waiting for christ
Sam Harris, in his book, Letter to a Christian Nation, writes:
It is, therefore, not an exaggeration to say that if the city of New York were suddenly replaced by a ball of fire, some significant percentage of the American population would see a silver-lining in the subsequent mushroom cloud, as it would suggest to them that the best thing that is ever going to happen was about to happen: the return of Christ . . .Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government actually believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this, purely on the basis of religious dogma, should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.
Shocking but true!
It is, therefore, not an exaggeration to say that if the city of New York were suddenly replaced by a ball of fire, some significant percentage of the American population would see a silver-lining in the subsequent mushroom cloud, as it would suggest to them that the best thing that is ever going to happen was about to happen: the return of Christ . . .Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government actually believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this, purely on the basis of religious dogma, should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.
Shocking but true!
posted by mani g. iyer at
9:51 PM
4 Comments:
Unfortunately, this Christian Nation has been in a moral and intellectual crisis for several generations now. Perhaps the silver lining in this crisis is that the mismanagement of a certain current President (elected largely because of the support he received from the religious right) has helped to illustrate just how deep this problem is, and maybe now corrective steps will be taken.
You are right, Ken. And what saddens me is, even the present wannabes have to trumpet their religious affiliations, to garner 'religious' votes. Somehow, having a close Baptist minister, or the family visiting the church regularly, rather than a solution to the health care or the Iraqi crisis, seem to pique the American mind.
Sadly, you are right. In this country, proclaimed faith, either sincere or cynical, does trump competence in one's ability to get elected. Illustrated by the fact that is was news worthy when one of our congressmen "came out" as an atheist. In doing so, he probably committed political suicide.
Good for people to know.
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