Letter to a Christian Nation

Letter to a Christian Nation

Author	Sam Harris
Language	English
Subject	Criticism of Christianity,Ethics
Publisher	Knopf(hardcover),Vintage(paperback)
Publication date	September 19, 2006 (hardcover), January 8, 2008 (paperback)
Publication place	United States
Media type	Hardcover,paperback
Pages	96 (hardcover), 144 (paperback)
ISBN	0-307-26577-3
OCLC	70158553
Dewey Decimal	277.3
LC Class	BR516. H255 2006
Preceded by	The End of Faith
Followed by	The Moral Landscape

Letter to a Christian Nationis a 2006 book bySam Harris,written in response to feedback he received following the publication of his first bookThe End of Faith.The book is written in the form of anopen letterto aChristianin the United States. Harris states that his aim is "to demolish the intellectual and moral pretensions of Christianity in its most committed forms." In October it entered theNew York TimesBest Seller listat number seven.

Synopsis

The underlying premise Harris takes is one ofutilitarianism.He states:

"Questions about Morality are questions about happiness and suffering."

Harris addresses his arguments to members of the conservativeChristian Rightin America. In answer to their appeal to the Bible on questions of morality, he points to selected items from theOld TestamentMosaic law,(death for adultery, homosexuality, disobedience to parents etc.), and contrasts this with, for example, the complete non-violence ofJainism.Harris argues that the reliance on religious dogma can create a false morality, which is divorced from the reality of human suffering and the efforts to alleviate it; thus religious objections stand in the way ofcondomuse inAfricato prevent the spread ofHIV and AIDS,embryonic stem cellresearch,comprehensive sex education,abortion,and the use of the newHPV vaccine.

We read theGolden Ruleand judge it to be a brilliant distillation of many of our ethical impulses. And then we come across another of God's teachings on morality: if a man discovers on his wedding night that his bride is not a virgin, he must stone her to death on her father's doorstep (Deuteronomy22:13-21).

Harris also addresses theproblem of evil—the difficulty in believing in a good God who allows disasters likeHurricane Katrina—and the conflict between religion and science. A 2005Gallup pollsuggested that 53% of Americans are sympathetic tocreationism,so Harris spends some time arguing forevolutionand against the notion ofIntelligent Design:

Despite a full century of scientific insights attesting to the antiquity of the earth, more than half of our neighbors believe that the entire cosmos was created six thousand years ago. This is, incidentally, about a thousand years after theSumeriansinvented glue.

Harris considers the variety of religions in the world, citing a religious basis for many ethnic and inter-communal conflicts. Contrary to those who advocate religious tolerance, mutual respect, and interfaith dialogue, Harris contends that such values only make it more difficult to criticize faith-basedextremism.While holding that spiritual experiences can be valuable and life-affirming—he expends considerable space inThe End of Faithin arguing that they are necessary—Harris rejects their link to religious beliefs. He argues that religion may have served some useful purpose for humanity in the past, but that it is now the greatest impediment to building a "global civilization."

Promotion

The book was released with laudatoryendorsementsfromRichard Dawkins,Leonard Susskind,Roger Penrose,Matt Ridley,Desmond Morris,Janna Levin,andMichael Gazzaniga.There was also an unsigned blurb attributed by the publisher to a "New York Timesbest selling author ", who wrote:" I can't sign my name to this blurb. As aNew York Timesbest 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. "

Reception

Commenting inThe New York Times Book Reviewduring the2008 U.S. presidential campaign,Steven PinkerchoseLetter to a Christian Nationas the one book that he would wantBarack Obamato read, saying: "Some have criticized the uncompromising tone of this atheist best seller, but it's mild stuff compared with the acid you guys have been flinging around. The book will put you in touch with the fastest-growing religious minority in this country, help you understand why our European allies consider us so backward and encourage you to keep your distance from kooks who call themselves spiritual leaders."

Reviewing the book inThe New York Observer,Emily Bobrow said: "His new book may be smug in spots, but Mr. Harris makes a good case for a new and intellectually honest conversation about morality and human suffering."

Reviewing the book in theSan Francisco Chronicle,Jean E. Barker wrote: "This combination of ruthless argument with polemic designed to provoke... will further delight Harris' supporters and infuriate his critics. His glee in his own intelligence aside, Harris is stricken by the amount of preventable suffering in the world and has identified ending religion as the cure... This small book adds little new to Harris' argument in" The End of Faith "—indeed, he repeats a number of his examples. Its strengths are the clarity of Harris' writing, his critique of religion's current entanglement in public policy and his continuing willingness to speak up about some very controversial ideas, even if they're difficult for others to hear."

The Washington Postreported in 2006 thatLetterstimulated both strong positive and strong negative reactions, attracting both a large audience and strong counter-reactions from religious scholars. ThePostsaid the book "doesn't drill many new theological wells," but that Harris "might be the first man to be anointed 'Hot Atheist' in Rolling Stone magazine."

Jamie Doward ofThe Observersaid Harris "wastes no time taking on his enemy –Christian fundamentalismof the sort that influences PresidentGeorge W. Bush."

Writing in an editorial inThe Seattle Times,Intelligent DesignproponentDavid Klinghoffersaid thatLetter to a Christian NationandRichard Dawkins'sThe God Delusionwere the top two bestselling religious books. However, he went on to say that "... Dawkins and Harris seem unfamiliar with religious tradition as biblical monotheists know it from personal experience and deep study. Frankly, the success of the new atheist faith would be hard to imagine without today's soaring levels of societal religious illiteracy."

Writing inThe Observer,Stephanie Merritt described Harris as providing "concise anti-religious apologetics," but said that "[h]e does not seem to comprehend the mindset of those he addresses."

InThe New York Times,Peter Steinfels wrote that Harris'sLetterand Dawkins'sThe God Delusionwere receiving criticism "not primarily, it should be pointed out, from the pious, which would hardly be noteworthy, but from avowed atheists as well as scientists and philosophers writing in publications like The New Republic andThe New York Review of Books,not known as cells in the vast God-fearing conspiracy. "

Michael Novak,a Catholic philosopher, wrote in the conservativeNational Reviewthat "[t]he letter that Harris claims is intended for a Christian nation is in fact wholly uninterested in Christianity on any level, is hugely ignorant, and essentially represents his own love letter to himself, on account of his being superior to the stupid citizens among whom he lives."

The New CriteriondescribedLetteras condescending, saying "Harris is too choked on bile, or at best incredulity ('we stand dumbstruck byyou,' he says, italics and all) to admit that his addressees are worth speaking with. This is in part because his chosen antagonist is 'Christianity at its most divisive, injurious, and retrograde' even though it's questionable whether anything was ever accomplished by attacking a system at its most 'retrograde.' "

Publishers WeeklycharacterizedLetteras "sometimes simplistic and misguided." The review elaborates that "Harris overstates his case by misunderstanding religious faith, as when he makes the audaciously naïve statement that 'mysticism is a rational enterprise; religion is not.'"

Responding books

The following books have been written in response toLetter to a Christian Nation:

• Aikman, David(April 2008).The Delusion of Disbelief: Why the New Atheism is a Threat to Your Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness.Tyndale House.ISBN978-1-4143-1708-3.
• Leahy, Michael Patrick.Letter to an Atheist
• McDurmon, Joel.The Return of the Village Atheist,ISBN978-0915815784
• Metcalf, R.C..Letter to a Christian Nation: Counter Point,ISBN978-0-595-43264-6
• Wilson, Douglas.Letter from a Christian Citizen
• Zacharias, Ravi.The End of Reason

References

• Harris, Sam(2006).Letter to a Christian Nation.Random House.p.112.ISBN978-0-307-26577-7.

External links

• Official website
• Author's web page about the bookArchived2010-12-29 at theWayback Machine