Share <Embed>

Buy New

$10.84

List Price: $14.95
Save: $4.11 (27%)

FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Want it tomorrow, Oct. 25? Order within and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Ship to:

Select a shipping address:

Buy Used

$7.99

FREE Shipping on orders over $25.

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Fun Experts

Fulfilled by Amazon

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Letter to a Christian Nation Paperback – January 8, 2008

by Sam Harris (Author)

1,093 customer reviews

See all 12 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$7.73

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

—

$4.24

$0.01

Paperback

"Please retry"

$10.84

$4.29

$0.95

Audible, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Audio CD, Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

—

$23.84

$12.69

From the new afterword by the author:Humanity has had a long fascination with blood sacrifice. In fact, it has been by no means uncommon for a child to be born into this world only to be patiently and lovingly reared by religious maniacs, who believe that the best way to keep the sun on its course or to ensure a rich harvest is to lead him by tender hand into a field or to a mountaintop and bury, butcher, or burn him alive as offering to an invisible God. The notion that Jesus Christ died for our sins and that his death constitutes a successful propitiation of a “loving” God is a direct and undisguised inheritance of the superstitious bloodletting that has plagued bewildered people throughout history. . .

Letter to a Christian Nation

$10.84 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently Bought Together

Total price: $31.94

Buy the selected items together

This item:Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris Paperback $10.84
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris Paperback $10.39
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris Paperback $10.71
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Sam Harris

1,294

Paperback
$10.39
Sam Harris

550

Paperback
$13.20
Sam Harris

980

Paperback
$10.71
Sam Harris

592

Paperback
$7.23
Sam Harris

355

Hardcover
$12.27
Christopher Hitchens

2,079

Paperback
$10.52

Product Details

Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (January 8, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307278778
ISBN-13: 978-0307278777
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,093 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,608 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Agnosticism
- #4 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Public Affairs & Policy > Cultural Policy
- #14 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Atheism

Would you like to update product info?

Customer Reviews

1,093

4.3 out of 5 stars

5 star		68%
4 star		14%
3 star		6%
2 star		5%
1 star		7%

Write a customer review

See all 1,093 customer reviews

Top Customer Reviews

A letter from an "atheist fundamentalist"?

ByR S CobblestoneVINE VOICEon 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. 39).

"When a tsunami killed a few hundred thousand people on the day after Christmas, 2004, many conservative Christians viewed the cataclysm as evidence of God's wrath. God was apparently sending another coded message about the evils of abortion, idolatry, and homosexuality" (p. 47).

"The entirety of atheism is contained in this response. Atheism is not a philosophy; it is not even a view of the world; it is simply an admission of the obvious" (p. 51).

"It is terrible that we all die and lose everything we love; it is doubly terrible that so many human beings suffer needlessly while alive. That so much of this suffering can be directly attributed to religion - to religious hatreds, religious wars, religious taboos, and religious diversions of scarce resources - is what makes the honest criticism of religious faith a moral and intellectual necessity. Unfortunately, expressing such criticism places the nonbeliever at the margins of society. By merely being in touch with reality, he appears shamefully out of touch with the fantasy life of his neighbors" (p. 56-7).

"Billions of people share your belief that the creator of the universe wrote (or dictated) one of our books. Unfortunately, there are many books that pretend to divine authorship, and they make incompatible claims about how we all must live" (p. 79).

I'd say the world needs more atheist fundamentalists. It's not that they are wearing rose-colored glasses. It's that they don't need any glasses at all.

3131 comments 448 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Against the Tide

ByDouglas Doepkeon April 7, 2007

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Ever since the truculently effective Madalyn Murray O'Hair disappeared, atheists have been pretty quiet on the national scene. It seems most non-theists are content to be left alone. Then too, unlike the godly who appear to need constant reinforcement, there are no ceremonies where the godless come to celebrate non-belief. By the same token, atheists are notoriously difficult to organize, to the extent that no collective voice on a national scale has arisen. Thus popular myths concerning both belief and non-belief continue to abound, while the most regressive arm of Christianity seeks to undo two centuries of church-state separation with its own version of Taliban rule. All in all, what's shaping up is not a pretty picture, particularly for the future of non-belief in America.

I'm glad Harris has taken a public stand beyond those worthy yet weightier books likely to be read by only a few. "Letter..." is an inexpensive booklet, scarcely 100 pages with an introduction and wide spacing. It's not a work of depth or intricate argument, but then neither depth nor complexity is necessary for dispelling many popular myths surrounding a "godless world". Rather the book is written for the occasional thoughtful Christian in accessible prose with a revealing perspective on aspects that the ordinary believer may not have considered. And though the author assails Christian moderates for providing cover to the literalists, the material appears directed almost exclusively toward debunking the latter.

The text revolves mainly around the question of morality, a traditional foundation of religious belief. Specifically, the concern is with such key aspects as -- Can there be morality without religion?-- Is the Bible a source of moral wisdom?-- and, Does religion produce a morally superior people? Harris's responses are almost uniformly straightforward, well-grounded, and on target. And while I suspect those most in need of a provocative work like this are the least likely to read it, it's nonetheless time for atheists to enter the natrional dialogue. After all, who among America's diverse spiritual groups is more sanctimoniouslly reviled (as statistics show) or stands to lose more should the flat-earthers get their way.

44 comments 56 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Taking on all commers

ByTaylor S. Kendallon March 14, 2007

Format: HardcoverVerified 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.

1212 comments 147 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Customer Images

See all customer images

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Five Stars

A great read! Inspiring!!

Published 3 days ago by Silvija Avar

Loved this short little book of truth

Loved this short little book of truth. But then again, it was easy to love since I already agreed with all his principles. ;-)

Published 11 days ago by BeachDog

Thoughtful

Makes the case for the reasonableness of god or the place of religion in our society. I would highly recommend this book.

Published 17 days ago by Dave Bell

Five Stars

One of the best books I have read.

Published 27 days ago by Amazon Customer

Your Liberal Arts tax dollars at work!

This is a rather adolescent argument against religion in general and the Christian religion specifically.

Published 28 days ago by Richard S. Dixon Jr.

Logically Flawed, Over Generalization, and Mischaracterizations

Before I read this book I read some reviews and was surprised to see even some atheists give it a poor review. But after reading the book, I see why.

Published 1 month ago by Mike Z

Required reading

Everyone in America should read this book every 6 months. Every school should read it aloud to the entire student body on the first and last day of the school year.

Published 1 month ago by Lemon-aid

GOD isn't live?!

Wow. GOD isn't logical. Dude the entity that got this whole ball game started doesn't have to be! We have to play by his rules, but he doesn't have to play by those same rules.Read more

Published 1 month ago by Kindle Customer

One Star

More aptly named, Sam's Small Book of Unproven Assertion.

Published 1 month ago by Dave Odegard

The worst part of all of this

Every American should read this book. A frighteningly large portion of the U.S. population still places its "faith" in ancient texts which clearly were not written by...Read more

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: Letter to a Christian Nation

Set up a giveaway

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason Paperback

Sam Harris

1,294

$10.39
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion Paperback

Sam Harris

980

$10.71
The God Delusion Paperback

Richard Dawkins

3,296

$11.74
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything Paperback

Christopher Hitchens

2,079

$10.52

Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Interest-Based Ads

6pm Score deals on fashion brands	AbeBooks Rare Books & Textbooks	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Alexa Actionable Analytics for the Web	Amazon Business Everything For Your Business	AmazonFresh Groceries & More Right To Your Door

AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally	Home Services Handpicked Pros Happiness Guarantee	Amazon Inspire Free Digital Educational Resources	Amazon Video Direct Video Distribution Made Easy	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services	Audible Download Audio Books

BeautyBar.com Prestige Beauty Delivered	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Casa.com Kitchen, Storage & Everything Home	ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics	CreateSpace Indie Print Publishing Made Easy	Diapers.com Everything But The Baby

DPReview Digital Photography	East Dane Designer Men's Fashion	Fabric Sewing, Quilting & Knitting	Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	Junglee.com Shop Online in India

Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital Publishing Made Easy	Prime Now FREE 2-Hour Delivery on Everyday Items	Prime Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Soap.com Health, Beauty & Home Essentials	TenMarks.com Math Activities for Kids & Schools

Wag.com Everything For Your Pet	Warehouse Deals Open-Box Discounts	Whispercast Discover & Distribute Digital Content	Woot! Deals and Shenanigans	Yoyo.com A Happy Place To Shop For Toys	Zappos Shoes & Clothing

Buy New $10.84

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

or

or

Buy Used $7.99

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Letter to a Christian Nation Paperback – January 8, 2008

Frequently Bought Together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Sponsored Products Related To This Item (What's this?)

Product Details

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

Customer Images

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

Buy New

$10.84

Buy Used

$7.99