My first non religious view on religion.
I'm reading this book called The End of Faith. It's basically about how faith brushes up against the logic / reason of the 21st century and argues that religion is nothing more than outdated myth. In a somewhat more dramatic tone it describes how continuing to hold steadfast onto religious beliefs (fundamentalists) will eventually cause the collapse of humanity - or at least a whole lot of death.
I'd say give it a read for anyone who has questions about religion or wants a good challenge to their belief system. Just because you have compassion, love, and morals doesnt mean you have to be christian.
Harris isn't completely against faith though - but I haven't gotten to that part yet.
Some of my favorite quotes so far:
"Many religious moderates have taken the apparent high road of pluralism, asserting the equal validity of all faiths, but in doing so they neglect to notice the irredeemably sectarian truth claims of each. As long as a Christian believes that only his baptized brethren will be saved on the Day of Judgment, he cannot possibly "respect" the beliefs of others..."
"The idea that any one of our relidions represents the infallible word of the One True God requires an encyclopedic ignorance of history, mythology, and art even to be entertained."
"The only reason anyone is "moderate" in matters of faith these days is that he has assimilated some of the fruits of the last two thousand years of human thought"
"Tell a devout Christian that his wife is cheating on him, or that frozen yogurt can make a man invisible, and he is likely to require as much evidence as anyone else, and to be persuaded only to the extent that you give it. Tell him that the book he keeps by his bed was written by an invisible deity who will punish him with fire for eternity if he fails to accept its every incredible claim about the univers, and he seems to require no evidence whatsoever."
"Religious moderation springs from the fact that even the least educated person among us simply knows more about certain matters than anyone did two thousand years ago-and much of this knowledge is incompatible with scripture."
I'd say give it a read for anyone who has questions about religion or wants a good challenge to their belief system. Just because you have compassion, love, and morals doesnt mean you have to be christian.
Harris isn't completely against faith though - but I haven't gotten to that part yet.
Some of my favorite quotes so far:
"Many religious moderates have taken the apparent high road of pluralism, asserting the equal validity of all faiths, but in doing so they neglect to notice the irredeemably sectarian truth claims of each. As long as a Christian believes that only his baptized brethren will be saved on the Day of Judgment, he cannot possibly "respect" the beliefs of others..."
"The idea that any one of our relidions represents the infallible word of the One True God requires an encyclopedic ignorance of history, mythology, and art even to be entertained."
"The only reason anyone is "moderate" in matters of faith these days is that he has assimilated some of the fruits of the last two thousand years of human thought"
"Tell a devout Christian that his wife is cheating on him, or that frozen yogurt can make a man invisible, and he is likely to require as much evidence as anyone else, and to be persuaded only to the extent that you give it. Tell him that the book he keeps by his bed was written by an invisible deity who will punish him with fire for eternity if he fails to accept its every incredible claim about the univers, and he seems to require no evidence whatsoever."
"Religious moderation springs from the fact that even the least educated person among us simply knows more about certain matters than anyone did two thousand years ago-and much of this knowledge is incompatible with scripture."