Posted on 09/22/2006 7:55:15 AM PDT by ZGuy
The mighty publishing industry has committed formidable resources to alerting complacent Americans to the danger of a malevolent force that purportedly menaces all of us: the growing power of conservative Christians.
Tomorrow on my radio show, I confront Sam Harris, author of the latest book length attack on traditionalist believers: "Letter to a Christian Nation," published by Knopf. In the course of his brief book, Mr. Harris declares that "many who claim to be transformed by Christ's love are deeply, even murderously intolerant" and concludes: "It is terrible that we all die and lose everything we love; it is doubly terrible that so many human beings suffer needlessly while alive. That so much of this suffering can be directly attributable to religion.... is what makes the honest criticism of religious faith a moral and intellectual necessity."
This broadside ( which offers just 92 pages of large type for a startling price of $16.95) represents just the latest release among scores of volumes which have recently slammed and smeared conservative Christians. Among the many, many recent predecessors to "Letter to a Christian Nation" are "Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America"; "Jesus is Not a Republican: The Religious Right's War on America"; "With God on Their Side: How Christian Fundamentalists Trampled Science, Policy, and Democracy in George W. Bush's White House"; "With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America"; "The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right"; "The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right's Plans for the Rest of Us"; "Close Encounters with the Religious Right: Journeys into the Twilight Zone of Religion and Politics"; "Using Terri: The Religious Right's Conspiracy to Take Away Our Rights"; "Liars for Jesus: The Religious Rights Alternative Version of American History"; "Why the Christian Right is Wrong"; "An Outline of the Bible: Why the Religious Right Can't Call Itself Christian": "The New Subversives: Anti-Americanism of the Religious Right"; "American Theocracy: The Perils and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil and Borrowed Money"; "Hijacking of the Christian Church: Voices of the Religious Right," and countless other predictably alarmist titles.
These volumes -- duly published and promoted by prestigious major imprints -- all seethe with fear, resentment, paranoia and hysterical hatred toward citizens who have perpetrated the unspeakable crime of upholding traditional and Christian religious values. Since Sam Harris suggests in his latest book that the people who share such views constitute an overwhelming majority of Americans -- some 260 million individuals, Harris estimates-- the implacable hostility toward this huge segment of the population represents an appallingly odd business strategy, if nothing else.
The increasingly shrill warnings about the dreaded "Christian Right" become particularly difficult to understand in light of the constructive and public spirited behavior of most people who identify as conservative believers. None of the books decrying Christian influence suggest that people of faith in the United States engage in violence against other religions, or unravel the fabric of society through criminality, selfishness or greed. When I've interviewed the authors on my radio show, they have freely admitted that they would be pleased to live next store to an Evangelical, or even Fundamentalist Christian family, because such people are likely to be law-abiding, hard-working, neighborly, stable and considerate. This contradiction demonstrates the irrational nature of the hatred and fear of a group of people who do more than their share to feed the hungry, house the homeless, keep families together, educate their children, serve in the military, give to charity, maintain their homes, nurse the sick, promote adoption and build communities. What, exactly, do conservative Christians do that in any way harms or damages their non-Christian neighbors (like me)?
In answering that question, critics of the "Religious Right" always come back to issues of political influence and their groundless fears of some future theocracy. The secular liberals don't so much object to what Christian conservatives currently do, as they fear what they believe those activists want some day to achieve. But even here, it's hard to explain the hysteria and negativity. Yes, many (probably most) conservative Christians would like to return to the practice of reciting non-denominational prayers in public schools, and they would like to preserve Ten Commandment monuments and crosses currently on public display. But these preferences hardly qualify as intolerant, Taliban-like, or theocratic -- unless you believe that the USA under the Constitution, between 1789 and 1961, constituted some benighted theocracy. Before a series of Supreme Court rulings in the early 1960's, most American school kids began the school day with prayer but that tradition in no way stifled diversity or free exercise of religious preference -- nor did the religious symbols liberally scattered across the national landscape.
The ongoing publishing industry assault on People of Faith targets some of the most generous and patriotic of our fellow citizens. Since these attacks bear no connection to actual damage to communities or individuals, the critics invariably cite theological abstractions -- suggesting, for instance, that Christian conservatives are dangerous because they assume that non-believers are going to hell. But as long as these religious folks don't treat non-believers like hell-- and they don't-- then what's the real problem if you dislike someone else's view of the afterlife? Sam Harris reveals the deeper motivation at the very beginning of "Letter to a Christian Nation." He writes: "If the basic tenets of Christianity are true, then there are some very grim surprises in store for nonbelievers like myself....So let us be honest with ourselves: in the fullness of time, one side is really going to win this argument, and the other side is really going to lose."
Mr. Harris, in other words, seems to worry about people assuming he's bound for damnation because in one corner of his mind, at least, he fears they may be right. In the argument he describes, it's not possible that Christian believers are "really going to lose." If Mr. Harris is right about humanity and materialism, then there will be no sense of regret or despair if religious people fail to reach heaven after death. If we are, indeed, just spiritless chemicals then we won't be around to feel remorse over a life wasted in prayer, religious fellowship, and good deeds. When he suggests that one side is "really going to lose" he can only have his own side in mind.
That's why the maturation and empowerment of America's religious communities looks so threatening to atheists, agnostics or the disinterested. The more that people of faith develop confidence, sophistication and influence, the more that those on the other side nurse the dark, inescapable, intolerable fear that they just may be right about life and eternity. It's that profound and perpetual worry -- not the behavior or even ambitions of Christian conservatives - that irritates and alarms those who've rejected traditional faith.
Just look at who is in the book business. Many of the employees are ex college professors : )
Jews should rise up against these anti-Christian Jews, just like Christians rise up against anti-Semites and Muslims SHOULD rise up against their barbarian brethern.
Because pseudo-intellectuals (who are not particularly smart, but think they are and wear the trappings of being smart) tend own bookstores and/or buy books.
And pseudo-intellectuals are too smart for any religion besides Islam, Wicca, or the eastern religion of the day.
That's why there has been a non-stop all-out assault on so-called "Mega"-Churches, authors of Godly-Inspired authors of Wisdom, e.g. Joel Osteen, Rick Warren and T. D. Jakes.
The Love of Christ is being sent to our fighting men and women, and to their hatefilled enemies via Trinity Broadcasting Network and Daystar satellite--forcing the hate-ravaged leftists to pull out all stops before their fiery end.
Sam Harris? How is that a Jewish-sounding name?
While there have been a number of books which could be characterized as anti-Christian, there are thousands of Christian-themed books published every year.
I think it's fair to point out the books that take a negative stance on Christianity, but I don't think it's quite fair to damn the entire publishing industry as anti-Christian. Who is publishing all those Christian-themed books? Is it not the publishing industry?
It seems that Secular Humanism is never brought up when speaking about dangerouse religions. Their is no scientific or historicle proof for it. It must be taken on faith alone. It is a Godless religion, but a religion all the same. It has caught up to just about all other religions in suffering and genocide in the past century.
This should not shock anyone since Christ said we would be Taken before the magistrates and falsely accused, we would be beaten, and even killed for his sake." So I figure we have had it easy so far, ( too easy I'm afraid).
The big problem leftists have is they don't reproduce themselves at a rate that keeps up with more traditional people. That's one big reason why their influence is waning.
Thanks for posting this.
My impression is that most Christian books are printed by Christian publishing houses and are not widely marketed but are purchased by those who know where to find them. I did say "most."
Mrs VS
IMHO The publishing industry is the last bastion of the Old Left. The movers and shakers of the book publishing trade are really, really well insulated from street level realities. University academia, a very definite agenda player, provides just one of the insulating layers. Add the corporate inbreeding to the coastal Blue State insularity and provincialism and the result is a, well, pretty six fingered/six toed inbred liberal psycho hill billy, in a word, the book publishing industry.
Being a college professor I must take exception to painting us all with the brush of anti-Christian. Happily, I am just the opposite as are many others here at secular U. Anyway, that is not my point of comment. This article misses much of the anti-Christian vitriol spewed by hate groups such as socialists, leftists in general, and the GLBT alliance so prevalent on many college campuses. Guidance on issues of morality to the immoral members of such group is to be repudiated as intolerance et al.
Which books are the most heavily promoted? Which ones get put up in the most out-of-the-way sheves?
"Yea, hath God said?"
Still the best tactic .. muddy the truth with a question.
So God protects this wonderful piece of real estate until a group of people determine in their hearts that they will worship God in truth and in spirit, hop aboard a boat, and sail to the New World, write a 'constitution' of sorts (Mayflower Compact) .. struggle, fight, live and die for the express purpose of living life in the freedom and liberty God desires for us.
And you think Satan is going to sit on the sidelines and let this happen?
Since we became the united states of America .. we have been under attack ... and the foundation to the American identity is Christianity.
"Sam Harris? How is that a Jewish-sounding name?"
No less than George Allen.
If you took away Medved's inflammatory adjectives, this article would be like an episode of Deadwood sans curse words. Short.
"Which books are the most heavily promoted? Which ones get put up in the most out-of-the-way sheves?
"
Well, I go to Barnes and Noble all the time. Since I'm interested in religious topics, I often go to the shelves in that area. Tons of books on Christianity are there. Some are good. Some are mediocre.
My point is that one cannot condemn the entire publishing industry for not publishing Christian-themed books. They do so all the time.
They publish books with anti-Christian themes as well. The reader gets to choose which ones they read. For myself, I never read blatant anti-Christian books. They're always over the top.
Name notwithstanding, I do believe Mr. Harris is Jewish, or rather a JINO.
(I googled "Sam Harris Jewish" and there's an interview about it.)
Not that that has a thing to do with this discussion.
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