "tough love" dialogue of conversion and de-brain-washing. This is perhaps at better way to overcome fanaticism; by empathy, compassion and loving engagement with those who hold out-dated beliefs. Too many atheists simply attack and maligning their religious foes; Harris' approach -- that of grappling with his opponents in an engaging way, demanding a response to his points -- may be much more effective in the long run.
Book Review: Harris is a strong thinker
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an outstanding little book that you can read through in one sitting. Indeed, you won't want to put it down if you're in the freethought camp because Harris taps into much of what freethinkers see wrong with Christian and other forms of superstition. Without going into specifics, one of the key points you should glean from this book is that Christians, and indeed religious people generally, become extremely hostile whenever their precious dogma is critcized. Why is that? For people who understand how thought systems survive and replicate (in a memetic sense), it's clear that beliefs based on religious superstition are "set up" to cause a hostile reaction in the "host" whenever they are challenged. This ties in very closely with the idea of Hell, where people are frightened into both believing and then not abandoning those beliefs even though they don't jive with common sense (and I speak very much from personal experience here). I think it would be interesting to know what percentage of believers are believers because of Pascal's wager. This is a number you could never get, but I would speculate that it is a high one.
One final observation: In this book, Harris is addressing the more fundamentalist side of Christianity, although he argues that "moderates" are to blame for essentially providing cover for fundamentalists. This is a crucial point and one I think readers should consider carefully. Paul Gehrman, Author, Kaleidoscope
Book Review: Brutally Frank
Summary: 5 Stars
This little book by Sam Harris packs a powerful punch that hits with the fury of a ton of bricks.
Mr. Harris pounds away at the belief system of many Americans. It is a wonder he hasn't released this book as a free download somewhere on the Internet in order to spread the word farther and quicker.
Each section has a message that should cause any reader to question his or her morality, spirituality and faith while weighing each of those qualities against the virtual hypocrisy of the nation as a whole. Whether it be the religious intolerance of Christians, the poor academics of Christians regarding the need for both birth control, or even the fundamental irresponsibility of those people that have prevented modern medicine from utilizing stem-cell research to better the lives of living humans, Harris' book hits hard enough to shake the foundations of America's affection with the mythology of the Christian religion.
This book should be read by every American that can read and think. Understanding that this book was written in response to criticism of his earlier book, prompts me to read 'The End of Faith' sooner rather than later. Certainly this is one book I will buy multiple copies of in order to pass them around to other readers in an effort to lead them to understanding the moral issues brought up by Harris and the immorality of the Christians that don't know thier own god-belief well enough.
Book Review: The Narrow Road to Pertition...
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll try to make this review quick.
I'm a young, undergraduate college student, electrical engineering major, always with a great passion for learning.
I admit that many of the books I have read in the past only reaffirmed, or never challenged my evangelical Christian faith. I am born and raised a "Pentecostal" Evangelical Christian.
Then I challenged myself to read something out of my comfort zone - this "letter" to a Christian nation.
After finishing the book, I felt compelled to reading Dr. Harris' The End of Faith, and Moral Landscape, as well as Carl Sagan's Demon Haunted World since they came as highly recommended all over the web.
Unwilling to accept such secular/atheistic views, I sought guidance from my pastors, however was received with great hostility and contempt when expressing my doubts. As an example at one point my pastor said my questions were "forged in the depths of hell by the Satan himself", I was utterly offended.
Then I decided to take some extracurricular courses in philosophy as well as spend some months researching on the subject, I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer be a religious person in any way, shape of form. If my family knows that I am in deep trouble.
If you call yourself a Christian you must get this book. Dr. Harris is daring and insightful. I highly recommend it!