433 Religions. It's all lies.
I'm reading my fourth Sam Harris book ... and I really cannot add much to the comments below, other than this little snippet from the book's conclusion:
"The fundamental problem with religion is that it is built upon lies. I refer to the ubiquitous failure of religious people to admit that the basic claims of their faith are profoundly suspect. Mommy claims to know that Granny went to heaven after she died ... but Mommy doesn't know this.The truth is, Mommy is lying ..."
Bearing in mind our current discussion about Islamic terrorism ... and after having read The End of Faith, it is only natural to subject the above quote to a broader application:
How different our world would be, if Muslims realised God is not great ... there are no virgins waiting for them in heaven if they kill infidels (and get killed in the process).
Oh boy, if only the people who need it most read this book.
From Knopf/Vintage:
In response to The End of Faith, Sam Harris received thousands of letters from Christians excoriating him for not believing in God. Letter to A Christian Nation is his reply. Using rational argument, he offers a measured refutation of the beliefs that form the core of fundamentalist Christianity. In the course of his argument, he addresses topics ranging from intelligent design and stem-cell research to the connections between religion and violence. In Letter to a Christian Nation, Sam Harris boldly challenges the influence faith has on public life in our nation. In his "Note to the Reader," he writes:
Forty-four percent of the American population is convinced that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead sometime in the next fifty years. According to the most common interpretation of biblical prophecy, Jesus will return only after things have gone horribly awry here on earth. It is, therefore, not an exaggeration to say that if the city of New York were suddenly replaced by a ball of fire, some significant percentage of the American population would see a silver lining in the subsequent mushroom cloud, as it would suggest to them that the best thing that is ever going to happen was about to happen—the return of Christ. It should be blindingly obvious that beliefs of this sort will do little to help us create a durable future for ourselves—socially, economically, environmentally, or geopolitically. Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government actually believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this, purely on the basis of religious dogma, should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.The book you are about to read is my response to this emergency...
Read the AFTERWORD to the Vintage Books Edition.
I dare you to read this book…it will not leave you unchanged. Read it if it is the last thing you do.
—Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion
From his Foreward to the UK Edition
It's a shame that not everyone in this country will read Sam Harris' marvelous little book. They won't, but they should.
—Leonard Susskind, Felix Bloch Professor in theoretical physics at Stanford University, author of The Cosmic Landscape
Sam Harris's elegant little book is most refreshing and a wonderful source of ammunition for those who, like me, hold to no religious doctrine. Yet I have some sympathy also with those who might be worried by his uncompromising stance. Read it and form your own view, but do not ignore its message.
—Sir Roger Penrose, emeritus professor of mathematics at Oxford, author of The Road to Reality.
If you believe in a religion, even the mildest form of Christianity, please read this book. It won't take you long, but it might change your mind.
—Matt Ridley, author of Genome and Nature via Nurture
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.
—Desmond Morris, author of Peoplewatching and The Nature of Happiness
Sam Harris fearlessly describes a moral and intellectual emergency precipitated by religious fantasies. It is a relief that someone has spoken so frankly, with such passion yet such rationality. Now when the subject arises, as it inevitably does, I can simply say: Read Sam Harris’ Letter to a Christian Nation.
—Janna Levin, professor of astronomy and physics at Columbia University, author of How the Universe Got Its Spots and A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines
Read this book and decide your stance for the future.
—Michael S. Gazzaniga, Director of the Sage Center for the Study of Mind, University of California, Santa Barbara, author of The Ethical Brain
I can’t sign my name to this blurb. As a New York Times best selling author of books about business, my career will evaporate if I endorse a book that challenges the deeply held superstitions and bigotry of the masses. That’s exactly why you should (no, you must) read this angry and honest book right away. As long as science and rational thought are under attack by the misguided yet pious majority, our nation is in jeopardy. I’m scared. You should be too. Please buy two, one for you and one for a friend you care about.
—Unsigned, New York Times best selling author