Letter to a Christian Nation in Atheists and Skeptics

Jun 10, 2011 Leon Aldrich rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2012-reads, non-fiction

The one book that belongs on everyone's reference shelf as a guide to never turn off your ability to reason and THINK about what we believe and why we should believe it. That we are connected by our humanity and yet easily divided by race, gender, age, orientation, culture, ethnicity, city, state, country and religion to name a few.

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Sep 23, 2009 D. Parker rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Well written polemic that introduces nothing new to the argument between religion and atheism but summarizes the arguments and counterarguments very well. Wielding the second person as an effective literary device, the book in its entirety addresses American Christian religious fundamentalists, or at least the concept thereof. Acknowleding that this stereotype of Christianity in America doesn't truly reflect the views of all people who call themselves religious, he maintains that evidence indica Well written polemic that introduces nothing new to the argument between religion and atheism but summarizes the arguments and counterarguments very well. Wielding the second person as an effective literary device, the book in its entirety addresses American Christian religious fundamentalists, or at least the concept thereof. Acknowleding that this stereotype of Christianity in America doesn't truly reflect the views of all people who call themselves religious, he maintains that evidence indicates that much of the nation claims such piety, even if it goes unpracticed, and that it is this phenomenon of religiosity that is the cause of much suffering and strife within our borders.

Recapitulating the arguments in favor of atheism and refuting religion, Harris goes on the attack, showing that the recent trends in religious fundamentalism clearly indicate that the battle for the future of humanity is already well underway. Because he is directly addressing the American Christian fundamentalist, he is able to effectively draw comparisons between Christianity as practiced in the West and Islam, both being religions based upon the unquestioning belief in an oppressive, petty and tyrannical deity who, by all literary accounts, does not Himself endorse moderation when it comes to dealing with outsiders and infidels. Harris uses the apparently extremist nature of the god of Abraham to further condemn the complicity of what he calls "moderate, liberal Christians" in a battle being waged by religious extremists. He ends on a dour note, echoing the thoughts of a great many atheists when he says that the likelihood of religion ceasing to exist and therefore ceasing to cripple the human species is very slim and that the consequences for this appear to be potentially very dire.

I'm sure that all of this sounds very disrespectful, but I must say that throughout the book, Harris retains a very respectful tone, simply refuting religious arguments and expressing his own opinion. At no point does he condemn the average Christian, fundamentalist or otherwise, as being somehow unworthy or less than human. He does not exalt his position, he simply pleads for it and asks that it be understood that people are suffering unnecessarily in order to propitiate a petty deity that cannot be proven to exist. However, he concedes throughout his work that the unreasonable nature of religious belief is, if anything, usually strengthened by circumstances and arguments that might and should reasonably subvert it. So in the end, Harris is left with little hope for the future of our species in the face of it all.

Included are more examples that substantiate his arguments than I can enumerate, but the afterword in this edition does explicitly call out Stephen J. Gould's concept of NOMA (Non-Overlapping Magesteria) and refutes it very directly. This is similar to the argument made by Richard Dawkins that so long as religion purports to tell us things about the physical universe, it does in deed overlap with science and this cannot be reckoned away with doublethink. It is for this reason that Harris, Dawkins and many others continue to wage this battle for reason, logic and those conclusions that may be drawn from evidence. ...more

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May 19, 2009 Tracy Black rated it really liked it

Letter to a Christian Nation was a fast, light read, and very enjoyable. There was nothing really new or insightful. Harris was "preaching to choir" for his atheist readers. It was the format that I enjoyed. The intention of the book was to arm secularists against the most common arguements and accusations of the right-wing Christians, so it was written as a letter to them. It was a refreshing perspective.

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