Courtesy of CBC.ca:
Sam Harris has been called a heretic – and a very brave man. Harris, author of The End of Faith, believes that religious tolerance is a disaster in the making – but that political correctness and fear of racism make any discussion of his idea utterly impossible. Sam Harris is ecumenical in his fear: the Christian who welcomes Armageddon as the harbinger of Jesus is just as terrifying as the Muslim who yearns for a martyr’s death to guarantee his place in paradise. Both, Harris believes, are driving a muzzled, timid society “to the abyss.” Sam Harris' latest book is Letter to a Christian Nation. It's published by Random House.
Listen to CBC's Tapestry interview with Harris here.
1 comment:
Fascinating interview. Thanks so much for including it.
Would you say that Harris is at heart a humanist?
I am especially intrigued by what he says about our penchant for sympathy (the human is "wired for compassion") although I don't know whether I completely agree with him.
Bottom line, for me, is that we are so uncomfortable, so anxiety-laden with our own uncertainties, that we must hold tightly to beliefs as certainties in order to alleviate this angst.
Like Harris says several times here about so many questions of belief: "Nobody knows."
Can't we just leave it at that?
The answer apparently is No. We want comfort; we do not want grief...and what is death - in its finality - but grief?
I think Harris has a really great point in pointing out that we do not know how to grieve. How to handle the fact that we are creatures who must, in the course of a lifetime, face enormous loss. How do we do that? There's the question.
What Harris has done that I personally feel is groundbreaking stuff is to suggest that our tolerance, politely refraining from commenting on ludicrous religious belief on the grounds of what amounts to religious political correctness, has become a serious, serious problem. What he is doing is challenging our tolerance of belief - a characteristic generally considered admirable.
Normally I would not be in favor of this stance, but he makes it so clear, it is hard not to see his point.
I am also very interested in his current research (is it out yet?) concerning the role of neurological factors in a person’s belief.
Oh, and by the way, Cold Molasses. . .Elvis. Harris is dead wrong on this one. Elvis IS still alive and well (just a little bit overweight) and dining (rather frequently) on peanut butter and banana sandwiches. He plans to release a new CD in the spring.
Keep up these great clear entries. I enjoy reading you.
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