Addressing the faithful of the US in more familiar terms
by Sam Harris Alfred A. Knopf, 96 pages

Letter to a Christian Nation follows shortly after The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, and it should be considered a humanitarian-outreach appendix to that groundbreaking work.

Among fellow naturalistic humanists, I’ve seen a resurgence of “atheist and proud” assertiveness.  I find that refreshing for many of the same reasons Sam Harris uses to suggest that atheism is not a philosophy, rather a moral testimony to one’s loyalty to reality, life, and reason:

“…atheism, is a term that should not even exist.  No one ever needs to identify himself as a ‘non-astrologer’ or a ‘non-alchemist.’  We do not have words for people who doubt that Elvis is still alive or that aliens have traversed the galaxy only to molest ranchers and their cattle.” — pg. 51

Harris states atheists simply want those who assert God to provide some evidence.  Moreover, we’d like some indication the dude is friendly, “given the relentless destruction of innocent human beings we witness in the world each day.” Continue reading →