Sam Harris and Reason
Sam Harris has faith. Faith that God doesn't exist. Faith that his opinions on morality are better than the bibles. Just check out the second part of a debate with Andrew Sullivan. Some of his comments are worth highlighting

How difficult would it be to improve the Bible? It would be trivially easy, in fact. You and I could upgrade this “inerrant” text—scientifically, historically, ethically, and yes, spiritually—in this email exchange.

Ethically and spiritually upgrade the bible? This presupposes his own views of ethics and spirituality are correct. What evidence does he have for this? Certainly not science. Science can't give value judgements like ethics. This is Sam Harris' faith. He believes he is the highest authority.

Anyone who thinks he knows for sure that Jesus was born of virgin or that the Qur'an is the perfect word of the Creator of the universe is lying. Either he is lying to himself, or to everyone else. In neither case should such false certainties be celebrated.

Sam Harris is either using a double standard here for someone 'knowing for sure' or he is simply begging the question by assuming his atheistic worldview is correct. Put another way, Sam Harris cannot 'know for sure' that any of his own views are correct or he assumes they cannot 'know' Jesus was born of a virgin because it never happened. Either way, this isn't a logical position, but a faith position.

Religious moderates—by refusing to question the legitimacy of raising children to believe that they are Christians, Muslims, and Jews—tacitly support the religious divisions in our world. They also perpetuate the myth that a person must believe things on insufficient evidence in order to have an ethical and spiritual life.

I would propose that Sam is presupposing what things can be counted as evidence when he talks about 'insufficient evidence'. Yet what evidence does he have that his own views of what counts as evidence is true? Once again, it appears that Sam simply has faith that his own view is right and the vast majority of the world who disagrees with him is wrong. Sounds familiar?

Perhaps Sam should check the mirror for the sort of fundamentalists that he rails against.
- posted by Alan Grey @ Thursday, January 18, 2007