Customer Reviews

Letter from a Christian Citizen

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Having read Sam Harris' "Letter to a Christian nation", I purchased Douglas Wilsons books in the hope of a convincing rebuttal.

I was to be profoundly disappointed.

I have no desire to descend as Mr Wilson does occasionally into smug snideness but his philosophy and logic are about as deep as the average puddle. When he speaks in reference to deriving morality out of evolutionary theory he comes across as a person who has spent his entire life in a small town who presumes to wax lyrical about the back alleys architectural wonders of a city like London. Any number of books have been published on precisely this issue, Dawkins "The Selfish Gene" is but one example (see also "The Origins of Virtue" Matt Ridley, "The Altruism Equation", Lee Alan Dugatkin, "The Science of Good and Evil" Michael Shermer).

We are told that any moral sentiments the atheist feels derive from some sort of Christian detritus, in fact, "every aspect of our being was polluted in the fall. We do not just do bad things; we do them because we are bad people." (pg 104). This leaves me wondering how people who never heard of Jesus, living under a secular system e.g. Confucian China manage to be anything other than rabid beasts. Christianity in short is not responsible for our moral sentiments. If this is accepted, many of Mr Wilson's contentions evaporate.

Mr Wilson claims that atheists can have no reason to object to things like the holocaust. He neglects one of the obvious answers, enlightened self-interest.

That the Bible is the inerrant word of God he seems to accept as axiomatic based upon faith but faith is not evidence rather it is the substitution of emotion for evidence, a nice way of saying ones subjective feelings.

This book is too readily refuted to be aimed at the sceptical rather it seems it preaches to the converted.

This compelling book is a rapid read due to its brevity (109 pages - Sam Harris' book, Letter to a Christian Nation, was just as short) and its likable style. This is one of the finest assessments of Harris' anti-theistic charges available. In response to Harris' indictment that Christianity is "divisive, injurious, and retrograde" Wilson leaves no apologetic stone unturned. The book demonstrates the necessity of biblical theism by constantly employing the moral argument in refuting the atheistic worldview. The author assesses what Harris was attempting to maintain in his moral attack against theism and turns it against atheism.

Wilson's Letter addresses:

- OT/NT view of slavery (p. 20)
- The supposed biological basis for morality (p. 29)
- The absurdity of Bach and Moral Law being products of chance
- Autonomy, the nervous system and fixed ethics (p. 37-39)
- The charge of OT genocide
- The positive fruit of Christianity in forming Western Civilization
- The problem of reducing morality to personal preferences (p. 46)
- The truth of the wrath of God and how to avoid it
- The ultimate solution to the problem of evil
- The defense of the Virgin birth (p. 68)
- The old canard that Solomon formulated pi incorrectly (p.72)
- Alleged bible contradictions and errors

Since Wilson is responding to Harris' book he doesn't offer additional complex formulations of theistic arguments in any detailed depth. Thus this is not the book you would want if you only had a couple apologetic books in your library. However for those who want a charming and pithy volume that defends Christian ethics as it counters atheist moral grounding, this little work is for you.

Even if you do not hold to the presuppositional method of apologetics, this book is still an engaging text to read to gain a better understanding of the rational tools needed to defeat the new atheists. Learn to utilize moral absolutes as you counter alleged bible difficulties.
by Mike A Robinson author of: God Does Exist and other apologetic books:
Truth, Knowledge and the Reason for God: The Defense of the Rational Assurance of Christianity
or Letter to an Atheist Nation: Presupositional Apologetics Responds To: Letter to a Christian

Douglas Wilson has written a trilogy of 100-page responses to three recent books by the village atheists, which attack religion in general and Christianity in particular. _God Is._ responds to Christopher Hitchens' book, _God Is Not Great_. _The Deluded Atheist_ responds to Richard Dawkins' book, _The God Delusion_. The subject of this review is _Letter From a Christian Citizen_, which offers a response to Sam Harris' book, _Letter To a Christian Nation_.

In the foreword, Gary DeMar says this about the "new atheists": "It's old atheism wrapped in a new package. The same tired arguments that have been answered convincingly by any number of Christian writers over the centuries have been trotted out again in the vain hope that atheism will find a new audience." (pp. ix-x)

Indeed, Wilson responds to old and familiar arguments that belong to the categories of epistemology, ethics, and science. One of the central problems Wilson highlights in Harris' book (as well as in Hitchens' and Dawkin's respective books) is the lack of an adequate justification for his grievances against Christianity given his their world-and-life view, to wit, materialism/reductionism. Says Wilson, "You are raising far more questions than you are answering, and yet you are raising them as though they were already answered." (p. 29) This in response to Harris' bizarre belief that Jainism represents a superior morality to Christianity.

Wilson highlights another chink in the atheist's armor as it relates to the question of theodicy. Wilson takes Harris to task for not being fully consistent with his materialist world-and-life view. While Harris will admit that atrocities will never be put right in the future, he refuses to take the next logical step and admit that such atrocities are not wrong now (p. 54). In other words, Harris doesn't live within his own world-and-life view at this juncture. He is unwilling to "embrace the ramifications of what [he] claim[s]." (p. 60)

What makes Wilson's responses to Harris et al. so insightful is his presuppositional approach to their arguments and grievances. He doesn't trade "brute facts" with them but calls them to live within their own world-and-life view of materialism. When they put a foot in another world-and-life view, Wilson calls them on it.

Near the end of the book, Wilson says, "...when you talk about ethics, spiritual experience, and concern over suffering, you give the game away. That is not atheism, but rather residue from your culture's Christian past." (pp. 99-100)

To Wilson, Harris' belief system is nothing more than "sentimental atheism" and "a hodge-podge of Christian leftovers." (p. 61) I think a concise, yet compelling case has been made in this small book to justify that pronouncement.

I read this book because (as a fan of "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris) he thought I should read the counter argument. I agree with that - one should always read the counter argument in order to form an educated, independent decision.
This book is extremely poorly written, and almost all of Wilson's arguments are assumptions guided towards his predetermined outcome that Harris is gravely mistaken in all that he has written. Instead of relying on fact of any kind, he personally attacks Sam Harris' views, and the man himself - as if tearing down Sam Harris will suddenly erase all of the fallacies that the Bible holds within its pages.
However, I do recommend reading this book. It's a very quick and easy read, and it will help to strengthen Sam Harris' arguments, because Wilson's counter arguments are so idiotic.
Also, I think that Wilson wrote some rather racist books previously in his career, and this discredits him to me even further.

If you've read "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris, you at least owe it to yourself to read this title by Douglas Wilson. Many people have mistaken Harris's book for a strong argument against Christianity but it is not that at all for Harris can't even give justification for arguing in the way that he does and Wilson shows why.

Wilson responds to Harris's rather weak arguments in "Letter from a Christian Citizen" both with wit and clear logic. If you were swept away by the supposed fortitude of Sam Harris' book, do yourself a favor and purchase Douglas Wilson's response and see how Harris measures up. You'll find, rather easily, that Wilson demolishes the arguments of Sam Harris and leaves him with nothing to stand on.

If you're an atheist, then you need to give an adequate answer to Wilson's arguments. If you're a Christian who was shook by "Letter to a Christian Nation", then you need to read Wilson's response and see just how poor Harris's arguments really are.

Douglas Wilson makes good use of polite, humorous, but direct language to challenge Sam Harris' book, "Letter to a Christian Nation". Mr. Wilson confronts Mr. Harris on why he should tell anyone what they "ought" to do given that atheists do not believe in absolute truth, nor can right or wrong be defined without a standard. Mr. Wilson agrees that Christians and non-Christians do bad things based on the concept of God, but if there is no God, these actions are merely preferences. Pastor Wilson points out that Mr. Harris clings to notions of fairness,right and wrong from Christian roots, while denying there can be any standard. Wilson quotes C. S. Lewis, "We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful." to highlight this absurdity. This is a must read.
For further discussions on atheism versus Christianity, read "Is Christianity Good for the World" which is a published debate between anti-theist Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson.

A well written objective rebuttal of Sam Harris' "Letter to a Christian Nation". Clear defense of Christianity with weaknesses and inconsistencies of Atheist position highlighted. A must for understanding the differences of both sides.

Douglas Wilson gives a well-thought out response to some of the key issues that Sam Harris has raised against Christianity in his popular book "Letter to a Christian Nation". Wilson writes in a clear style and conversational tone, so the book is easy to read and follow.

Some of the writing deals with corrections to certain misunderstandings shown by Harris, such as described on pg. 41-44, where Harris defends the point "Are Atheists Evil?". Wilson clears this out by explaining that this is a "common misunderstanding of a standard Christian argument" and "the issue is not whether atheists are evil, but rather, given atheism, what possible definition can we find for evil." He further clarifies: "The argument is not one about personal character but rather about what the tenets of atheism logically entail."

It was good to see that Wilson addresses the question of faith vs. facts. Harris states that "Everyone recognizes that to rely upon 'faith' to decide specific questions of historical fact is ridiculous" (quote 67). But, of course, Peter and James and John, the Apostles of Christ didn't rely on such faith to determine if Jesus rose from the dead or not. Thomas, another one of the Apostles illustrated this very well, saying that he would not believe until he saw and touched the risen Jesus (pg. 78-83). That's how you would expect any good scientist to behave. Then, for those of us who did not see the risen Jesus, we rely on eye-witness testimony, something that is typical for all of our knowledge of history, whether of Plato, or Alexander the Great, or George Washington (not axiomatic, simply "on faith"). Atheists claim this is being intellectually dishonest, but why believe some reliable eye-witness testimonies and not others? Wilson provides a good reply: "You would say it is because a resurrection from the dead is a miracle, and miracles don't happen. But this is your materialistic faith kicking in again. This is a mere assumption of yours." Indeed, atheists (but even more strangely "agnostics" as Harris claims to be), possess quite a bit of faith that the universe is a closed system and that something like a resurrection cannot take place and God cannot exist. Why would an agnostic have such faith that the universe is a closed system, despite lack of evidence or reason to support such belief?

At some parts, specific atheists objections are addressed, such as why doesn't the Bible explicitly condemn slavery (pg. 22). Wilson clearly explains that the goal of Christianity was to change and subvert the entire pagan system, but not by revolutionary means, rather by the Christian gospel, by means that are not violent, but similar to how yeast works through a loaf of bread. This concept is often hard to understand for atheists because they tend to have an expectation towards revolutionary methods of changing of a society, perhaps being influenced by Marx and his followers in the area of social analysis. Wilson gives some other good answers: quoting style in the Bible does not have to follow today's standards (pg. 70), the weak presentation of the Intelligent Design movement and their arguments that was done by Harris, and who missed discussing some very important issues and concepts, such as irreducible complexity, information theory, source of information, etc (pg. 88). For a good and easy to read introduction to Intelligent Design see books such as: Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science & Theology, Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? Why Much of What We Teach About Evolution is Wrong, Why the Universe Is the Way It Is or videos: Where Does The Evidence Lead?, The Privileged Planet, Icons Of Evolution.

Having read Sam Harris' Letters to a Christian Nation, I thought I'd give the rebuttal a chance. I'm disappointed although not at all surprised. The use of complex and confusing language with unjustified claims made the reading laborious and unconvincing. (Unintelligible dribble, to be blunt)

A wonderfully-articulated rebuttal to Sam Harris's "Letter to a Christian Nation." This book asks many questions of Harris, the most prominent being, "Where do you get your standards of morality if you believe in no absolutes?" It's great that there are courageous Christians willing to take a stand against those who slander the faith. A must-buy! (Also, see my review for "Letter to a Christian Nation" for more of my objections to Harris's arguments.)