The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris (2004)

This is the heavy book I've been working through in the last month or so, which was discussed in a church sermon. I started off with a flourish and thought I was going to sail right through it - how most of the religions today ask their members to believe such unbelievable things that lead to intolerance, terror, war, infanticide and many other horrors. The horrors got to me, and I got bogged down. Some of the philosophical chapters also took some plowing through, but in the end I'm very glad I read this and that someone has had the fortitude to say this. Harris expounds on the historical and current sins of Christianity and Islam, but he criticizes Islam the most. "Can we say that Middle Eastern men who are murderously obsessed with female sexual purity actually love their wives, daughters, and sisters less than American or European men do? Of course, we can. And what is truly incredible... is that such a claim is not only controversial but actually unutterable in most contexts."p. 189 I don't know how this discussion will be continued, as so much of what Harris says is taboo in our society. I wish I had the guts to criticize the religious who use their religion as an excuse for prejudice, ignorance, intolerance, etc.