Sam Harris
September 30th, 2006 | 
Author: 
I just finished reading Sam Harris’ new book(let) “Letter to a Christian Nation”.
The book instilled in me the urge to buy a big bag full of them and go knock on people’s doors on Sunday mornings at 8am to urge them to read the ‘Better Book’.
However, I realize that in order for this crusade to have any success, the people I would be targetting would be asumed to approach religion in a rational fashion, as Sam Harris’ arguments are all very rational and logical.
Since I know from experience that even some of the smartest and best educated people I personally know have ‘decided’ to not ever let reason interfere with their religious beliefs, this expedition is doomed to fail.
So I will NOT actually go knock on people’s doors.
Which is good, because I don’t like getting up at 8am on Sunday mornings.
Instead .. I just started in Richard Dawkins’ (whom, I can proudly say, I once met. Okay, so it was during a book signing session, so what? I am actually in a picture with the Great Man himself! So! There! I bet you’re all jealous now! And so you should!) new book “The GOD Delusion”. Very promising! So far I only read the introduction, and even THAT was already delightful reading!
Â
Posted in
I was ignorant about this author and his works so I looked it up. One reviewer of this particular book wrote, “the American public is too over-reliant upon its faith to the degree that it must resort to bitterness towards anyone who so much as disagrees with them.”
That is a reasonable perspective. I am seriously concerned about how many folks simply rely on tradition (“If it is good enough for mom & dad, it is good enough for me”), superstition (“won’t I burn in hell if I don’t go to church?”) or simple ignorance (someone said this to me yesterday, I kid you NOT: “I don’t know what the Bible says, I only know what the Catholic Church teaches and I am okay with that”) in choosing their religion.
We each have a most marvelous brain installed that can draw independent conclusions. It irritates me beyond what I can express here that otherwise bright folks choose not to take personal responsibility for the choices they make when it comes to their spiritual life.
While voices like Mr. Harris may not be welcome, sounds like he is just encouraging folks to THINK ABOUT WHAT THE HELL CHOICES THEY ARE MAKING.
Getting up at 8 am on a Sunday is also incredibly hard… *sight* I try it often and regularly fail.
@Deannie:
As for what the Catholic church teaches and not knowing the bible: I was raised Roman Catholic and we were actively discouraged to read the bible. THEY would tell us what to do, kind of like “leave the Bible to us professionals”.
And yes, Mr. Harris IS encouraging folks to THINK.. and not regurgitate all the cliche’s all the cliche’s you have heard since you were a kid.
A few weeks back I talked to my ex-boss, who I consider a good friend and who is also very religous and is aware of my apostasy. I told him I was raised Roman Catholic and he asked me “What happened?” (referring to my ‘losing my faith’. All I could think of was “I started to think for myself”. By the way, I don’t think I lost anything, I strongly feel I moved on to the next level!
Anyway, let me ask you this: If I send you a copy of this booklet, would you review it for me? No, I’m not proselyzing, I’m just very interested in honest, thoughtful comments from people who still ‘believe’. I’d like to understand their motives.
As for getting up at 8am on Sundays… quite frankly, I didn’t even know 8am EXISTED on Sundays…
I have never seen 8 am myself on a Sunday morning so therefore it doesn’t actually exist! 😉
I would definitely read that book.