Customer Reviews

Letter from a Christian Citizen - A Response to "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris

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1 star:		(8)

 

 

This book is basically nothing that it claims to be. It is emphatically NOT a response to Sam Harris' book other than in title. Rather, Wilson essentially ignores all the hard issues that Harris raises, and instead goes on the standard nonsensical CS Lewis "Mere Christianity" line of argumentation, which basically goes that "look at what a wonderful society we have. Only Christianity could have produced this therefore Christianity is true," which, to anybody who bothered to actually be honest would realize that this argument is false on many levels.

One of the other reviewers wrote:

"Pastor Douglas Wilson's book 'Letter from a Christian Citizen' should be
a staple of any apologetics program and is great for Christians learning to defend their faith."

Notice how the reviewer is not interested in TRUTH. What's more important is "defending the faith." Truth is secondary to making sure that their team wins. This is a key distinction between the reasoned discourse that Harris presents, and the would-only-convince-the-choir contortions that this book is made of.

This book has no interest in truth, nor rebuttal, as there simply is no such thing. It makes a generic argument and has packaged it in a title to try to latch on to the sales of Harris' popular book. There's nothing new here but just more preaching the same old tired arguments. Most of the faithful will continue to believe them (and doubtlessly mark my review as 'not helpful', since it's mostly the faithful who find these things on amazon anyway) as they read this book and convince themselves that Harris' devastating critique is somehow rebutted, when nothing of the sort happened.

Sam Harris's bestseller "Letter to a Christian Nation" compresses into fewer than 100 pages pointed arguments that (1) religion in general and Christianity in particular are false in that they fail to prove claims of god(s), (2) they burden society and retard the pursuit of knowledge by fostering irrationality and immorality, and (3) with the increasing prospect that motivated religionists may employ modern warfare technology to press their views, they pose a danger to civilization. Douglas Wilson's "Letter from a Christian Citizen" offers a thoughtful response of roughly equal length.

Wilson says little about the first point, arguing mainly that the Bible's accounts of historical events/miracles serve as sufficient evidence. Those taking to heart Carl Sagan's admonition that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence will likely find this (well worn) argument wanting.

Wilson offers an interesting counter to Harris's observation that Christians understand "what it is like to be an atheist with respect to the beliefs of Muslims," since "[i]sn't it obvious that Muslims are fooling themselves?" As Harris puts it: "Understand that the way you [i.e., Christians] view Islam is the way devout Muslims view Christianity. And it is the way I view all religions." Wilson argues that this is a false analogy, since both Christians and Muslims at least understand that some god created the universe while atheists don't. He doesn't explain why it matters that Christians disbelieve both what Muslims and atheists think, but for different reasons since they think different things. Wilson seemingly acknowledges Harris's point later in the book, stating that "I believe that Islam is a false religion, and I believe that the people who adhere to it are deluded."

Wilson focuses most of his attention on Harris's attacks on the morality of Christianity. Rather than directly defend and explain the morality of Christian dogma, he mainly disputes whether or how an atheist can question the morality of anything, arguing that without reference to the Bible, no standards exist by which to judge the morality of anything. To the extent that Harris displays some sense of morality, Wilson argues, it is "a hodge-podge of Christian leftovers." Harris, on the other hand, argues in his book that it is the other way around--Christianity didn't invent morality and instead borrowed from an innate sense of morality common to humankind, adhering to it in some particulars and deviating from it in others.

With respect to Harris's third point, Wilson passes it off as largely a problem only with the "false religion" of Islam.

Wilson presents a variety of arguments (only a few of which are mentioned in the foregoing summary), and while I found them unconvincing, he presents them clearly and generally offers explanations, examples, and/or references to support them. He plainly displays considerable knowledge of his subject matter. I read "Letter from a Christian Citizen" out of curiosity about what responses could be offered to Harris's various arguments. While others undoubtedly can and will expand on those advanced by Wilson, his book offers a good sample of the thinking of some unconvinced by Harris.

See the 1st editorial review, which claims this country was "birthed and sustained through a Christian worldview". First of all, this was never set up to be a Christian nation. The founding fathers were deists, and they made sure that the constitution provided for the separation of church and state. And, the review mentions the "Christian worldview". If that means spreading Christianity throughout the entire world, that's certainly not what this country was set up to do. Yet, many Christians think it's okay for the US to invade other countries because we're supposedly on the side of Christ.

Also, read some of the customers' reviews to see how confused some of these people are. You'll see some of the most confused logic, like that the belief in evolutionary science and the belief in non-violence are somehow contradictory.

And notice how they like to label Harris as an atheist (instead of agnostic). If you read the book or listen to Harris's speech (which btw you'll find on YouTube, search "Sam Harris SALT"), you'll know Harris does not claim to have proof that God does not exist. It's not Harris's responsibility to prove that God does not exist. That's not what his book is about. His book is about the very real problem of ignorant people in this country taking on blind faith that there's an all-knowing, all-powerful God guiding our destiny, and using that to justify wars, and the rejection of science (like stem cell research and evolution), and the dumbing down of America to rally support for a President who has broken every virtue written down in the bible, and produce this kind of fascist state that we're living in today, where our rights that our Founding Fathers established have been stripped away one by one, and our constitution has been run through the White House paper shredder.

Wilson launches a predicable broadside to Harris' thorny "Letter to A Christian Nation." His central thesis - which he has showered on atheists from Hitchens to Dawkins and now Harris - is that in constructing a belief system, one must necessarily make value judgments about actions and ideas. To do so, Wilson argues, a standard such as Christian morality must be used to measure conduct, otherwise one person's personal belief is as valid as another's. Wilson totally eschews the collective innate morality argument made by Harris, and wonders by what standard can such a nebulous concept ever be measured. His answer is that Christian morality is preferable as it provides a dogmatic "bright line" between good and evil and devoid of individual idiosyncracies. Wilson's flaw is his implicit assumption that Christian morality is a unified, consistent belief system that inevitably provides uniform moral judgments on conduct. Unfortunately for Wilson, Harris anticipates and skewers this position with quotations directly from the Christian Bible, whose passages provide divine approval for such disparate things as love, compassion, self-sacrifice, freedom, slavery, genocide, fratricide, and sexual perversion. Christian morality, it seems, is in as great a state of flux as atheistic moral relativism. Perhaps more damning is Wilson's reluctance to take on Harris' main objection to religious dogmatism, namely that there exists no good evidence to suppose that its central tenets are true. Bertrand Russell's orbiting teapot analogy provides the most serious challenge to Wilson's arguments since it illuminates Wilson's fallacy of requiring Harris to prove there is no god-which of course is logically impossible. Harris properly points out that the burden of proof is on the proponent of such an extraordinary claim to support it with extraordinary evidence. Though forcefully and gamely attempted, Wilson cannot possibly meet this burden and ultimately fails in answering the skepticism that Harris so painstakingly articulates.

As a Christian, I must confess I was both pleased and disappointed with this book.

One of the biggest strengths of the book is that it points out the overall inconsistency of the atheistic position. On one hand, atheists assert that there is no God. On the other hand, they complain about the injustice and evil in the world today, and tend to be very angry because God doesn't prevent or bring an end to the evil. Yet there is absolutely no justification for this anger if God is just "imaginary." If God is only imaginary, then, as Wilson puts it, "stuff just happens" - deal with it.

In fact, I've never heard a convincing argument to the contrary from atheists. They may say "We're not angry at God; we're just angry at Christians who mindlessly believe in God!" But again, what is the basis of this anger? If God doesn't exist, what does it matter what Christians believe or say? Is there a universal standard that says that what Christians are doing is wrong? And what is the source of this standard?

I suspect that those who call themselves "atheists" are not truly "atheists" at all. They believe that God exists - they just don't understand Him at all, and they basically hate His guts, so they reject Him. That would explain the anger.

One reason I couldn't give this book a higher rating, however, is that I believe that Wilson's Calvinistic world view weakens his arguments. As I sat there reading where Wilson basically blamed God for Hurricane Katrina, I said to myself "Yeah, I'm sure that will convince Sam Harris and other atheists to forsake atheism and come to Christ." NOT. I understand that this approach may make perfect sense in Wilson's mind, but I can't picture many atheists being persuaded by it. And since he is writing this to Sam Harris, the audience is an atheist, and you want to have an argument that can be reasonably persuasive to an atheist. "God was responsible for Katrina," doesn't cut it.

I thought this book was supposed to be in response to Sam Harris. Where are the actual responses to his arguments? I see a strange suspension of belief and an author ignoring Harris' main points. I see that, but where are the legitimate counter-arguments? I see none in this book. It seems to be advertising itself as a counter attack, but only clarifies the problems Harris points out. I am wondering if the author read Harris' book with any type of critical view, because he seems to be ignoring the most important points.

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.

That which can be said of this "rebuttal" to Sam Harris' scathing and brutally accurate "Letter To A Christian Nation", I have said in the title of this review. Don't waste your money, folks.

It seems that Mr. Wilson dod not read Mr. Harris' book all that well. His arguments were not a well thought out rebuttal, but actually an affirmation as to what Mr. Harris describes as intolerant faith not having the capability to examine itself. Why does Mr. Wilson need to "defend the faith" when simply logical arguments as to why we should believe in a deity should suffice? Wilson clings to a position that morality is seemingly only definable through religion, and in particular Christianity, ignoring completely that Christian history is filled with things that make us cringe. this book is not answer to Mr. Harris at all, but an unintellectual perspective which should be avoided -- unless you are ardent Christian who is not in the thinking mode.

Pastor Douglas Wilson's book 'Letter from a Christian Citizen' should be a staple of any apologetics program and is great for Christians learning to defend their faith. At a time when atheists are becoming more and more militant in the culture wars, 'Letter' is a very readable, very understandable, and very effective response to Sam Harris' diatribe 'Letter to a Christian Nation'. Wilson exposes Harris' fundamentalism for what it is and shows how it is utterly inconsistent with his atheistic paradigm. The book itself is somewhat small and quite readable in one sitting. I suggest getting a copy, reading it, and passing it on to a friend. It's just that good.