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Letter to a Christian Nation [Hardcover]

Sam Harris
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (811 customer reviews)


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Book Description

September 19, 2006
“Thousands of people have written to tell me that I am wrong not to believe in God. The most hostile of these communications have come from Christians. This is ironic, as Christians generally imagine that no faith imparts the virtues of love and forgiveness more effectively than their own. The truth is that many who claim to be transformed by Christ’s love are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism. While we may want to ascribe this to human nature, it is clear that such hatred draws considerable support from the Bible. How do I know this? The most disturbed of my correspondents always cite chapter and verse.”

So begins Letter to a Christian Nation



www.samharris.org

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Sam Harris’s elegant little book is most refreshing and a wonderful source of ammunition for those who, like me, hold to no religious doctrine. Yet I have some sympathy also with those who might be worried by his uncompromising stance. Read it and form your own view, but do not ignore its message.”
–Sir Roger Penrose, emeritus professor of mathematics, Oxford University,
author of The Road to Reality

“Reading Harris’ Letter to a Christian Nation was like sitting ring side, cheering the champion, yelling ‘Yes!’ at every jab. For those of us who feel depressed by this country’s ever increasing unification of church and state, and the ever decreasing support for the sciences that deliver knowledge and reduce ignorance, this little book is a welcome hit of adrenalin.”
–Marc Hauser, Harvard College Professor, author of Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Sense of Right and Wrong

“I can’t sign my name to this blurb. As a New York Times best selling author of books about business, my career will evaporate if I endorse a book that challenges the deeply held superstitions and bigotry of the masses. That’s exactly why you should (no, you must) read this angry and honest book right away. As long as science and rational thought are under attack by the misguided yet pious majority, our nation is in jeopardy. I’m scared. You should be too. Please buy two, one for you and one for a friend you care about.”
–Unsigned, New York Times best selling author

“It’s a shame that not everyone in this country will read Sam Harris’ marvelous little book Letter to a Christian Nation. They won’t but they should.”
–Leonard Susskind, Felix Bloch Professor in theoretical physics, Stanford University, author of The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design

“We all know about good things that have been derived from bad ideas. Modern religions serve many social goods such as health care for the poor. The problem is that is also services many reprehensible ideas. Harris blows the whistle, pointing out the religions of the world are based on human generated vengeful stories. Read this book and you decide your stance for the future.”
–Michael S. Gazzaniga, Director of the Sage Center for the Study of Mind, University of California, Santa Barbara, author of The Ethical Brain

“Sam Harris fearlessly describes a moral and intellectual emergency precipitated by religious fantasies–misguided beliefs that create suffering, that rationalize violence, that have endangered our nation and our future. His argument for the morality, the honesty, and the humility of atheism is galvanizing. It is a relief that someone has spoken so frankly, with such passion yet such rationality. Now when the subject arises, as it inevitably does, I can simply say: Read Sam Harris’ Letter to a Christian Nation.”
–Janna Levin, Columbia University, author of How the Universe Got Its Spots and A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines

About the Author

Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times best seller The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, winner of the 2005 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 96 pages
  • Publisher: Knopf; 1ST edition (September 19, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0307265773
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307265777
  • Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 0.6 x 7.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (811 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, and Free Will. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction.

Mr. Harris' writing has been published in over fifteen languages. He and his work have been discussed in Newsweek, TIME, The New York Times, Scientific American, Nature, Rolling Stone, and many other journals. His writing has appeared in Newsweek, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Economist, The Times (London), The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, The Annals of Neurology, and elsewhere.

Mr. Harris is a Co-Founder and CEO of Project Reason, a nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society. He received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA.

Customer Reviews

Sam Harris received a lot of criticism for his book, "End of Faith." James I. Huston  |  187 reviewers made a similar statement
What a well written, concise little book. J. Dodson  |  129 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
98 of 106 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Taking on all commers March 14, 2007
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I think its great the way Sam Harris defies conventional thinking in this book. As someone who has struggled with theses arguments with family members all my life, it is nice to be backed by by intelligent arguments. Also as a scientist I would like to say that it is nice that he has addressed the need for the end of faith as a survival priority for the species.
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267 of 300 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A letter from an "atheist fundamentalist"? March 31, 2007
Format:Hardcover
I just read that the "Harvard University Humanist Chaplain" (?) Greg Epstein is calling Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins the "atheist fundamentalists." "He sees them as rigid in their dogma, and as intolerant as some of the faith leaders with whom atheists share the most obvious differences" (Chicago Sun-Times, March 31, 2007).

It is not supposed to be a compliment.

Harris replied that "atheist fundamentalist" was ''a silly play upon words,'' noting that "when it comes to the ancient Greek gods, everyone is an atheist and no one is asked to justify that to pagans who want to believe in Zeus."

Epstein sees Harris as too rigid and too confrontational.

Harris says "In our next presidential election, an actor who reads his Bible would almost certainly defeat a rocket scientist who does not. Could there be any clearer indication that we are allowing unreason and otherworldliness to govern our affairs" (p. 39, The End of Faith)?

I guess Epstein is right. Harris IS confrontational. BUT... does the world need more Epsteins, or Harrises?

I vote for Harris.

Letter to a Christian Nation is Sam Harris' rebuttal to the arguments from Christians to his viewpoints in The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason. It's a slim book, barely over 100 pages.

What does he say?

"People have been cherry-picking the Bible for millennia to justify their every impulse, moral and otherwise" (p. 18).

"If you think that 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" (p. 22).

"When was the last atheist riot?" (p.
... Read more ›
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289 of 331 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Letter to a Christian Nation - Special Delivery October 24, 2006
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Letter to a Christian Nation" is a rallying cry to rationalists everywhere and should serve as a wakeup call to retrograde Christians eagerly toiling away to displace science with magical thinking, overturn a woman's right to choose, relegate gays and lesbians to second class citizenship, or ensure the apocalypse.

Harris presents concise arguments with lucidity, brevity and impact. If you haven't read his prior book "The End of Faith" the thesis of "Letter to a Christian Nation" will be startling and new. If you have, this worthy distillate of his prior work specifically focuses on the fundamentalist follies and foibles of America's cleverly marketed McJesus movement. With deft strokes Harris pens a number of reasons not to be a Christian - or religious at all. He exposes the unreasonableness of faith, explaining with clarity and philosophical rigor why there is no real justification for believing in God, and how the notion of "faith" does little to justify any unfounded belief, or merit respect for same.

Moral arguments come next as Harris, using examples ranging from Mother Teresa to the hatred of homosexuals, demonstrates that the Christian value system easily leads to ethically repugnant behavior - despicable in principal and practice because of the widespread and very real human suffering it creates. Christianity's maniacal obsession with people having sex is revealed as morally destitute - religious right political mandates that keep condoms out of Africa only increase the staggering AIDS death toll. Earlier this year Christian luddites unsuccessfully attempted to block the life saving Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine, which will prevent many cases of cervical cancer because - in their twisted moral calculus - it might lead to teenagers having a little more sex.
... Read more ›
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65 of 72 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Follow up to End of Faith March 11, 2007
Format:Hardcover
Sam Harris received a lot of criticism for his book, "End of Faith." There were also people who believed he was speaking about Islam rather than the group of Abrahamic religions. This book is directed at the Christian majority of the United States and adresses the group directly. The book is very short, so it takes a couple of hours to read at the most.
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59 of 65 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars "open my eyes" November 21, 2006
Format:Hardcover
Two hundred ninteen reviews and counting, plus thousands of comments to reviews. Any book that stimulates this kind of passion is a worthy read! How encouraging it is to find people on both sides of a religious divide drawn into an invigorating discussion, and a book that facilitates it!

Like several reviewers, I am a former evangelical Christian. I'm not here to rap Christianity or Christ. I am amongst a growing number of folks that see evangelical Christianity as perhaps the greatest deviation from what Christ was all about, and find it shameful how politicians manipulate evangelicals to further a rather ungodly political agenda, with predictable consequences--though lately encouraged to see that this trend is reversing, as more and more evangelical Christians become aware that the "R" party may be a wolf in sheep's clothing, and are engaging their God-given brains. As one Christian friend put it to me, "If God did not want you to change your mind, why did He give you a mind?"

My "conversion" away from evangelical Christianity occurred almost 30 years ago, while I was a young university student. Reading evangelical books written to refute evolution, I was dis-illusioned by their intellectual dishonesty, selective mis-use of observations, and fallacious arguments. How ironic to be driven away from Christianity by Christian books! Discussing this in a desperate prayer with God one night, I asked a simple question, "Dear God, may I look elsewhere?" I felt such a sense of peace and a resounding "Yes" answer that I have never looked back. Today, I am certainly not a Christian in the sense defined by evangelicals. I've come to believe that the truth is not contained in a single book such as the Bible.
... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it.
Definitely helped make things much more clear for me. I strongly suggest anyone with an open mind that is confused regarding religion read this book.
Published 7 days ago by P. E. Munson
4.0 out of 5 stars good read
Sam Harris is brilliant in writing this book. He doesn't come across as angry or misinformed, but rather questioning religion in its entirety.
Published 23 days ago by Jason R. Armintrout
1.0 out of 5 stars hypocritical
when will atheists become there own decision makers and stop basing their beleif system on what followers of christ do? Read more
Published 29 days ago by Nicholas A Garaputo
1.0 out of 5 stars Review from an Athiest - Could not finish reading book
I am an Atheist. I got half way through this book and can' stand the tone of the Author. I was looking for supporting information to help support my current beliefs, but instead... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jen
4.0 out of 5 stars Sam is the best!
I only wish he would have taken the time to do the audio himself. Other than that, its a brilliant piece.
Published 1 month ago by Luke A Eury
4.0 out of 5 stars Serves the purpose Its Title Suggests
This work could well have been penned by hand, to be lovingly left with a friend or family member. You will sail through this and finish hungry for more. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Paul Crandon
1.0 out of 5 stars One Big Straw Man Argument
This is one of the worst examples of "New Atheist" literature. Respectable atheists should look elsewhere for serious scholarship critiquing Christianity. Read more
Published 1 month ago by John Ferrer
5.0 out of 5 stars Preaching to the choir
I liked the book a lot but those who most need to read it will be turned off either by the title or upon reading the first part.
Published 1 month ago by T. J. Karasek
4.0 out of 5 stars well-written and makes good points
While this book is written in a deliberately antagonistic way, the author makes some very good points. The book is well written and funny and I enjoyed reading it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by David's Wife
3.0 out of 5 stars This book will not change any minds
I am in the camp of separation of church and state, and am very critical of the religious right and religion in general. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Joaquin
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I had to delete my honest, Christian based review...
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this is an aside Be the first to reply
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