The End Of Faith? (ritual, Earth, gospel, hell, preach)

[Sunstone]

In his book, The End of Faith, Sam Harris calls for the abolition of faith and the promotion of spirituality. According to Harris, faith is irrational, baseless, and dangerous, while spirituality is rational, based on experience, and beneficial.

Have you read his book or a review of it?

What do you make of his argument that faith should be abolished because it is baseless, irrational, and dangerous?

What do you make of his argument that spirituality is rational, based on experience, and beneficial?

[Scuba Pete]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

In his book, The End of Faith, Sam Harris calls for the abolition of faith and the promotion of spirituality. According to Harris, faith is irrational, baseless, and dangerous, while spirituality is rational, based on experience, and beneficial.

Have you read his book or a review of it?

I have not read it.

Originally Posted by Sunstone

What do you make of his argument that faith should be abolished because it is baseless, irrational, and dangerous?

It shouldn't be abolished. Too many people want to abolish what they don't understand or they dislike. People who say these kind of things obviously don't understand the dynamics of faith.

Originally Posted by Sunstone

What do you make of his argument that spirituality is rational, based on experience, and beneficial?

Spirituality is no more rational than faith.

[MilkyJoe]

Have you read his book or a review of it?

No but it is the next on my reading list after I finish Dawkins 'The God Delusion'

As for his conclusions I would ask that you grant me leave to not comment as until I have read it I cannot be certain that your conclusion are the same as mine!

To me all books that question and don't 'tell' are worth reading.

[Ozzie]

[quote]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

In his book, The End of Faith, Sam Harris calls for the abolition of faith and the promotion of spirituality. According to Harris, faith is irrational, baseless, and dangerous, while spirituality is rational, based on experience, and beneficial.

Have you read his book or a review of it?

Haven't read it.

What do you make of his argument that faith should be abolished because it is baseless, irrational, and dangerous?

"Abolishing faith"sounds like an overly optimistic project don't you think?

What do you make of his argument that spirituality is rational, based on experience, and beneficial?

If spirituality is rational, it may be so because it is grounded in practice. But it could be argued that spirituality is simply faith grounded in practice.

[cardero]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

What do you make of his argument that faith should be abolished because it is baseless, irrational, and dangerous?

"Get out from under faith. It is not necessary to UNDERSTANDING. It is not necessary to BEing."

HELLO IT'S ME: An Interview With GOD
Chapter: Belief, Faith, Hope And Joy
Pg: 167

Sometimes I get the impression that even GOD does not K(NOW) what to do with other's faith.

[FFH]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

In his book, The End of Faith, Sam Harris calls for the abolition of faith and the promotion of spirituality. According to Harris, faith is irrational, baseless, and dangerous, while spirituality is rational, based on experience, and beneficial.

There is no spirituality without faith...

With the absence of faith, comes fear...

Hebrews 11: 6

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

With the absence of the spiritual, comes the sensual/carnal/natural man...

Mosiah 3: 19
Book of Mormon

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

Originally Posted by Sun

What do you make of his argument that faith should be abolished because it is baseless, irrational, and dangerous?

Just the opposite is true. It's easy to appease to the natural mind of man and sell a book based on this lie, for it appeals to the basest of individuals.

In other words it makes us feel good when someone validates our lack of faith...

Fear is much easier to experience than to excercise our faith....

Hebrews 11:1
Joseph Smith Inspired version

Faith is an assurance of things hoped for, the eveidence of things not seen.

What do you make of his argument that spirituality is rational, based on experience, and beneficial?

Spirituality is not rational, but is based on unseen things of the spirit, which can only be discerned by our spirits or our spiritual senses...

[FFH]

Fath can become rational knowledge.

Signs follow them that believe.

Mark 16: 17, 20

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they d
cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Mormon 9: 24
Book of Mormon

And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover;

Ether 4: 18
Book of Mormon

Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name.

D&C 58: 64
LDS scripture'

For, verily, the sound must go forth from this place into all the world, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth—the gospel must be preached unto every creature, with signs following them that believe.

D&C 63: 9

But, behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe.

D&C 68: 10

And he that believeth shall be blest with signs following, even as it is written.

D&C 84: 65

And these signs shall follow them that believe—

D&C 124: 98

And these signs shall follow him—he shall heal the sick, he shall cast out devils, and shall be delivered from those who would administer unto him deadly poison;

[PureX]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

In his book, The End of Faith, Sam Harris calls for the abolition of faith and the promotion of spirituality. According to Harris, faith is irrational, baseless, and dangerous, while spirituality is rational, based on experience, and beneficial.

Have you read his book or a review of it?

What do you make of his argument that faith should be abolished because it is baseless, irrational, and dangerous?

What do you make of his argument that spirituality is rational, based on experience, and beneficial?

How can one be "spiritual" without faith?

I am not familiar with the book, but already I have a problem with the terms the author's chosen. I assume the author must mean religion rather than "faith". They are not the same. But even if he does mean religion, I still disagree with him. As there are many people who use their religion as a framework of concept and discipline through which they practice spirituality. And they do so quite successfully. Many of them can be found right here in this site.

I do agree that we human beings need to begin to separate an irrational dependance on some religious dogma from a rational, reality-based practice of faith. The problem I see is that the people among us who are irrationally dependent upon some religious dogma or other, are a lot like alcoholics or drug addicts, in that they will doggedly refuse to recognize their own irrational behavior and dependance. And this makes it very difficult to break this dependance.

[FFH]

Originally Posted by Uncle Sunstone

The end of faith

is the beginning of fear.