Product Description

'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", Sam Harris' hard-hitting rebuttal of religious fundamentalism and blind belief. With deceptively simple arguments, he demolishes the myths on which Christianity was built, challenges believers to open their eyes to the contradictions of their faith and warns us of the dangers of America's ever increasing unification of Church and State.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3974 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-12
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

Richard Dawkins
I dare you to read this book ... it will not leave you unchanged. Read it
if it is the last thing you do.

Roger Pemrose
Sam Harris's elegant little book is the most refreshing and
wonderful source of ammunition for those who, like me, hold to no religious
doctrine

Desmond Morris
Sam Harris is a brave, intelligent, clear-sighted author whose brilliant
essay should be read by every adult who has ever believed that a religious
faith can solve the world's problems.

Customer Reviews

A Tribute to Christian Hate Mail
Here, Harris responds to the thousands of mostly indignant letters he got for writing "The End of Faith". We might assume he is attacking a stereotype of Christianity, as a fanatically intolerant relic of the Dark Ages. But it seems these Christian letter writers really did convince him, quoting chapter and verse, that their religion stands for bigotry.

To me, Harris's letter sounds roughly like an argument between two Americans, one a critical thinker, and the other some kind of super-patriot who actually insists that everything said or done in American history has been God's will, because America is God's country. That would roughly compare to claims of inerrancy for the Bible's vast record of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations.

Harris makes reasonable arguments against the delusions of thinking we speak for God. We would all applaud his efforts if he was a Saudi Arabian or Iranian doing likewise against Islamic fanaticism. Harris knows this, and uses our current fear of Islamists to discredit similarly fanatical Christians. But most Christians and Muslims both will feel he depicts their religions as believed by their stupidest members.

--author of "Different Visions of Love"

A fantastic critique of a big problem for mankind....RELIGION
A book that did not leave me unchanged....my only concern is that Mr Harris may be the antichrist

Concise and well put Christian Polemic.
This book is really suited to someone who wants to get the key arguments against Christianity without having to spend a long time reading something like 'The God Delusion' or 'The End of Faith'. It's very short and could be read in a day or even in a single reading.

Most head-in-the-sand Christians won't read anything that would challenge their faith but I would hope that a simple, short book like this would make that simple task more feasable. By reading this book, a Christians would certainly have some questions and be forced into a bit of thinking. But if their faith is genuine, honest and real why fear this?
Surely they'd come out the other side with a deeper, stronger faith.

I'd certainly applaud Harris for going out of his way for making it as easy as possible for a Christian to challenge their beliefs - a crucial part of any objective thinking.

Harris makes some excellent points. Among them:

1. Four of the most revered Theologians Augustine, Aquainus, Calvin and Luther were mad men who advocated torture and all sorts of hardship.
Does this mean that the Joe average Christian, who one would assume would abhor such perniciousness, can understand scripture better than the most influential thinkers in the history of Christianity?

2. Objections to stem cell research from hardline Christians is preventing research into the most promising science that offers hope to so many cruel and life debilitating ailments.

3. The problem of evil - how could a loving God preside over such a cruel world. Theodicy cannot answer this.

4. The number of world conflicts emanating from regions with disparate religious groups:
- Palestine (Jews V Muslims)
- Balkans (Orthodox Serbians V Catholic Croatians V Bosian Muslims)
- Northern Ireland (Protestants V Catholics)
- Kashmir (Muslim V Hindus)
- Sudan (Muslims V Christians and animists)
- Nigeria (Muslims V Christians)
- Ethiopia (Muslims V Christians)
- Ivory Coast (Muslims V Christians)
- Sri Lanka (Sinhalese Buddhists V Tamil Hindus)
- Philippines (Muslims V Christians)
- Iran and Iraq (Shiite V Sunni Muslims)
- Caucasus (Orthodox Russians V Chechen Muslins, Muslims Azerbaijanis V Catholic and Orthodix Armenians).

It can't all be a coincidence. Surely there's something dangerous about religion that any rational person should be able to observe.

Is the Bible a fail safe guide to morality? It certainly has some extremely disturbing passages such as stoning your bride to death if she is not a virgin.

Is Christianity the number one religion for love and compassion? Even a cursory examination of Jainism would show that not to be the case.

But why are so many Christians adamant they have the moral highground, the truth and pretty much everything you need unless you are one of them?

It really is a great little book.