Ignorane masquerades as wisdom and bigotry pretends to be science. Thus the Los Angeles Times gives space today to naked anti-Christian, anti-religion prejudice in the form of an op-ed. They allow Sam Harris, the author of “The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason,” to trot out the same old “I’m more civilized because I reject reliigon” arguments that have been debunked a thousand times.
He argues against using biblical principles to guide our society because it’s so backward. For example, he says that the Bible doesn’t merely condemn homosexuality but in Leviticus it orders that homosexuals be killed. In other words, he conflates everything in the Bible onto the same level, pretending that every utterance carries equal weight into today.
He also argues against the pro-life position, saying that it’s dumb for Christians to believe embryos have souls because “there is no reason to believe that embryos at this stage of development have the capacity to sense pain, to suffer or to experience death in any way at all.” So what? That’s a non sequitir. The presence of a soul does not confer the ability to sense pain. What it does it impart the image and likeness of God and an innate human dignity.
the French Revolution
Nazism
Fascism
marxism in all its murderous varieties
the Mexican Revolution
legal abortion
euthanasia
eugenics
social Darwinism
feminism
legalized pornography
the destruction of marriage and the family
The list goes on and on. But religion is the cause of human suffering – especially Christianity.
I realize that this isn’t exactly the point of the thread, but Mister Harris should be more educated about what he is rejecting.
We know—and the excellent document <scripture…while the truth and holiness of God always remains intact, the marvelous ‘condescension’ of eternal wisdom is clearly shown, ‘that we may learn the gentle kindness of God, which words cannot express, and <b>how far He has gone in adapting His language with thoughtful concern for our weak human nature.”</b></i>
[bold emphasis mine, if I formatted it right]
God, in His unfathonable love, condesended, throughout Salvation History, to speak in the languages and terms we amoebas can understand.
Baby steps, Mister Harris…baby steps.
The “examples” cited in Leviticus, and later, Romans, are laughable if not so sad.
God didn’t and doesn’t want anybody to DIE or to be “put to death,” for Heaven’s sake. He took it upon Himself—similarly to the way He ultimately took it upon Himself to become one of us, His creatures—to help us understand Him. He does this by “condescending,” and marvelously so.
He continues to teach us the difference between right and wrong, sin and virtue, life and death.
(Duh!)
Instead of gratitude (and there’s not enough in the world to adequately express what we ought to express for this generosity), Mister Harris gives us this garbage?
(Odd…I always thought that Sam Harris was a professional writer. My seven-year-old Vacation Bible School students seem to have a better grasp on scripture and they’re still struggling with vowels.)
This pope’s spiritual life has been especially devoted to the cult of the Virgin Mary. After he was shot by a Turkish terrorist in 1981
I remember Tom Fenton from back in the day. What ever happened to him?
Viva Papa!
Agreed, Linda, about the current pontiff.
And I apologize for the wacky-looking post…sometimes my formatting attempts are abject failures.
Anyway, the document I was quoting from—and that I wish that Mister Harris would read—is Dei Verbum, promulgated by His Holiness Pope Paul VI on November 18, 1965.
Hey Kelly,
I love your wacky-looking but very thought provoking posts. Keep up the good work.
As long as Domenico lets me, “PergandeJ”
‘Course why my formatting is wacky-looking remains a mystery to me…although the obvious answer—I don’t know what I’m doing—is under consideration!