Sam Harris
Posted on: March 15, 2009 - 8:47pm
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Sam Harris
What's up with Sam Harris,check out his new blog on EDGE:The Reality Club www.edge.org/3rd_culture/coyne09/coyne09_index.html#harriss
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It's satire.
Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. - Marcus Aurelius
When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion. - Abraham Lincoln
What? You can't be serious. Of course it's satire. Did you read it?
Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. - Marcus Aurelius
When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion. - Abraham Lincoln
You're joking, right? Have you read the entire thing? Didn't the part where he stated "human parthenogenesis has nothing to do with biology" clue you in?
"Physical reality” isn’t some arbitrary demarcation. It is defined in terms of what we can systematically investigate, directly or not, by means of our senses. It is preposterous to assert that the process of systematic scientific reasoning arbitrarily excludes “non-physical explanations” because the very notion of “non-physical explanation” is contradictory.
-Me
But why put it up on Edge:The Reality Club
Why not?
I like this bit, which strikes me as making it pretty clear it is a parody:
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
That is similure to Jefferson's quote, "Question with boldness even the existance of God, for if there be one, surely he would pay more homage to reason than to that of blindfolded fear".
You can certainly think you have good reasons for holding a position, but the only way to know that, is to put them to the test of scientific scrutiny. Fans of deities don't want the curtain pulled back to reveal man as the creator of gods, because that would mean they would have to face reality. Placebo thinking is intoxicating but deadly to intelect, and being as such, is the source of bloody lemmings littering human history with violence and death.
"For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers." President Barack Obama
Please also considering donating to Low Country Lab Rescue (dog rescue) at this link http://www.lowcountrylabrescue.org/
Maybe you're not used to reading satire, because that's about as blatant as it gets. It wouldn't matter if it was on "Truth: The Truthiest Club".
I thought the piece was hilarious.
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence
I might have satireaphasia, because I couldn't see it at first or maybe I was blinded by the initial shock
Why can't those who hold to intelligent design see that the universe was designed to kill us?
Mind the Machiavellian theists and taqiyahs who masquerade as atheists.
Hasn't this been posted before? I still don't get how this article is too subtle for some people. The parthenogenesis line made me laugh out loud.
My Brand New Blog - Jesu Ad Nauseum.
God of the Gaps: As knowledge approaches infinity, God approaches zero. It's introductory calculus.
What? Freethinkers, atheists and other rational people can't have a sense of humor? Harris has a dry wit which is sometimes difficult to grasp by some people. Satire can be subtle or it can be easily picked up on by all but a complete idiot. In your favor, Harris' writing was on the subtle side. There were, however, some very obvious clues througout the writing. I loved it.
Since Edge is made up of people who are capable of critical thought it's their choice how to present their writings. I can't think of a single reason why satire could not be posted on that web-site.
"Erecting the 'wall of separation between church and state,' therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society." Thomas Jefferson
www.myspace.com/kenhill5150
For the love of Jake! Not Sam!
I wonder what my life would be like if I actually didn't understand things...
After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.
The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
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