Best anti religion book I have ever read , Sam Harris, letter to a Christian nation

[Rjk]

Read a synopsis of it. He strikes me as incredibly juvenile, putting forward the sort of arguments that a 15yr old might - why doesn't God stop wars, look at all those killed in religious conflicts, etc. etc.

What his book really is, is another person's attempt to mock why people have faith and belief in something intangible, something which the author obviously finds so frustration and bewildering. So what..

The fact that you're willing to declare it juvenile, and mocking and that the author is bewildered by the concept of faith in the intangible, from a SYNOPSIS, suggests to me that you aren't giving it a fair crack of the whip

[Tuerto]

Your response is rather amusing on several counts. Firstly, that my view lacks gravitas as you assume that I know few people of faith and that I don't get out enough. I have friends of different faiths (including a lay preacher) and probably 'get out' more than most people, having visited a multitude of so-called holy places around the world, including Shinto shrines in Japan, Buddhist temples in Vietnam, mosques in the Middle East and Africa, Ancient Greek temples, Roman temples, pagan sites, Native American sacred places, synagogues in Israel and in Eastern Europe etc etc.
Your associating 'God' merely with just one of the Abrahamist schisms suggests that you are perhaps the more parochialist here as we know that there there have been thousands of gods worshipped in the history of mankind and that believers rarely baulk against the one passed down to them by local authorities, customs and their peers. If people were really free thinkers there would be shintoists in the Inuit community and believers in Shiva in Saudi Arabia.
The fact that believing in deities brings comfort to people doesn't mean that it isn't bunkum. The fact that a relative of yours is a Christian is almost definitely down to the expansion of the Roman Empire into Britain. Religion and languages often travel via the same conduits.
As for your comment about 'one shoe fits all', it's a load of cobblers

Wonderful Stuff. Here's something for you to think about. When you next Travel, Visit a City or Town, indulge in Poetry, Writings, Architecture, Art, Sculpture, planning etc-The wonders of Culture-Ask yourself what influenced it and how it got there. You see, you may think it's all 'Bunkum', although Religion has enhanced your life more than you will ever know-or want to know.

[JDerrida]

God and Jesus take a right leathering

What does such a great anti-religion book have to say about Islam, Hinduism, etc.

Did they all get a right leathering?

I thought you would have shouted that out proudly as well, as surely he (and you) hate all religions. Don't you?

[jamieccfc]

I used to work for a Jehovah witness and speak as you find they were lovely people, I don’t get why people get so worked up about religion or religious people I’m not a believer in the bible but I can believe in the possibility of a supreme being it’s even possible we could be in an alternative reality but I wouldn’t knock anyone who wants to believe in god also I believe people have the right not to that’s their opinion it just blows my mind that we started from nothing and all the stars lined up perfectly for us and all we want to do is find a way to destroy it all

[Organ Morgan.]

Wonderful Stuff. Here's something for you to think about. When you next Travel, Visit a City or Town, indulge in Poetry, Writings, Architecture, Art, Sculpture, planning etc-The wonders of Culture-Ask yourself what influenced it and how it got there. You see, you may think it's all 'Bunkum', although Religion has enhanced your life more than you will ever know-or want to know.

Pay no attention to his globetrotting tales as they're products of his imagination. His annual one-week holiday is 20 miles up the road from home at Minehead Butlins in one of the cheap Sun Voucher chalets. Any pics he posts taken at exotic locations he swiped from the net.


Only kidding, Genie.

[Mrs Steve R]

Suggest you read 'The Divine Dance' by Richard Rohr....it might well make you change your mind

I find that people don't want to have their minds changed on any subject.

What does such a great anti-religion book have to say about Islam, Hinduism, etc.

Did they all get a right leathering?

I thought you would have shouted that out proudly as well, as surely he (and you) hate all religions. Don't you?

[Baloo]

Wonderful Stuff. Here's something for you to think about. When you next Travel, Visit a City or Town, indulge in Poetry, Writings, Architecture, Art, Sculpture, planning etc-The wonders of Culture-Ask yourself what influenced it and how it got there. You see, you may think it's all 'Bunkum', although Religion has enhanced your life more than you will ever know-or want to know.

Well yes, ancients believed in these things and I think it’s quite possible for instance to appreciate Roman art, architecture, planning techniques, temples etc. and still think religeon is ‘bunkum’ (to refer to previous post). In the case of Rome, much of this was of course was established long before it’s transition to Christianity and was influenced by earlier polytheistic Greek and Etruscan culture. And Christian values and bible writings are often lifted from earlier Greek stoic philosophy and Roman republican virtues, so are strongly influenced by Greek and Roman secular values. So it’s all of historical interest and can be wonderful to experience when travelling, but that’s a different point really.

Freedom of belief is important I think, but so is secularism and removing religious privilege. At the same time I know some very nice people with religious beliefs. I think their outlook is misguided but they largely keep it to themselves and clearly get comfort from it. They probably think the same about my Humanist leanings. Difference in beliefs isn’t an issue at all. Some of them are secularists too.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Wonderful Stuff. Here's something for you to think about. When you next Travel, Visit a City or Town, indulge in Poetry, Writings, Architecture, Art, Sculpture, planning etc-The wonders of Culture-Ask yourself what influenced it and how it got there. You see, you may think it's all 'Bunkum', although Religion has enhanced your life more than you will ever know-or want to know.

I spent a great deal of my time taking in such things and appreciating art and culture inspired by various religions but that doesn't mean that any of the deities were real. Folklore is fascinating and that's precisely what it is.
Many religions are based on belief systems and it is fascinating how they morph, develop and divide. A hugely interesting facet of human culture.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Pay no attention to his globetrotting tales as they're products of his imagination. His annual one-week holiday is 20 miles up the road from home at Minehead Butlins in one of the cheap Sun Voucher chalets. Any pics he posts taken at exotic locations he swiped from the net.

Only kidding, Genie.

My idea of hell would be attending a 1980's music weekend at Minehead featuring various bands that had two hits in that period but now appear with just one original member in order to supplement their meagre pensions.....

[Taunton Blue Genie]

I spent a great deal of my time taking in such things and appreciating art and culture inspired by various religions but that doesn't mean that any of the deities were real. Folklore is fascinating and that's precisely what it is.
Many religions are based on belief systems and it is fascinating how they morph, develop and divide. A hugely interesting facet of human culture.

I omitted a word: I meant that many religions are based on previous belief systems. (Many of the Bible stories are an example).

[Harry Monk]

I would disagree, there’s plenty the Catholic Church can’t/won’t teach you about Christianity, just about their own rules. There is a big difference between a relationship with God and organised religion. I wasn’t raised anything, I came to God aged 39 after I studied the Bible for myself.

I've read the bible and the Koran. I've read plenty of other religious texts as well. They're all man's way of trying to explain something they didn't understand at the time, and to appease the fear that once we're dead, there is nothing else.

[celticknight]

Doesn't Sam Harris agree with the idea that IQ is linked to race?

[Harry Monk]

I omitted a word: I meant that many religions are based on previous belief systems. (Many of the Bible stories are an example).

Here's a thing. I've often asked Christians why they believe in the resurrection of Christ, but don't believe in the resurrection of the goddess Ishtar which was doing the rounds at least 4,000 years before Christ.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

I've read the bible and the Koran. I've read plenty of other religious texts as well. They're all man's way of trying to explain something they didn't understand at the time, and to appease the fear that once we're dead, there is nothing else.

Indeed. Most religions were founded when man had little concept of electricity, science, and a million other things that the average person these days understands. In the absence of knowledge (and the word 'science' mean knowledge) people were either ignorant about many subjects or assigned phenomena to unseen deities and spirits.
Believing in religion is essentially an intellectually childlike state and it is no co-incidence that almost every believer adopts the deity or deities passed on to them by local influences when they were children.
Homo sapiens* have been around for hundreds of thousands of years and religions have come and gone with empires, dominant tribes and the equivalent of evangelism. It is unlikely that any believers on this board would have held the same religious beliefs if they were born in a different location where another religion is dominant or in any era before Abrahamism took root.

As for the conflation of art, poetry and the like: yes, belief sysytems do inspire people and creative souls have always found work with the powers that be in any location. However, if I were to believe in little green men and paint a wonderful picture as a result of inspiration infused by the experience it doesn't mean that little green men exist - and someone else in a different location may assign that same inspiration to another deity. However, there are experiences in the mind of man (and all around the world) that are obviously common across all societies and it's more about other factors than little tin gods.

*At what state of evolution man was assigned a soul that could pass to the afterlife is another matter. Are there Cro-magnon and Neanderthal souls in your chosen afterlife/paradise/heaven?

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

It really doesn’t, you’d know that if you’d read it.

Oh yes it does , it says you can take a slave as long as you don't hit him in the face or eye , it's laughable bullshit

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Suggest you read 'The Divine Dance' by Richard Rohr....it might well make you change your mind

Sounds like a comic

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

What does such a great anti-religion book have to say about Islam, Hinduism, etc.

Did they all get a right leathering?

I thought you would have shouted that out proudly as well, as surely he (and you) hate all religions. Don't you?

Yes I do and yes it does

Catholics slaughter people in the name of their religion , so do Hindus and Muslims kill everyone else

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

I used to work for a Jehovah witness and speak as you find they were lovely people, I don’t get why people get so worked up about religion or religious people I’m not a believer in the bible but I can believe in the possibility of a supreme being it’s even possible we could be in an alternative reality but I wouldn’t knock anyone who wants to believe in god also I believe people have the right not to that’s their opinion it just blows my mind that we started from nothing and all the stars lined up perfectly for us and all we want to do is find a way to destroy it all

It's called science and evolution

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

I find that people don't want to have their minds changed on any subject.

It puts the sword into all religions , he's no islamaphobe , he hates them all

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

I've read the bible and the Koran. I've read plenty of other religious texts as well. They're all man's way of trying to explain something they didn't understand at the time, and to appease the fear that once we're dead, there is nothing else.

Fear of death , my old man's been gone two years and he's yet to make a comeback

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Here's a thing. I've often asked Christians why they believe in the resurrection of Christ, but don't believe in the resurrection of the goddess Ishtar which was doing the rounds at least 4,000 years before Christ.

She was female

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Pope Pius big fan of Adolf Hitler , I mention that to my sister and she denies plain fact

[William Treseder]

Why do the majority of the worlds population find it hard to accept, that when you die, your gone forever?

[Steve the Tea]

All these posts just show that you don’t understand the first thing about Christianity. Perhaps if you at least studied it a bit, you might come to undearstand our point of view, even if you don’t believe it yourself.

Well said, bro.

StT.
<><

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Why do the majority of the worlds population find it hard to accept, that when you die, your gone forever?

That's the answer they don't want to understand