I have heard a lot about this book and I can't wait to read it.

I hesitated to buy this book because I feared it was a case of someone preaching to the converted, so to speak. After reading it, I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with much of what Sam Harris says, yet seeing absolutely no chance that his book will make even the slightest difference. It is difficult to imagine a deeply religious person reading this book, let alone experiencing an epiphany because of it.

Still, I agree with Harris that the world would be a better place if human beings practiced love and compassion because it leads to greater happiness and less suffering, instead of following the dictates of various religions based on ancient texts. Our understanding of the world and our place in it has come so far, it baffles me, as it does Harris, that so many people can continue to use this received knowledge as the basis for belief.

Harris takes it a step further, arguing that tolerance of religion, especially of religions that impose cruelty and suffering on the world, is no longer acceptable. We risk losing freedoms to the irrationally based belief systems of others if we fail to teach our children reason instead of faith. But how likely is this approach to have any sort of impact? The vast majority of people in the U.S. are religious to some degree. An atheist could never get elected president (probably not an agnostic either, I'm assuming). The chance of the U.S. experiencing a mass conversion away from religion is about the same as everyone voluntarily handing in their firearms.

It probably doesn't help that towards the end, Harris digresses into elaborate arguments about consciousness and meditation that probably don't add anything to the persuasive power of the text. His sometimes contradictory arguments about the ethics of "collateral damage" and torture also demonstrate how untethered and free-ranging any sort of ethics based on reason alone might ultimately be; not a comforting thought for those who prefer the rules to be clearly stated and divinely inspired. This might have been a more effective book if it had been shorter--maybe a pamphlet a la Thomas Paine's Common Sense. [LATER: Just realized that Harris may have done this in his newer book, Letter to a Christian Nation. I guess I need to read that one, too.]

Still, although my initial reaction to reading this book was resignation that nothing will ever change, it appears that Harris is not alone in his willingness to voice his opinion on this subject; Christopher Hitchens just came out with a book subtitled "why religion poisons everything."

I would be very interested in hearing what others have to think about this book, so I'm sending it out as a bookray. Here's the list of participants:

kitiarablue (New Jersey, USA)
LadyBookwyrm (Texas, USA)
LyekkaMarengo (Pennsylvania, USA)
pennywhistler (UK)
LeishaCamden (Norway)
VeganMedusa (NZ)

This arrived today, and the very first page hooked me. I'm only 17 pages into the first chapter, and I'm already thinking "but what if?" and especially "hmmmm...." I can't wait to see what ideas the rest of the book will have me entertaining!

RELEASE NOTES:

Unfortunately, after the first couple of chapters I just couldn't read anymore. It started to feel like one unending composition stating the same thing over and over. As interesting as the topic is, and I do agree in theory, this book didn't seem to offer any ways to bring about the change it so states is so needed. It was almost as fanatical (to me) in it's anti-religious standpoints as the religions it condemns. Christians have killed Muslims, Muslims kill Christians, Christians kill Jews, I understand it needs to end, but I found myself thinking, "is he suggesting we should form our own jihad???" Maybe I just picked this up at a bad point in my life, but it seemed the only solution intimated in this book was that we need to do away with all religious people. Easier said than done.
Sent off to LadyBookwyrm this morning.

Received the book in yesterday's mail. Thanks!

After several days of nagging, Hubby finally got this put in the mail yesterday to LyekkaMarengo, so it's on its way!

I found Harris's arguments persuasive, for the most part, but I fear that there is no hope of changing the hatred-filled religious right of the three major faith-based religions' followers.

Arrived yesterday. Looking forward to reading it. Half way through "The Johnstown Flood" and then I'll start this one.

I am about half-way through this book and contacted the next person - pennywhistler for her address. She has since bought a copy of this book and asked to be skipped. Will try LeishaCamden today.

I've had this way longer than I thought I did but I did enjoy his arguments. Like others I am rather afraid that he is "preaching to the choir" so to speak in that I doubt many fundamentalist would choose to read this book. And I also doubt they could remove themselves from religion long enough to give his ideas a listen. One notable quote: "Our situation is this: most of the people in this world believe that the creator of the universe has written a book. We have the misfortune of having many such books on hand, each making an exclusive claim as to its infallibility." Phrased that way one wonders how most of the world still seems to believe in a creation myth instead of the much more lyrical best guess that cosmologist give us. The problem being that most persons that believe one or another religious myth would never say that they are not rational. And yet can not explain why they believe it is that their particular book or view has to be the right one. I too am a proponent of acting responsibly just because it makes the world a better place, not because some ancient, highly suspect text says I will get a reward when I die.

Passing this on to LeishaCamden in Norway as soon as I get to the Post Office, probably tomorrow.

Mailed today to LeishaCamden in Norway.

This arrived in the mail from Pennsylvania today. Thanks, LyekkaMarengo! I'm looking forward to reading this book, but (surprise surprise) I have a couple of other rings and rays ahead of it on the list, so it may take me a little while. Good thing the Christmas holiday's coming up. :-)

Interesting comments from everyone else here - it reminded me of a bit my favorite comedian, Jonas Gardell, did in one of his shows once, about how all religions have some kind of concept of the end of the world, and these all differ from each other. Yet the world can only end once. 'What if, at the end of everything, it turns out that one little tribe of eskimos was right the whole time, and God really is a polar bear. Imagine how surprised all the others will be ... !!' ;-)

Thanks for sharing, Genevalove!! I'll journal again when I've read the book.

Well, I've read this book now, January 1st through 20th. (The book has been to Sweden with me, when I went there on the 19th to attend a BC meetup in Gothenburg. :-) I'm sorry to have taken so long with this ... I've been thinking a lot about the book since I read it and trying to decide what to write.

Of course most of what I wanted to say has mostly already been said by the other readers. :-) I agree very much with, let's see ... Genevalove, in that the book is absolutely 'preaching to the choir'. It's a very well written book, but I can't see it making one damn bit of difference. Unfortunately. Partly because those who really need to read it won't, and partly because if they did, Harris comes off as too extreme to change most people's minds. I think he's more likely to alienate his potential converts instead.

I also agree that the book would have been better if it was shorter. The last part of the book got away from him a bit, I felt. I thought his argumentation fell apart, to some extent, in this last section. I had trouble following his arguments, they didn't always quite make sense.

I am on a bookray for 'Letter to a Christian Nation'; it'll be interesting to compare the two.

I agree with kitiarablue that the book gets kind of repetitive (again, the last part) and that Harris does get too extreme. Especially in what he writes about Islam. Now, I am not a fan of Islam by any stretch of the imagination. On the contrary, I think it's by far and away the worst religion I've ever heard of. But Harris generalizes to a point where his arguments become too tenuous to be credible. At least in my eyes. After all, we are all human. And I just canNOT make myself believe - using my vaunted reason, yes - that every single Muslim person lives & breathes to propagate Islam by whatever means necessary. I can't help but think that they, like us atheists or secular Christians or whatever, live everyday lives, and care about their kids' homework and their mortgages and their olive groves and their cars and their stupid bosses and just ... the things that people care about. The picture Harris paints gets too black and white for me to believe in it. I can't really believe that the Muslims I know personally are actually plotting the overthrow of Christianity in Norway. Yes, there are extremists, and they are extremely dangerous. But how can every single Muslim be in that camp - aren't people different whatever stupid religion they believe in??

His little story of the suicide bomber, which opens the book, I also don't buy. He claims that there is NO possible scenario in which anyone would committ a suicide bombing unless it was directly because they were religious. Bullshit. Here's the non-religious scenario: Someone, say a Palestinian, a young man, is in a situation where he sees literally NO hope for anything good to ever become of his life. He has no education and no way of getting an education. He has no job and no way of ever getting a job. He lives in a refugee camp, he is the third generation who has been born in the camp. He sees no chance of ever getting out of the camp. His father is dead. He is the one responsible for providing for his mother and younger sisters, but he has no money and no way of earning any money. Food is scarce in any case. All kinds of necessary medicines are very difficult to find; maybe a family member has some kind of illness that needs treatment they can't get. He has no idea when or even if he'll ever be able to marry, because he can't possibly afford to support a wife and children. There is nothing to do with all the free time he has. Literally no leisure time activites available beyond kicking a semi-deflated football around a dusty road. The young man is desperate, he wants to die. Why not kill himself if this is all life has to offer?? He may well be clinically depressed. (If so, there's no treatment available.) But when he shares his thoughts with his spiritual advisor, the imam of his congregation, the older man says oh no, he mustn't think of such things, if he kills himself he'll go straight to hell and burn forever, he'll never see his father and other family members again, etc. So that door's closed. And he has to see his mother and sisters go hungry and without medical care. Then someone convinces him that they have the solution to his problem - if he's willing to undertake this mission for them, they'll take care of his family, they'll give them food, money, they'll see to it that his sister sees a doctor. And forget what the imam said, it won't be suicide, he'll die in war so he won't go to hell. It's the perfect solution.

There's your scenario, Mr Harris.

I do believe, absolutely, that religion has got to go in order to ever create anything resembling peace in this world. (And that's why we'll never see world peace.) Reason is the only means of progress, and religion is the antithesis of reason. But Harris' attempt here is too extreme. For me as an atheist and antitheist his arguments are extremely persuasive. Because I already agree with them. The book was well worth reading because it's very well written and it's given me some really good talking points to bring up in debates. But I can't see it ever convincing anyone from 'the other camp' - it's too extreme. Harris goes for the jugular and it's just too obvious ... this book does not open for debate. No truly religious person would ever be 'converted' by this book. Unfortunately.

Thank you so much for the chance to read this, Genevalove!!!

I already have VeganMedusa's address, but I'll double check just in case before I mail the book.

RELEASE NOTES:

The book's on its way to VeganMedusa in New Zealand. Amazing to think how far it will travel. I wish it was me!! :-) Thanks again to everyone and happy reading to VeganMedusa!

Thanks Leisha Camden, Genevalove and everyone in between. :)
Looking forward to reading this.

I'm definitely going to hell, after this, Letter to a Christian Nation, God is not Great and The God Delusion! ;)
I agree that it's preaching to the choir and religious people probably aren't going to read this. But at least in the last chapter (about consciousness) he had some helpful thoughts - personally I've never understood meditation and haven't been able to do it, but he explains it in a way that completely makes sense and makes me want to investigate 'mysticism' more. And it really makes religion sound ridiculous when you compare the Big Three against the Eastern philosophies.
And if only children's questions would be answered truthfully ...
But, yeah, the world is doomed. It's only a matter of time before we all get blown up.
This book is going to stellarv in Brazil next, once I read the other book I'm sending her.

Posted economy to stellarv today.

It's here, safe and sound! :-)