Letter to a Christian Nation

Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris


My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It is somewhat unfortunate that the title of this book is a misnomer. The United States is not a "Christian Nation" despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of its citizens are in fact Christian. The United States is a secular republic, the worlds first, and it is an important fact to bear in mind.

That said, this is the most concise of the major recent works dubbed the "New Atheism", and it is highly potent. If you are unfamiliar with the views held in common by many atheists you would do well to read this short work. Sam Harris is a very precise author and he pulls no punches in a frontal assault on the beliefs of mainstream Christianity. What makes Harris an exciting and important author, is his central belief that religion represents the greatest threat to civilization, as it is based upon faith instead of the principle ethic of the enlightenment: reason.

This is a very good read, and Harris makes many arguments against Christianity that I find to be (although certainly not original) nearly impossible if not impossible to refute. This is a solid atheist tract, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in faith in general.

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