Sam Harris is quite a likable guy. According to him though, about 44% of you likely wont think so. Personally, I find him to be a logical guy with a firm grasp on reality. His speech was engaging and above all his subject matter is very relevant.
The percentages that Mr. Harris quoted are staggering. 22% of the population believes that Jesus will come back and “save” us in the next 50 years. Wow. I try no to judge too harshly when it comes to perceptions, but that is completely ridicules. That's not even considering the other 22% who think that Jesus is “likely” to return within the next 50 years. 44%? Even if that number is inflated it's scary to think about. It reminds me of another number that Richard Dawkins quoted in a video of his that I viewed a while back, that (if I remember this percentage correctly) about 50% of the population in America (or maybe it's the world?) believes that the earth is only 10,000 years old. These are scary, irrational beliefs that people have.
It never even occurred to me that these are the same people who run our country. Whether they only vote or they are elected to office, it makes no difference. How can someone possibly be trusted to make a rational decision when they hold beliefs of this sort? Admittedly, in America it rarely, if ever, comes to any form of extremism, but in recent years it seems to be heading in that direction.
I found Sam Harris's comments on the “common sense” judges who were appointed because of their “realization” (not belief, but realization) that our rights are derived from God to be very astute. This made me think of Scientology. I find it absolutely stupid that someone would criticize the beliefs of a Scientologist while they themselves believed in God, or any metaphysical religious ideas for that matter. This assumption that somehow your unproven beliefs are more valid than someone else's unproven beliefs is both insulting and ignorant (I only picked Scientology because I recently watched a biography on John Travolta). If your going to criticize someone else's beliefs you better think long and hard about the beliefs you personally hold, chances are they make equally as little sense.
“I don't like the idea of living in a world that doesn't have a refrigerator sized diamond in my backyard.”
I never realized just how funny that justification is for a belief in God.
When Mr. Harris spoke about respecting peoples beliefs, it made me think about the general idea of tolerance, especially religious tolerance. That word, tolerance, is exactly the right word for the action is specifies. We don't usually “respect” people's beliefs we merely put up with them, we “tolerate” them.
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