Quote of the day

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.

-Albert Einstein

Quote of the day

Faith is believing things by definition, which are not justified by reason. If it were justified by reason, it wouldn't be faith.

-Colin McGinn

Letter to a Christian Nation

I recently finished reading Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris. I have watched several lectures given by Sam Harris (on youtube and different websites) this past year and found him to be very bright and interesting to listen to.

This book was written in response to feedback he (Sam Harris) received following the publication of his first book The End of Faith (which I just started reading). The book is written in the form of an open letter to a Christian in the United States. Harris states that his aim is "to demolish the intellectual and moral pretensions of Christianity in its most committed forms."

This is a very easy and fast read. Most people could probably read it in less than 3 hours (even with some time for reflection). As a former Christian, I could relate as this book is written as a letter to a Christian. Knowing what I do of Christian faith, I could understand the view point of a Christian and also the points that Sam Harris brings up in this letter for consideration by this population. Really, this book was a shoulder shake for Christians and members of any religion. The message that I got from reading this is, "Wake up people! Before we destroy this wonderful nation we live in!" I want to give this book to every person that I know and care about. Watch out, you may get this for Christmas from me! ;) I love that he shares examples straight from the bible (with citation, so you can look it up yourself.) He is very clear as he follows his points with examples - which I thought was brilliant. I remember reading some of these stories from the Bible as a teenager and wondering, "What the hell was God thinking!!!" How was I to take the Bible as moral guidance when it was so obviously missing any or so outdated that is couldn't possibly relate to modern day? This book summarized many points that Richard Dawkins had brought up in The God Delusion and was a wonderful follow up book for me. This book was a great read and is worth owning. With this being such an easy and enlightening read, it would be sinful not to read it!

Quote of the Day

Gullibility and credulity are considered undesirable qualities in every department of human life - except religion...Why are we praised by godly men for surrendering our "godly gift" of reason when we cross their mental thresholds?
-Christopher Hitchens

Quote of the day

Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.
-Thomas Jefferson

The God Delusion

To start out this blog, I will mainly be posting reviews of books and websites that I have read and viewed that have shown that there are signs of intelligent life out there. To give you a little background about myself and those that will be posting to this blog. Just over a year ago my husband and I started fervently discussing our mixed feelings about organized religion. We had both been raised in good (sometimes debatable) families and had always been taught not to question our faith. Now don't take this wrong, our parents encouraged us to seek out that tingly feeling that tells a person that something is true or not and being like most people that fall to peer pressure, we probably testified at one time or another during the early years of our lives to having felt that little tingly feeling and claiming to know that our beliefs were unquestionably true. This is not something that I am very proud of as I see now that it lead to much bias and hypocrisy in my life. To continue my background, my husband and I decided to leave organized religion at that time and since then have sought out a broader understanding of religions effect on humanity and evidence behind all that we deem as truth.

A good friend of mine had already started this journey many years ago and suggested a book to help me start my search for truth and reason in this world. The book was called The God Delusion by British biologist Richard Dawkins.




In The God Delusion, Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and that belief in a personal god qualifies as a delusion, which he defines as a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. He is sympathetic to Robert Pirsig's observation in Lila that "when one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion." (Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. p. 406.)

This book is hard to get into at first as Dawkins spends much time in the first of the book presenting background and evidence as to why he believes that there is almost certainly no God. Much of this is filled with biological and scientific examples. The remainder of the book discusses the effects of belief in God on humanity (morality and religion). The first part is the hardest to read, but is necessary to fully understand and appreciate the argument. By the time I got to the end of this book, I never wanted it to end. Dawkins brings up many thought provoking arguments that every person should have the chance to reflect on at some point in their life. This book is a must read for anyone searching for an honest and reasonable view on religion.