Below, you will find two great quotes from Sam Harris in Newsweek in an article called “A Case Against Faith”.
Sam Harris is the author of “The End of Faith” and “Letter to a Christian Nation”.
On the age of the universe:
Despite a full century of scientific insights attesting to the antiquity of life and the greater antiquity of the Earth, more than half the American population believes that the entire cosmos was created 6,000 years ago. This is, incidentally, about a thousand years after the Sumerians invented glue.
And a great point about religious ‘morality’:
(…) much of what people believe in the name of religion is intrinsically divisive, unreasonable and incompatible with genuine morality. One of the worst things about religion is that it tends to separate questions of right and wrong from the living reality of human and animal suffering. Consequently, religious people will devote immense energy to so-called moral problems—such as gay marriage—where no real suffering is at issue, and they will happily contribute to the surplus of human misery if it serves their religious beliefs.
Read it all here.
The commment about glue is funny.
ReplyDeleteHe's right that religion gets hung up on many things that aren't harmful and justifies some that are, but I don't think there is such a thing as "genuine morality." I agree with him that we should try to minimize harm, but that is the moral standard I chose. Its not "genuine" in an pbjective sense, just practical.
Regarding the Sumerians and the Bible: http://www.theonion.com/content/news/sumerians_look_on_in_confusion_as
ReplyDeleteJohan: Yes, I also had to think about that one ;)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait till Feb. when Ted.com will post his talk at the TED2010 conference.
ReplyDeleteReally? Pls post about it when it's out!
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