The End of Faith

"The End of Faith" by Sam Harris is a polemic against Faith defined as blind belief in ideas without good reasons. Given this definition, traditional religion falls squarely in the site of his aim, although his arguments apply to any set of beliefs that are blindly accepted without debate.

Harris proposes that as we enter the 21st century, the danger of non-rational thinking is higher than ever, especially as it manifests in religions (Islam in particular), because of the sheer amount of destruction that can be accomplished by modern weapons technology. While the fundamentalist mentality is most attacked by Harris, the moderates of religions come under fire as well because their politically correct tolerance supports a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of context that gives bad ideas a free ride in our society.

His writing style is clever, direct, incisive and aggressive as he describes the lunacy of many traditional religious ideas.

Atheists do not escape criticism because of the fundamentalist tendencies of some individuals or groups. Also, for hostilities to forward thinking ideas that leave open the possibility of mystery or other ways of knowing. Harris supports meditation and mindfulness as practices that can lead to a higher quality of life by improving the focus of the mind on the current moment rather than always living in the past or future.

Ultimately, "The End of Faith" is a call to embrace a rational, reasoned, scientific approach to ethics. It is also an encouragement to explore and discover other ways of knowing beyond the strictly rational with the requirement that any claims be subjected to the arena of discussion and debate that all scientific ideas must pass. Finally, we are pushed to drop the baggage of thousands of years of bad ideas and focus on the important questions with a sober approach that will help us steer clear of mass delusion and destruction and perhaps find a way to move forward and save the planet as well as humanity.