Holiday Reading

In the midst of all the gift wrapping, cookie making, and holiday book reading with my overly-excited kids this week, I carved out the time for Sam Harris's concise book Letter to a Christian Nation. I have never read one piece of writing that so echoes my personal fears of religion.

I'm finding it hard to pull specific quotes from the book to share here, because almost every sentence he writes speaks to me. I'm sure that most non-believers will agree with what Harris has to say in his book, but I wish more of his intended audience would actually read it as well. I would love to see a genuine discourse about all the subjects he raises so well.

The choice before us is simple: we can either have a twenty-first-century conversation about morality and human well-being-- a conversation in which we avail ourselves of all the scientific insights and philosophical arguments that have accumulated in the last two thousand years of human discourse-- or we can confine ourselves to a first century conversation as it is preserved in the Bible. Why would anyone want to take the latter approach? 

Read the book.

And now I will return to remembering the "reason for the season," as so many of my Facebook friends and family members have been reminding everyone this week. I have more than one reason to celebrate: family, friends, thankfulness, and peace to fellow humankind. Oh, and books, I want to celebrate them, too.