Sam Harris considers a creator.
———————————
“It’s a strange… for, I think, obvious reasons, a totally provincial and impossible scenario… and yet it’s the scenario that most people believe in the 21st century.” ~Sam Harris
"I’d tell myself to listen to what is actually being said with critical and reasoning ears. I’d tell myself to substitute “Invisible Friend” for “God” every time I encountered the word and notice how ridiculous the rhetoric sounds from grown-ups. I would challenge myself to be more skeptical, to study science. I’d tell myself to find joy in life – it’s the only one you are going to get – don’t waste a second."
— Tim Prowse (a former United Methodist Pastor) in an interview with Sam Harris. You can read the full interview here.
“Where faith really pays its dividends, however, is in the conviction that the future will be better than the past, or at least not worse… The allure of most religious doctrines is nothing more sublime or inscrutable than this: this will turn out well in the end. Faith is offered as a means by which the truth of this proposition can be savored in the present and secured in the future.”
~ Sam Harris (The End of Faith)
This quote, this entire idea, has been on my mind all weekend long.
Kim’s post this morning expounds on the effects of this idea. Complacent acceptance of others’ (and their own!) pain and suffering. Willingness to overlook the atrocities in our world as a “plan.” A belief that everything is temporary and that death will be better than life.
But faith in the happiness of death keeps people trapped in their prayers, in their churches, in their dreams. In most situations, it doesn’t inspire action. (Though in the worst situations, it DOES inspire action. Horrible action.) We have a large segment of our population that literally hopes we are nearing the end of the world.
What a horrible way to live! We have this one, very precious, life. And think of the changes that will happen once more people start to realize this. I know how accepting the finality of death changed my life and how I interact with my family, my friends, every person I meet. This is it. It’s all we have.
I personally do not fear death… but I sure as hell don’t think it will be better than life. ~JJ
