Sam Harris has made the argument in his book "The End of Faith" as well as in debates and articles, that religious moderates give cover to religious fanatics who threaten to undo the world. This implies that some level of responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of the religious moderate for perpetuating religious belief that leads to the horrors of radicals. "It is in the face of such pointless horrors that many people of goodwill now counsel "moderation" in religion. The problem with
religious moderation is that it offers us no bulwark against the spread of religious extremism and religious violence." - Sam Harris, The London Times, Edition 1WCSAT 19 MAR 2005, Page 27 I can only hope that Sam Harris does not have a taste for alcohol. When I raise my glass of Guinness tomorrow afternoon, and consume it at my usual rate of one per hour, am I responsible for the estimated 1.25 deaths caused by drunk drivers during that hour? We can imagine a quote promoting the prohibition of alcohol consumption: "It is in the face of such pointless horrors that many people of goodwill now counsel "moderation" in drinking. The problem with alcohol moderation is that it offers us no bulwark against the spread of drunkenness and drunk driving fatalities."
Our society does have a responsibility for it's collective health,
however ultimate responsibility for perversions of otherwise healthy behavior rest with the
individual pervert. This is not to say that we should do nothing, but we do not need a prohibition on religious belief: an end of faith. Rather we need a call for religious responsibility, a call to worshipRESPONSIBLY.org.
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The Call |