Curious Christian

Reflections on culture, nature, and spirituality from a Christian perspective

Sam Harris, Grand Inquisitor

Published by

Matt Stone

2009-09-19

Celebrity atheist Sam Harris seems to have no problem with torturing and killing people for their beliefs, so long as it’s his tribe that’s in control.

He explains it thus: “Some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people for believing them. This may seem an extraordinary claim, but it merely enunciates an ordinary fact about the world in which we live.” (Sam Harris, The End of Faith, p52-53)

He also readily admits, “I am one of the few people I know of who has argued in print that torture may be an ethical necessity in our war on terror” (Sam Harris, Huffington Post, October 18, 2005)

Nobody expects the Samish Inquisition

Tags Atheist, Violence

4 responses to “Sam Harris, Grand Inquisitor”

Steve Hayes

2009-09-20

Stalin should have prepared us for it.

LikeLike

Reply
Kalessin

2009-09-21

I think I’d like to read a better summary before deciding whether pp.52-53 of his book contains any such propositions. (I expect I shall be called upon to adjudicate between the worthy thinkers and … others.)

LikeLike

Reply
Andrew Park

2009-09-25

Golly. Where is USA evangelicalism going now with this stuff?
Torture is wrong, wrong, wrong.
It is also highly unreliable as a source for getting at the real truth, the whole truth and nothing, but the truth.So help us God!

LikeLike

Reply
Matt Stone

2009-09-29

Andrew, Sam Harris isn’t an Evangelical. He’s an Atheist who has lambusted religion as evil and religionists as warmongers.
I hope the hypocracy of such a position, given his above comments, is self evident.

LikeLike

Reply