American Gadfly

Commentary, Critique, and Insight on Contemporary America

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Comments on Letter to A Chrisitan Nation

Just finished reading Sam Harris' Letter to A Christian Nation. Overall a very good read. It's refereshing to hear a level-headed response to the ridiculous views espoused by the supernatural embracing masses of Christians and other religions.
I did have a few comments and critiques on this book, however. One is that Sam may have stepped over his bounds in arguing that any human cell carries the potential to become a human being. We are not at the stage of successful somatic cell transfer and human cloning that this would entail. Yes, for sheep, cats, dogs, and some other mammals, we can successfully turn a differentiated cell into a cloned embryo, but for humans, we're not there yet.
Second is the lack of commentary by Mr. Harris on the issue of the Israel-Palestinian conflict and the role that Christian fundamentalists in America have generated in siding unwaveringly with Israel based purely on their Biblical prophesies. The sad thing is that Israelis have embraced such support, even though the Christian fundies expect to see Jesus return and send all the Jewish Israelis to hell. Also, the root of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, in religion, with views of a God who acts as a real estate broker should be expounded further.
Overall, though, this is a great book for anyone who wants to take on the delusional hordes of Christian fundamentalism or even Christian moderation.

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