Letter to a Christian Nation (Vintage)

Pure comedy. I found alot of the arguments in this book weak, misguided and showed the author's lack of knowledge in regards to theology and history. The Spanish Inquisition although it did have a religious component, had less to do with religious zealotry and more to do with removing all traces of division amongst the population and trying to unite them under one front. Something which has...more

Pure comedy. I found alot of the arguments in this book weak, misguided and showed the author's lack of knowledge in regards to theology and history. The Spanish Inquisition although it did have a religious component, had less to do with religious zealotry and more to do with removing all traces of division amongst the population and trying to unite them under one front. Something which has never been accomplished. Are the Basque blowing up Madrid because they hate Catholics? Did Franco try to stamp out Galician because they were not Catholic enough? Are Catalonian nationalists anti Catholic?....Quite a few conflicts on this planet have nowt to do with religion but religion has become the number one excuse for the politicaly lazy. Since when did Palestine become a religious issue? That isnt a squable about religious ideology, its a fight for land between an indigenous population and one that is not. Zionism is actually AGAINST the teachings of Judaism.....I could rant about this book for the next hour. I much prefer reading the work of someone like Ann Moura (who has a bachelor/Masters in history) defute organised religion, than any of the new atheists.   hide

For me, it was a well written, clear and convincing argument to seriously rethink the tenets of my Christian faith. There were many great examples of why religion is not tanable; faith, is something completely different. For a person that blames Christians of intolerance Mr. Harris seems to be very angry and intolerant towards people of faith. I acknowledge the presence of something, or someone...more

For me, it was a well written, clear and convincing argument to seriously rethink the tenets of my Christian faith. There were many great examples of why religion is not tanable; faith, is something completely different. For a person that blames Christians of intolerance Mr. Harris seems to be very angry and intolerant towards people of faith. I acknowledge the presence of something, or someone far greater than my transient existence and I really don't think that this belief leads to prejudice or genocide? Does it???!!! Furthermore, I must thank the author as he made me realize how lucky I am to know that God is there and that I am his child.   hide

Harris is a very intelligent, gifted young man . Of that I have no doubt. I don't believe he understands that his tone betrays his real attitudes. His justifications for a wide battle against Islam at all levels, not just the fanatics, is deplorable. Worse, his justifications for the use of torture incite the worst kind of immorality that our nation is trying to get past. Whereas Dawkins...more

Harris is a very intelligent, gifted young man . Of that I have no doubt. I don't believe he understands that his tone betrays his real attitudes. His justifications for a wide battle against Islam at all levels, not just the fanatics, is deplorable. Worse, his justifications for the use of torture incite the worst kind of immorality that our nation is trying to get past. Whereas Dawkins is the friendly British professor and man of letters who will gladly engage those he disagrees, Harris takes a condescending view of America's and the world's religious. I think he helps the Xtian fundamentalists and intolerants more than he does harm.   hide

Cuts through Christianity and religion like a knife. Every person claiming to be religious should take the time to read it, from fundamentalist to moderate--maybe especially the moderate! Who should see the pointlessness and foolishness and lack of reason and everything else being participated in. It really seems as though these ideas (Harris', Hitchens', etc.) are ideas and information as...more

Cuts through Christianity and religion like a knife. Every person claiming to be religious should take the time to read it, from fundamentalist to moderate--maybe especially the moderate! Who should see the pointlessness and foolishness and lack of reason and everything else being participated in. It really seems as though these ideas (Harris', Hitchens', etc.) are ideas and information as crucial as telling a kid "there is no real Santa Claus," except nobody told the adults.   hide

A rational axe murder of the illogic of religion and a merciless expose of how religion makes the world a more ugly, cruel and brutal place. At times Harris's picture of what the average Christian is like seems to lean a little towards the fundamental side of things but of course he is an American and sadly, by all reports, he is pretty accurate with his account of the Medieval beliefs of...more

A rational axe murder of the illogic of religion and a merciless expose of how religion makes the world a more ugly, cruel and brutal place. At times Harris's picture of what the average Christian is like seems to lean a little towards the fundamental side of things but of course he is an American and sadly, by all reports, he is pretty accurate with his account of the Medieval beliefs of American Christians. The tone is a little hectoring and irritating at times and his outrage rings a little false to me but that may just be a style thing. But still I wonder who his ideal reader is. I imagine that right thinking atheistic people in the U.S. will give it a hearty, "Right on!" but the tone will not have those from the bible belt getting past page 2. For this reason there seems to be an element of grandstanding and preaching to the choir. At the end of the day however, it is a necessary and brave book that tries to shove a finger in a leaky dyke and stem the biblical flood of stupidity that threatens to overwhelm us all and if it helps to de-program just a few hapless 'souls' then it will have been a more than worthwhile exercise.   hide

This book breaks down all of the logical errors with religion in very simply language. It looks at why a complete overhaul in the way we look at the world is preferable to religious tolerance and if anyone can read this book and not come away less religious or at least with a desire to start questioning their religion, then they should lose their right to vote as their obviously delusional!

Jeff has reviewed the book Letter to a Christian Nation (Vintage). This book points at a lot of the bloody murder "ordered" or inspired by God in the Bible and subsequent to its being penned by God. The God of the Bible makes Charles Manson and Adolph Hitler look like Mormon missionaries. Manson ordered the killing of a few people, Hitler, maybe millions of people of a few out...more

Jeff has reviewed the book Letter to a Christian Nation (Vintage). This book points at a lot of the bloody murder "ordered" or inspired by God in the Bible and subsequent to its being penned by God. The God of the Bible makes Charles Manson and Adolph Hitler look like Mormon missionaries. Manson ordered the killing of a few people, Hitler, maybe millions of people of a few out groups, but "God" ordered the destruction of all out groups, i.e., everyone that didn't worship the Hebrew God, and even those who did. This is despite the fact that God's means of atonement--blood sacrifice--was in no way distinct from pagan religions of the time. This stems from a primitive understanding of how nature works--appeasing the pagan gods of (whatever's going wrong). This book is concisely written so it cannot possibly cover all of the God-inspired bloody murder in the Bible, much less all that has followed.   hide

Succinct essay on how the abandonment of religion could uplift the human race and how the existence of it hinders our advancement. The arguments are tight. In reality the audience for this book will never read it. Even if they do, the blind rationalizaiton of their faith will dismiss the facts. I'm wondering if we are all just playing our part in intellectual evolution. In (very)...more

Succinct essay on how the abandonment of religion could uplift the human race and how the existence of it hinders our advancement. The arguments are tight. In reality the audience for this book will never read it. Even if they do, the blind rationalizaiton of their faith will dismiss the facts. I'm wondering if we are all just playing our part in intellectual evolution. In (very) simple terms, there are those who want us to evolve and there are those who want us to regress. It just might be possible that the conservatives serve as a speed bump so change can happen over many generations. Of course, if the End-Timers get their way it's game over for all of us, therefore all thinking is a moot point.   hide

A succinct, straightforward read...and difficult to argue with...for me. It was the type of book that I just found myself nodding in agreement most of the way through; but then I began questioning the beliefs I was raised on many moons ago. However, I think the arguments should have been better supported - assuming the author expects to actually have Christians re-examine their beliefs, he should...more

A succinct, straightforward read...and difficult to argue with...for me. It was the type of book that I just found myself nodding in agreement most of the way through; but then I began questioning the beliefs I was raised on many moons ago. However, I think the arguments should have been better supported - assuming the author expects to actually have Christians re-examine their beliefs, he should have more detailed and perhaps more original arguments. His rationale about the morality of atheists and the twisted logic of protecting life were the most fascinating (i.e. dedicating your life feverishly into the pro-life movement and yet never bothering with saving millions from genocide and famine). But again...nothing new for me.   hide