The arguments put forth over centuries by the greatest of philosophers simplified though perhaps if these arguments were specified when brought up (moral and natural evil, inconsistent triads,soul-making, mystics, miracles, etc) it would add to the amatuer atheists' weight in debate. While Harris uses logical examples, the tone of the book is pompous, arrogant, and would potentially turn off any reader of faith from going past the first few pages. Religion itself defies logic and reason, as... (show more)

The arguments put forth over centuries by the greatest of philosophers simplified though perhaps if these arguments were specified when brought up (moral and natural evil, inconsistent triads,soul-making, mystics, miracles, etc) it would add to the amatuer atheists' weight in debate. While Harris uses logical examples, the tone of the book is pompous, arrogant, and would potentially turn off any reader of faith from going past the first few pages. Religion itself defies logic and reason, as do many beliefs whether teleologically based or not but that does not prevent people from believing or having faith. This age old debate will not be settled with this book, there are no intellectual challenges put forth, and it appears as though the inability to concede that people are different, and no two people will agree 100% will keep Harris, Hitchens, and others on the defensive. Rather than berate, friendly atheism needs application and through understanding fellow human beings only then will their be rationale discussion on the subject. Overall,I feel this particular book will not change the fundamentalists mind and has potential to drive the wedge even further between believers and non-believers. (show less)

Sam Harris wrote a semi sequel to his first book "The end of Faith", essentially responding to critics he had encountered to his book throughout his tours of the USA.

Letter to a Christian Nation is simply that, an open letter to a believing Christian (presumably in the United States), where Harris challenges the reader on issues such as stem cell research (from embryos that have less cells than a fly's brain), global politics, faith and various other issues.

His arguments are sim... (show more)

Sam Harris wrote a semi sequel to his first book "The end of Faith", essentially responding to critics he had encountered to his book throughout his tours of the USA.

Letter to a Christian Nation is simply that, an open letter to a believing Christian (presumably in the United States), where Harris challenges the reader on issues such as stem cell research (from embryos that have less cells than a fly's brain), global politics, faith and various other issues.

His arguments are similar to the arguments he used in his first book, although addressing some of the things he has been challenged on since that publication.

Although addressed to a Christian, this book was also critical of Islam, trying to assert to a Christian the downsides of Islam and then to express how religious faith is essentially the same regardless of which religion it is for.

The downside to me for this book is that when criticizing Islam, Harris appears to lump all Muslims with the likes of Bin Laden, something disagreeable to people like myself.

There seems to be a growing trend amongst Atheists of a sort of intolerance of Faith and especially Islam. Whilst I can understand this when people like Anjem Choudary seem to be the most vocal on the Muslim side of the fence, I also see similarities with the late 19th century writings against the Jews, and we know where that lead to.

Overall I thought this was a very good book, more so for challenging me to think! But I feel less optimistic with the content of some of Harris's arguments, and more inclined to learn more about the subject before making my mind up.

Recommended reading though! (show less)

This is a book if you are a Christian you should consider reading. Before you read the book google Christian Reconstructionism and Dominion theology. Read who the major players are of each movement, what their goals are and what churches, philosophically tend to be the most aligned to those ideals. Than goggle the lemon laws and the court case that preceded it, Lemon vs Kurtzman. Than read the 1st amendment of the Constitution of the U.S. If you do those 4 things this 96 page book will p... (show more)

This is a book if you are a Christian you should consider reading. Before you read the book google Christian Reconstructionism and Dominion theology. Read who the major players are of each movement, what their goals are and what churches, philosophically tend to be the most aligned to those ideals. Than goggle the lemon laws and the court case that preceded it, Lemon vs Kurtzman. Than read the 1st amendment of the Constitution of the U.S. If you do those 4 things this 96 page book will probably make more sense and may impact you more than if you don't.

The book, written as a letter to Christians is a series of thoughts on questions to Americans who wish to Christianize the USA and disolve the idea of seperation of Church and State. It covers topics such as the morality of birth control, the morality of the 10 commandments, the question of the "first mover" also called "outside mover", introspection into the wisdom of the Bible, and other similar topics.

It is a quick read with serious questions that answered or unanswered will impact those around irregardless if they believe in your God or not. It is a book that discusses the implications of integration of Church and State in sociological, political and moral terms. (show less)

91 small pages with one big message.
If you as reader ever had the feeling that "something was just not right" with basic explanations about morality provided by the World's top religiouns .. I recommend this book. Do you personally believe that, if a woman is not a virgin on her wedding day, that the groom has the right to "stone her to death at her father's doorstep"? If not, you might be dealing with a book whose advice is out of touch. I have about 13 favorite cita... (show more)

91 small pages with one big message.
If you as reader ever had the feeling that "something was just not right" with basic explanations about morality provided by the World's top religiouns .. I recommend this book. Do you personally believe that, if a woman is not a virgin on her wedding day, that the groom has the right to "stone her to death at her father's doorstep"? If not, you might be dealing with a book whose advice is out of touch. I have about 13 favorite citations in this book but I've chosen two to share here:

If you think it would be impossible to improve upon the Ten Commandments as a statement of morality, you really owe it to yourself to read some other scriptures. [...] Mahavira, the Jain patriarch, surpassed the morality of the Bible with a single sentence: "Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture, or kill any creature or living being". Imagine how different our world might be if the Bible contained this as its central precept. Christians have abused, oppressed, enslaved, insulted, tormented, tortured, and killed people in the name of God for centuries, on the basis of a theologically defensible reading of the Bible. It is impossible to behave in this way by adhering to the principles of Jainism. How, then, can you argue that the Bible provides the clearest statement of morality the world has ever seen?
---
A three-day old human embryo is a collection of 150 cells called a blastocyst. There are, for the sake of comparison, more than 100,000 cells in the brain of a fly. The human embryos that are destroyed in stem-cell research do not have brains, or even neurons. Consequently, there is no reason to believe they can suffer in their destruction in any way at all. [...] If you are concerned about suffering in the universe, killing a fly should present you with greater moral difficulty than killing a human blastocyst. (show less)

A disappointment, like his "End of Faith." Expecting deep challenges, I found only the same old anti-faith fare. Yes - stupid people exist - a goodly number are religious - and if you list the stupid ideas they have and acts they do, and either blame it on their religion or point to religion as a further artifact of their poor reasoning processes, you can make religion look pretty bad. Like taking the most underachieving students from every school in the nation, listing their poor s... (show more)

A disappointment, like his "End of Faith." Expecting deep challenges, I found only the same old anti-faith fare. Yes - stupid people exist - a goodly number are religious - and if you list the stupid ideas they have and acts they do, and either blame it on their religion or point to religion as a further artifact of their poor reasoning processes, you can make religion look pretty bad. Like taking the most underachieving students from every school in the nation, listing their poor scores after years of education: is that an argument against the existence of education, or proof that education is an artifact or evidence of idiocy. Honestly - Harris and his ilk should just admit they fit into the Psalm 2 archetype: they hate government or standards of any kind that are not of their own creation - and bend their all to humiliate any idea or force that would govern them according to any standard not of their own creation. (show less)

This is a must-read for anyone who has recognized the dangerous direction of the Christian Right and wishes to augment their ammunition. As Harris suggests, separation of church and state is not just a good idea, it's a necessity if we are to avoid the tragedies and human suffering of previous generations.

Unshakable, undebatable religious faith is the enemy of a peaceful world, and Harris delivers a point-by-point assault on fundamentalism while pointing out how moderates tend to unwittingl... (show more)

This is a must-read for anyone who has recognized the dangerous direction of the Christian Right and wishes to augment their ammunition. As Harris suggests, separation of church and state is not just a good idea, it's a necessity if we are to avoid the tragedies and human suffering of previous generations.

Unshakable, undebatable religious faith is the enemy of a peaceful world, and Harris delivers a point-by-point assault on fundamentalism while pointing out how moderates tend to unwittingly supply support for what amounts to a festering cancer upon civilized society. If this book does not open one's eyes to the dangers of blind faith, chances are those eyes have already been blinded beyond repair.

The next time someone tries to eliminate funding for stem cell research, or deny rights to individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation, or chip away at abortion rights based on religious arguments, refer to the points in this book. We must not let our country become just another theocracy in a world plagued by religious turmoil. (show less)

a concise, tight little argument. if you're a believer, read it with an open mind. if you're a non-believer read it for help with your defense.

i like the ending best--"we are the source of love that our priests and pastors attribute to god. Your own consciousness is the cause and substance of any experience you want to deem "spiritual" or "mystical."

the sooner we realize this, we'll hopefully be more likely to take control of what we experience and use the... (show more)

a concise, tight little argument. if you're a believer, read it with an open mind. if you're a non-believer read it for help with your defense.

i like the ending best--"we are the source of love that our priests and pastors attribute to god. Your own consciousness is the cause and substance of any experience you want to deem "spiritual" or "mystical."

the sooner we realize this, we'll hopefully be more likely to take control of what we experience and use the moral codes with which we were all born...not given by a higher power...to make this life best for ourselves and everyone we share it with. (show less)

I was thrilled when I first heard that Sam Harris had written a rebuttal book in the form of a letter to all the angry Christians about his book The End of Faith. I was equally excited when said book arrived yesterday, but that is when my enthusiasm slowly turned to disappointment.

The book itself is a slim 90-page recap of all the arguments Harris made in The End of Faith. While I agree with nearly every single point he makes, I was let down that there was not much new material.

Having sai... (show more)

I was thrilled when I first heard that Sam Harris had written a rebuttal book in the form of a letter to all the angry Christians about his book The End of Faith. I was equally excited when said book arrived yesterday, but that is when my enthusiasm slowly turned to disappointment.

The book itself is a slim 90-page recap of all the arguments Harris made in The End of Faith. While I agree with nearly every single point he makes, I was let down that there was not much new material.

Having said that, although, Letter to a Christian Nation does not break new ground, Harris does an adept job of creating a nice little handbook for every atheist arguing the absurdity of religion. He says himself:

The primary purpose of the book is to arm secularist in our society, who believe that religion should be kept out of public policy.

I suppose one could say that Letter to a Christian Nation is a valuable because of its brevity not despite it. Harris makes several compelling arguments, my favorite being the following:

Consider: every devout Muslim has the same reasons for being a Muslim that you have for being a Christian. And yet you do not find their reasons compelling. The truth is, you know exactly what it is like to be an atheists with respect to the beliefs of Muslims. Understand that the way you feel about Islam is precisely the way devout Muslims view Christianity. And it is the way I view all religions.

The rest of the book is littered with sharp nuggets like the following:

Faith is nothing more than the license religious people give one another to keep believing when reasons fail.

While believing strongly, without evidence, is considered a mark of madness or stupidity in any area of our lives, faith in God still holds immense prestige in our society.

In closing, books like Dawkin’s God Delusion and Harris’ own End of Faith are much more comprehensive arguments, but Letter to a Christian Nation is a nice read. I read it in one sitting and am happy that I did. (show less)

After watching the first Zeitgeist movie (www.zeitgeistmovie.com) then backing it up with reading Suns Of God and then Zeitgeist Companion, both by Acharya S, I fully realized that I have always been a skeptic when it comes to religion.

I continued on with reading The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins, and then The End Of Faith and Letter To A Christian Nation, both by Sam Harris. I believe my fully realized skepticism is what allows me to be so open to the brilliant wisdom and reason in t... (show more)

After watching the first Zeitgeist movie (www.zeitgeistmovie.com) then backing it up with reading Suns Of God and then Zeitgeist Companion, both by Acharya S, I fully realized that I have always been a skeptic when it comes to religion.

I continued on with reading The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins, and then The End Of Faith and Letter To A Christian Nation, both by Sam Harris. I believe my fully realized skepticism is what allows me to be so open to the brilliant wisdom and reason in these books.

After reading Dawkins and Harris I want to go out and scream at every body that they need to wake the hell up, no pun intended. I feel like I have taken the red pill in the movie The Matrix, and I am surrounded by those who are content with having swallowed the blue pill, most not even knowing there is a choice. I feel more liberated in a sense for having consumed the reason put forth by these 2 men, but at the same time I am more frustrated that my consciousness seems to be elevated a little higher than many of those around me now. I generally despise arrogance altogether, especially my own.

With The End Of Faith and Letter To A Christian Nation, I also feel uncomfortable now with my feeling of urgency to rid the world of Islam. I still don’t know much about Islam with my only knowledge of it coming from Harris’ 2 books and his selection of scripture from the Qur’an. When Harris notes that we all need to realize that it is possible now for humans to create nuclear weapons of mass destruction and at the same time full heartedly believe that their God has chosen them to rid the world of infidels, it strikes terror in me. Right now, across all spectrum of thought in regards to ‘the end of the world’ (i.e. Global Warming and our destruction of the planet, the Christain God’s wrath and the second coming of Hey-Zeus, the cosmic possibility of being swallowed by a black hole, or a ginormous asteroid hitting Earth again, etc.) the threat of Islam seems the most imminent. Again, this is from my ignorant view. This said, though, how do we get people to wake up? I think Harris is right in that it needs to come from within the Muslim world. There is a dire need for the likes of a Dan Barker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Barker), or many Dan Barkers for that matter, to crop up in the Muslim world and serve as examples of those that can break the spell.

But while we are waiting for this mass rise of consciousness, what do we do in the meantime? The conundrum to me is that while we as humanitarians are against war and harm to other human beings, how do we stop this threat of fundamentalist thought that is bent on converting all to Islam or ridding the world of those who do not, regardless of humanitarian efforts? As ‘non-believing’ Americans do we just stand behind our current Christian leaders in government and let them wage or back wars in Muslim nations? Or should we try to break the spell of Christianity first so that when we do go wage/back war in Muslim nations we are doing so for the ‘right reasons’, supposedly to save humanity?

There is a section in the first Zeitgeist movie in part 1 where it talks about the end of times from a Christian perspective in regards to passages from the book of revelation. The narrator in the movie explains that “the entire concept of end times and the end of the world is a misinterpreted astrological allegory”. With all of the current fervor going on all over the world about how the ‘end of times’ are among us, maybe the time is coming for a global reboot? (show less)