Sam Harris On Religion And Modernity genre: Hip-Gnosis
In the following video, Sam Harris offers some insights into religion's waning influence in the face of modernity. Harris discusses the tendency towards literal interpretations in the Bible, the Koran, and other religious texts...as well as the inclination of others to ignore the passages that no longer suit their interests.
Harris cites the recent Virginia Tech shooting as an example of an uninformed reliance upon religion in the midst of sound science. The mother of Seung-Hui Cho (the shooter), chose to understand her son's mental illness in the context of demons outlined in scripture. Rather than address his illness with modern day means, she sought to the help of numerous churches...hoping to have his demons exorcised. Harris argues that this primitive view is a growing problem for religion.
Harris closes with an argument that any book authored by an omniscient god would be far more relevant than the Bible or the Koran. The wisdom of existing scripture is wholly lacking in our modern context...a fact that makes it all the more doubtful that these documents could be the work of a god we choose to view as all knowing. That apparent disconnect isn't being successfully addressed by most religions.
Tagged as: Bible, God, Koran, Literalism, Modernity, Religion, Science, Secularism, Seung-Hui Cho, Virginia Tech
Daniel DiRito | March 10, 2008 | 10:41 AM
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