[Jeff Higgins]

Nov. 13, 2006 issue - 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.

Harris chooses an arbitrary number well on the low end of what even the most serious adherants of the literal translation of the Bible would claim. They argue this number among themselves, in a range of 6,000-10,000 years plus or minus a few. These are in the vast minority; most Christians see this as the metaphor that it is. Harris chooses this absurd number for obviously self-serving reasons, I'm sure knowing most of us discount it entirely right along with him.

Those with the power to elect presidents and congressmen—and many who themselves get elected—believe that dinosaurs lived two by two upon Noah's Ark,...

I'm not sure I have ever met a Christian that believes, nor has ever mentioned, this. The Old Testament does mention a "leviathon" that many assume might have been some sort of dinasaur, but most of us believe the Bible does not even mention them. Certainly not as being on the ark. They are not an important part of God's message to us, so they were left out. As were the vast majority of creatures. Again, Harris probably knows this, but he chooses to take this baseless poke in his efforts to paint Christians as some kind of unreasonable dolts.

...that light from distant galaxies was created en route to the Earth and that the first members of our species were fashioned out of dirt and divine breath, in a garden with a talking snake, by the hand of an invisible God.

I'm not sure where he is going with that first statement. The second is true, and rivals only the "scientific" assertion that we were boiled up in a soupy cauldron. I guess either could work...


This is embarrassing. But add to this comedy of false certainties the fact that 44 percent of Americans are confident that Jesus will return to Earth sometime in the next 50 years, and you will glimpse the terrible liability of this sort of thinking.

Citations? The Bible clearly says that no one knows the hour of His return. He will come "as a thief in the night". I have been attending various churches all of my life and have yet to hear Harris's assertion. I guess it lumps us all in with the whackos on the street corners, though, furthing Harris's desired image of Christians.


Given the most common interpretation of Biblical prophecy, it is not an exaggeration to say that nearly half the American population is eagerly anticipating the end of the world. It should be clear that this faith-based nihilism provides its adherents with absolutely no incentive to build a sustainable civilization—economically, environmentally or geopolitically.

Now he is interjecting his own opinion and making no effort to seperate that from his claimed factual statements. He is attempting to state the views of a population in the worst possible light, again in an effort to reveal just how far "off" they are. I have simply never met a Christian that is "eagerly anticipating the end of the world". And certainly none that would ever just kick back waiting for it, with "absolutely no incentive to build a sustainable civilization—economically, environmentally or geopolitically". That is simply absurd. Christians have demonstratably worked harder than most groups in the furtherance of our civilization. Again, Harris is interjecting his opinion in the most antagonistic way possible, this time in an outright lie. I'm sure he knows better.

Some of these people are lunatics, of course, but they are not the lunatic fringe. We are talking about the explicit views of Christian ministers who have congregations numbering in the tens of thousands. These are some of the most influential, politically connected and well-funded people in our society.

Harris is attempting to connect his opinions and assertions about Christianity to Christian ministers; opinions and assertions that are either very skewed or outright fabrications. Many, I guess, will fall for his presentation of this as fact, because the athiest body already "knows" all of this anyway. Harris is simply "preaching to the choir" and therefore feels no need, nor is he asked, to back this up. And yes, there are politcally influential "ministers"; most Christians that I know see them as the mere tools they are. They seem to have more influence outside of Christianity (with men like Harris) than within.

It is, of course, taboo to criticize a person's religious beliefs. The problem, however, is that much of what people believe in the name of religion is intrinsically divisive, unreasonable and incompatible with genuine morality.

Harris fails to mention that the "genuine morality" is his own; apparently any morality outside of his is not "genuine". This is a strong accusation. There are many, many moral bases from which we operate. To insinuate that the Christian one is immoral, and his is moral, is every bit as pompous and divisive as those he accuses.

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.

"...and they will happily contribute to the surplus of human misery if it serves their religious beliefs." Yup, Christians just sit back and chuckle to themselves whenever they can make anyone else misserable. Give me a break. Does anyone really believe this? Again, Harris is merely trying to add fuel to his fire. Christians have done more real work to ease human suffering on this planet that probably any other demographic.

A case in point: embryonic-stem-cell research is one of the most promising developments in the last century of medicine. It could offer therapeutic breakthroughs for every human ailment (for the simple reason that stem cells can become any tissue in the human body), including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, severe burns, etc. In July, President George W. Bush used his first veto to deny federal funding to this research. He did this on the basis of his religious faith. Like millions of other Americans, President Bush believes that "human life starts at the moment of conception." Specifically, he believes that there is a soul in every 3-day-old human embryo, and the interests of one soul—the soul of a little girl with burns over 75 percent of her body, for instance—cannot trump the interests of another soul, even if that soul happens to live inside a petri dish. Here, as ever, religious dogmatism impedes genuine wisdom and compassion.

This is a very real issue, agreed. Harris's little one-paragraph sound byte doe it no justice whatsoever. While he uses it as a barb against Christians in this instance, the issues surrounding it go far beyond the faith-based. Again, I'm sure Harris must know that, but he cannot pass up the opportunity to parade out yet another athiest-held "truth" about Christians.