I haven’t read this book yet but I just added to my wishlist. I heard an interview with the author, Sam Harris, posted over at Skepticality and it was very good (although the audio quality sucks).
But what cracked me up was the description for this book at amazon.com:
“Thousands of people have written to tell me that I am wrong not to believe in God. The most hostile of these communications have come from Christians. This is ironic, as Christians generally imagine that no faith imparts the virtues of love and forgiveness more effectively than their own. The truth is that many who claim to be transformed by Christ’s love are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism. While we may want to ascribe this to human nature, it is clear that such hatred draws considerable support from the Bible. How do I know this? The most disturbed of my correspondents always cite chapter and verse.â€
This is scarily true. The more religious people are the more they despise the non-religious. Most of them act like they know nothing at all of the teachings of Christ. It’s a joke and those people deserve all the abuse they get. If you read the reviews and discussions at amazon you’ll see what I mean.
Now I do understand that people get offended when atheists act like we get it and you religious retards don’t. I can understand the desire to defend one’s point of view when, as it must seem to them, they are under attack. What I don’t understand is why the principles of love, compassion and tolerance seem to disappear from people even as they try to convince us of the “truth” in their faith.
So here’s my own little Letter to a Christian Nation:
Hey, Christians, you would be a hell of a lot more convincing about how true and wonderful your faith is if you didn’t turn into a bunch of evil, petty, intolerant asses every time we debate this stuff.
lolife 
How can you not equate Islam with terrorism? How is that possible? Just because Islam has become equated with terror it does not follow that all Muslims are terrorists, please.
I’m trying to not pigeonhole people or paint them with a broad brush. Please grant me the same consideration. To say that I think that all Muslims are a bunch of evil terrorists may be a convenient way to marginalize me but it certainly doesn’t represent my views at all. I’ve hired and worked with middle eastern, Islamic doods that I found to be awesome.
What I am saying is that there are certainly a broad array of Christian fucktards that scare the shit outta me, the problems within the Christian religion are not even remotely equivalent to what is happening all over the globe in with a pretty darn large chunk of Islam. I think we’ve got much more to fear from those assholes than the bible thumper down the street that just thinks your going to hell because you haven’t accepted Jesus. At least he’s not actively trying to put you there!
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1. Christians are a huge majority in this country and many of them are perfectly happy breaking down the walls of the separation of Church and State. We wouldn’t give a fuck about Christians except for that. They fight science and secularism and that’s the only reason we give them shit. (And a minority of them do that, too, I’ll admit.)
2. I think Islam is just as silly and Muslim extremists just as dumb. I think you mistake the Left’s concern for minorities for something else. I think a Letter to a Muslim Nation would be just as appropriate. However, we aren’t one! There are countries that need that book though.
3. The other thing the Left objects to, which confuses you, is equating someone else’s religion with terrorism. I don’t think, nor have I said, that Christians are a bunch of evil terrorists. You guys on the Right constantly say that about Muslims. It’s not true and I’m not comfortable, for political reasons, with us waging war on Muslims.
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Why save your disdain just for Christians? How about if I change one word of your post?
Hey, Muslims, you would be a hell of a lot more convincing about how true and wonderful your faith is if you didn’t turn into a bunch of evil, petty, intolerant asses every time we debate this stuff.
After all, it’s not only Christians who are overly religious and intolerant, correct?
Not here to defend Christians, I don’t consider myself one. Just wondering why when the left is critical of religion, it’s mostly Jews and Christians that are the recipients of their wrath.
Maybe the most hostile communications to this author come from the Christians in the form of hate mail or emails, but slicing the heads off of “infidels” and condemning people to death because they switch to a different religion or they disavow their Muslim faith, sends a pretty clear message of intolerance as well, don’t ya think?
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My favorite “let’s piss off the Religious right”?
Jesus was a democrat and the republicans killed him. works everytime. they’ll frickin burn down your house over that one.
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and the drummers never run out of sticks.
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have fun in hell. All the music is mono, and they don’t even heat up the lizards you have to eat.
mono, accordian, music and cold lizards in hell.
and only decaf. that is not quite hot enough. and flat warm miller lite. and only pc’s in hell.
oh, and bush will be there too.
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