Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason

The Clash of Faith and Reason
This important and timely book delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in the modern world. The End of Faith provides a harrowing glimpse of mankind’s willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when these beliefs inspire the worst of human atrocities. Harris argues that in the presence of weapons of mass destruction, we can no longer expect to survive our religious differences indefinitely. Most controversially, he maintains that “moderation” in religion poses considerable dangers of its own: as the accommodation we have made to religious faith in our society now blinds us to the role that faith plays in perpetuating human conflict. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris draws on insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and Eastern mysticism in an attempt to provide a truly modern foundation for our ethics and our search for spiritual experience.

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris is a genuinely frightening book about terrorism, and the central role played by religion in justifying and rewarding it. Others blame “extremists” who “distort” the “true” message of religion. Harris goes to the root of the problem: religion itself. Even moderate religion is a menace, because it leads us to respect and “cherish the idea that certain fantastic propositions can be believed without evidence”. Why do men like Bin Laden commit their hideous cruelties? The answer is that they “actually believe what they say they believe”. Read Sam Harris and wake up.
—Richard Dawkins, The Guardian

“The End of Faith articulates the dangers and absurdities of organized religion so fiercely and so fearlessly that I felt relieved as I read it, vindicated, almost personally understood… Harris writes what a sizable number of us think, but few are willing to say in contemporary America… This in an important book, on a topic that, for all its inherent difficulty and divisiveness, should not be shielded from the crucible of human reason.”
—Natalie Angier, The New York Times Book Review (read the full review)

“Sam Harris launches a sustained nuclear assault… A bold and exhilarating thesis… The End of Faith is a brave, pugilistic attempt to demolish the walls that currently insulate religious people from criticism… The End of Faith is badly needed...”
—The Independent (U.K.) (read the full review)

“This book will strike a chord with anyone who has ever pondered the irrationality of religious faith… Even Mr. Harris’s critics will have to concede the force of an analysis which roams so far and wide, from the persecution of the Cathars to the composition of George Bush’s cabinet.”
—The Economist (read the full review)

“[Harris] writes with such verve and frequent insight that even skeptical readers will find it hard to put down.”
—The San Francisco Chronicle (read the full review)

“A radical attack on the most sacred of liberal precepts—the notion of tolerance… [The End of Faith] is an eminently sensible rallying cry for a more ruthless secularisation of society.”
—The Observer (U.K.) (read the full review)

“Harris’ tour de force demonstrates how faith—blind, deaf, dumb, and unreasoned—threatens our very existence. His exposé of faith-based unreason—from the religious fanaticism of Islamic suicide bombers to the secular fanaticism of Noam Chomsky—is a clarion call for reasoned debate in this age of terrorism. THE END OF FAITH shows how the perfect tyranny of religious and secular totalitarianism demonizes imperfect democracies such as the United States and Israel. A must read for all rational people.”

—Alan Dershowitz, professor of law at Harvard and author of America on Trial.
“Here is a ringing challenge to all Americans who recognize the danger to American democracy posed by the political alliance of right wing religion and politics and the failure of the tepid and tentative responses by liberal persons of faith. While one might dispute some of the claims and arguments presented by the author, the need for a wake up call to religious liberals is right on the mark.”

—Joseph C. Hough, Jr., President of Union Theological Seminary, New York
“At last we have a book that focuses on the common thread that links Islamic terrorism with the irrationality of all religious faith. THE END OF FAITH will challenge not only Muslims but Hindus, Jews and Christians as well.”

—Peter Singer, professor of philosophy at Princeton and author of The President of Good and Evil: The Ethics of George W. Bush.
—The Los Angeles Times (read the full review)
—The Chicago Tribune (read the full review)
—The Globe and Mail (read the full review)
—The New York Sun (read the full review)

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"The truth is far more powerful than any weapon of mass destruction." — Mahatma Gandhi

Science and Reason

The New England Skeptical Society, founded on January 1, 1996 as a non-profit organization, is dedicated to the promotion of science and reason, the investigation of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims, especially within New England, improved standards of education for science and critical thinking skills, and lobbying for rational law making.

We Are The Messengers Of Truth

Truth.

The following link is about Responsible Thinking.

People believing things that aren't true has been the cause of wars, persecutions, and other destructive consequences throughout history. Huge sums of money are spent to manipulate our beliefs for the sake of special interests. How big a problem is this? How can we avoid errors and manipulation? What can be done to improve society's concern about truth and responsible thinking?

http://www.truthpizza.org/index.htm


More to come.