Customer Reviews

Letter to a Christian Nation

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Unlike Harris's earlier book, The End Of Faith, this is very concise and gets straight to the point. After a brief foreword by Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) the remaining 90 or so pages are directed as a rebuttal of religious fundamentalism and blind faith. His arguments are simple and elegant, contrary to what one other reviewer has stated, they are also well rounded. Clearly there will always be disagreement on any title dealing with religion, but I fail to see how anyone can fail to find sense in Harris's words, even if they don't agree with every point. All in all, a great little book - and an easy introduction to the subject for readers who have not yet read The End Of Faith.

Bill Deakin - Author of The Atheist's Guide To The Bible - Evil Bible Quotes

Too bad thoughtful, intelligent, logical thinking isn't more prevalent in this country. I'm so glad atheists are starting to speak out. Religion is not a beneficial or neutral force and this is eloquently and clearly explained by Mr. Harris.

In our professional and social lives, we are forced to 'respect' the magical thinking of others'. This book shows why we should NOT do this, it's a disservice to humanity.

I found this book in the library (at the full price of £10.00 it's a rip-off, given that it holds less than 100 pages, and fairly large print). I sat down and read it in one go. Fascinating reading - I was enthralled.

Harris does make some good points. Christians aren't nearly critical enough about their beliefs, and they need to be challenged every now and then about their rigid beliefs, how their views affect others, etc. So, to the extent that this is a challengling little read, then I welcome it. Further, Harris's section on stem-cell research I found wonderfully illuminating, and I believe it has even helped to change my thoughts on the subject. There are other sections which I personally found helpful.

But often, like Dawkins, Harris doesn't seem to attempt to hide his detestation of monotheistic religions, and Christianity in particular. He is too angry for his own good, thus clouding his judgement and weakening his arguments.

Clearly Harris is an atheist fundamentalist of incomparable proportions. He quite openly, and repeatedly (especially in 'The End of Faith', but also in this book) calls out for eradication of religion! In this he sounds frighteningly like the autocratic and intolerant ranting of someone like Stalin, Pol Pot or Hitler.

The book is written in the first person, directly to the Christian believer. Thus Harris tells the reader (who he assumes to be a Christain) what he or she believes. This can be rather presumptous and sometimes simply wrong. At a number of places, I found myself saying - 'No, I don't believe that'. He can tell me what he believes, but Not what every Christain believes.

For example, he spends consideralbe time talking about 'criminal' attitudes of 'Christians', such as their shunning of birth control, etc. Here, he completely fails to mention that the majority of the world's Christian believers (hundreds of millions of evangelicals and and many, many Catholics, too) have no aversion to the use of condoms etc. It is simply not an issue to them.

One very notable aspect of the book is that, numerous times when Harris seeks to provide evidence of religion being intolerant, or violent, etc - he gives NO examples from Christianity, but instead makes reference to Islamic thought and Islamic terrorist activities! These are referred to again and again. Yet this is a book supposedly aimed at 'a Christian Nation'. In these instances, Harris is completely unable to find Any parallels in Christianity. To say that this weakens his overall argument is an understatement! It becomes rather farcical. His book might better be called 'Letter to an Islamic Nation'.

In any case, even when Harris does succeed in pinpointing a less than honourable incident from 'Christian' history - e.g. the Crusades of a Millennium ago - this simply goes to show how Un-Christian such an act was - contrary to the teaching and spirit of Christ. To show that Christians - assuming they were Christians, because calling yourself a Christian doesn't, in itself, make you one - have done wrong - in no way proves that Christianity itself is wrong. It only shows that mankind is prone to wrongdoing, which is precisely a root teaching of Christianity (which also teaches that it is solely through dying to self in Christ that we can conquer that fleshly nature). In no way, unfortunately, does being a Christian, of itself make believers immune to wrongdoing.

There are many good points in this book, and I'm glad I read it. But Harris's overt bias and lack of sound reasoning make this little book impossible to take on board. Far worse, the author seems completely unaware that a world with no-one but atheists would by no means be a peaceful one (how naive to even think it!). Man is greedy and power-lusting and, despite his intelligence, often foolish. Atheism is unable to quench these base natures. The teachings and Spirit of Christ, on the other hand, speak directly and constantly to these human failings. A world with a universal atheistic worldview - full of fundamentalist ahteists like Dawkins or Harris - would surely be hell on earth. Besides, it is absurd to think that it will ever happen. Man is a spiritual being with a natural propensity to believe in 'something out there'. Always has been, and, I believe, always will be

Sadly, many of the accusations in this book ring all too true. As Chrisitians, we should not return Sam Harris' hate with hate. Instead, we should follow our Lord and Savior's example as He hung on the cross, for He prayed for those responsible for His unlawful execution with these words, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34 (NASB). Remember, our God does not need us to defend Him. He is Almighty God. He is perfectly capable of defending Himself without our help.

I thought there might be something new here, but there's not. Harris simply reiterates the same old atheistic arguments that have been around for generations. You either believe them, by faith because there is certainly no factual evidence for them, or you don't. As all atheists do, he wants freedom of action and belief, but then he blames God when men use that freedom of action to do terrible things--men are only supposed to be "free" to do good things, I suppose, and God must intervene to deny freedom when men do "bad" things--"bad" things, of course, as defined by Harris. You can't have it both ways, Sam. He apparently expects God to create an earthly utopia, but it must be a utopia as Harris would have it, and when God doesn't measure up to Harris's opinionated standard, then, ergo, God must not exist. I'm not sure I, personally, would want to live in Harris's world, especially since atheism, through Darwinism--which was the underlingly philosophy of communism and Nazism--led to the most barbarous, murderous century in human history--the 20th. His defense of Jainism is utterly laughable, it's so contradictory. And then there is the tireless, and tiresome, pontification over how evolution has been "proved," which, of course, it hasn't and every honest scientist knows that it hasn't. It's intellectual dishonesty like that which puts everything that Harris says in doubt--you cannot be credible on the unproven if you are not honest in that which CAN be proven.

This is nothing but another typical God-hater ranting and raving, demanding that God act the way Harris wants Him to, rejecting Him when He doesn't, and then trying to convince himself that he is right. Banality to the core.