Doug Murphy’s Blog Library

Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times best sellers, “Letter to a Christian Nation” and “The End of Faith.”  He also recently wrote an article that was published in Newsweek, A Dissent: The Case Against Faith.

When I first read the article in Newsweek, I initially thought ‘here is a guy that is not only bitter - he is either uneducated or ignorant on Faith’. And to be honest, I didn’t think this article would cause much stir. Well, as the weeks have gone by, I have heard more than a few people discussing Sam Harris and his writing. So, I thought, why not take a trip or two down memory lane and see what Sammy is talking about…

Sam’s first point: A Full Century of Scientific Insight
To say this is an uneducated statement would be kind.  If you have searched the Internet, or attended a local university, it is easy to see the immense reemergence of creation science.   It is becoming obvious that as science develops, there is a greater recognition of the signature of a Creator.

Sam’s second point: a 6000-Year-Old Universe – Light Created En-Route
I can only think that Sam was just trying to bring as much criticism as possible to Creation theories.  The age of the earth is a mystery to most and age isn’t as important as its origin.  There are some fantastic creation scientists, as well as theologians, who indicate a broad potential range for the age of the earth.  I am personally a believer of the 10 –12k year range, which has a tremendous amount of scientific evidence behind it.

Sam’s third point: The First Members of our Species were Fashioned out of Dirt and Divine Breath
Here is the funny part: take away the divine breath and Sam Harris would have no problems with the theory.  Sam, is it really easier to believe that we happened by chance out of nothing without causation?  Or, maybe you believe that aliens brought us here?

The foundation for the belief or faith, as Sam Harris ascribes, is not science - but an unfounded belief that no God exists.  It is from here, this faith in ‘self’, that Humanism seeks to develop a foundation against God’s creation. Here is a Question: does anyone really think we would really be any better without the existence of faith — even theistic faith?  Many noted philosophers and theologians have espoused the idea that faith is the basis of all knowledge.  One example is St. Augustine of Hippo.  Known as one of his key contributions to philosophy, the idea of “faith seeking understanding” was set forth by St. Augustine in his statement “Crede, ut intelligas” (”Believe in order that you may understand”). This statement extends beyond the sphere of religion to encompass the totality of knowledge.  In essence, faith must be present in order to know anything.  In other words, one must assume, believe, or have faith in the credibility of a person, place, thing, or idea in order to have a basis for knowledge.  Check out some of the following links:

Answers in Genesis

Institute For Creation Research