Sam Harris and His Rational Point of View
In his book Letter to a Christian Nation, Sam Harris pulls no punches on the subject of atheism, which according to Harris, is “Simply an admission of the obvious.” (Harris 51) He provides many compelling arguments that may make even the most devout of Christians to rethink their beliefs. Stated very basically, Christianity is an antiquated system of beliefs and morals that hinders our progress in the sciences, offers no moral advice that average human beings cannot figure out for themselves, and causes violence and bloodshed.
The first and most basic problem with religion, Christianity in particular, is the fact that it is entirely based on faith that an omniscient, omnipresent God exists and is watching …show more content…
Something as morally wrong as enslaving another human being for personal use should not be condoned by the creator of the universe in His holy book. Parallels can be drawn between today’s political Christian Right and the Confederates of the 19th century. According to Harris, the Confederates were “some of the most devout Christians this country has ever known.” (Harris 19) They justified their actions with their Bibles in their hands, pointing out the passages that advocate slavery. Of course, Christians will say that the abolitionists were staunch Christians themselves. But the fact is that they did not need to look to the Bible for inspiration for their actions. It is basic knowledge that another human being should not imprison and harm another human being. A Christian counter-argument to the slavery issue will be that the Bible is being searched for passages that serve the purpose of proving its hypocrisy. But Harris hits the nail on the head when he says, “People have been cherry-picking the Bible for millennia to justify their every impulse, moral and otherwise.” (Harris 18) In contemporary America, nearly 150 years after slavery was abolished, it is considered one of the most abhorrent aspects of our history. Now imagine 150 years into the future. Will we look back on the current day and compare the Christian Right to the Confederates? Like the Confederates, conservative Christians are using the Bible to hinder modernity and keeping America woefully behind the rest of world when it comes to scientific and medical progress. Many people remain convinced that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles when in fact Thomas Jefferson said "Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man." (Jefferson) Also, Benjamin Franklin claimed “Lighthouses are more useful than churches,” (Positive) and James Madison stated" Religious bondage shackles and
In his book Letter to a Christian Nation, Sam Harris pulls no punches on the subject of atheism, which according to Harris, is “Simply an admission of the obvious.” (Harris 51) He provides many compelling arguments that may make even the most devout of Christians to rethink their beliefs. Stated very basically, Christianity is an antiquated system of beliefs and morals that hinders our progress in the sciences, offers no moral advice that average human beings cannot figure out for themselves, and causes violence and bloodshed.
The first and most basic problem with religion, Christianity in particular, is the fact that it is entirely based on faith that an omniscient, omnipresent God exists and is watching …show more content…
Something as morally wrong as enslaving another human being for personal use should not be condoned by the creator of the universe in His holy book. Parallels can be drawn between today’s political Christian Right and the Confederates of the 19th century. According to Harris, the Confederates were “some of the most devout Christians this country has ever known.” (Harris 19) They justified their actions with their Bibles in their hands, pointing out the passages that advocate slavery. Of course, Christians will say that the abolitionists were staunch Christians themselves. But the fact is that they did not need to look to the Bible for inspiration for their actions. It is basic knowledge that another human being should not imprison and harm another human being. A Christian counter-argument to the slavery issue will be that the Bible is being searched for passages that serve the purpose of proving its hypocrisy. But Harris hits the nail on the head when he says, “People have been cherry-picking the Bible for millennia to justify their every impulse, moral and otherwise.” (Harris 18) In contemporary America, nearly 150 years after slavery was abolished, it is considered one of the most abhorrent aspects of our history. Now imagine 150 years into the future. Will we look back on the current day and compare the Christian Right to the Confederates? Like the Confederates, conservative Christians are using the Bible to hinder modernity and keeping America woefully behind the rest of world when it comes to scientific and medical progress. Many people remain convinced that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles when in fact Thomas Jefferson said "Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man." (Jefferson) Also, Benjamin Franklin claimed “Lighthouses are more useful than churches,” (Positive) and James Madison stated" Religious bondage shackles and