A letter worthy of 39 cents

Today was Friday the 13th (FTT). I didn’t die today. That’s good. For some reason, the days leading up to FTT always seem like they’ll be my last days on Earth. It goes without saying that I usually plan on dying on this day. As you sit and read this, rest assured I’m still alive (and doing well).

The day started just like any other FTT. I was a no show at work entirely because when the time came to wake up, I was passed out in bed, having horrible dreams. I don’t even remember turning my alarm off (which is set to go off automatically every weekday). I’m sure my neighbors loved that, since it plays dance music fairly loud. The sleep medicine wore off sometime around 4:00PM at which point I pulled myself out of bed. By this time, I had already decided that I wasn’t ready to die, and that this day would continue just like any other day.

I recently discovered a blog written by a very intelligent man with many intelligent things to say. He recently did a review of a book, titled “Letter to a Christian Nation.” The review inspired me to purchase the book, which I did today.

I went downtown to Borders located in the new shopping centre (which is gorgeous, by the way). I found the book without a hitch, and interestingly enough, while looking at other books, a gentleman saw what I was holding, and said, “great book.” I love when people talk to me, it assures me that I’m not totally unapproachable. Normally, I would have walked away without further dialogue, but today was different. Several minutes had passed and when I was walking away from that section in the store, I said to him, “take care.” He smiled and replied, “you, too.”

The new shopping centre is located in the old Emporium building on Market Street. It was constructed in 1896, a decade before the Great Earthquake would strike. The earthquake, which registered 8.25 on the Richter scale, brought down the building’s signature glass dome, but the Emporium’s facade survived. Following a fire that swept through the city immediately after the earthquake, a single brick and sandstone wall stood amidst the burning rubble. Soon after the earthquake, a construction team integrated the historic facade into a new building and reconstructed the 500,000-pound signature dome. That dome, although rennovated to meet today’s building code, still stands amid a beautiful new shopping mall. It was under this dome where I sat and read this 96 page book.

It takes a book of great character to hold my attention. It took little effort to continue reading this one. Sam Harris, the author, had so many wonderful things to say that I had no choice but to continue reading. The outcome? A renewed faith that there are people in this world who care, are intelligent, and more importantly, who aren’t afraid to question what most (American’s) believe to be true. That is, that God exists and being a Christian is the one true way or truth. His focus is, obviously, on the follies of Christianity, and his razor-sharp dissection of one religion leaves in shreds every faith-based belief system.

Written in response to the many critiques of his first book, “The End of Faith,” Harris answers the many questions believers tossed to him, and with much confidence and conviction. He immediately establishes a common ground:

It’s like going to the races, and immediately out of the gate, your horse is in the lead. He goes on to say:

It’s a shame that not everyone in this country will read this sensational little book. It’s my hope that those closest to me will (I’ll even buy a copy for you to read). For it shines an indisputable light on the many fallacies and hipocritical beliefs of the Christian faith and delivers an astonishing insight to the human condition.

1 comment October 14th, 2006