If the universe is likely to be “stranger than we can imagine”, then we shouldn’t get too worked up about “strange or silly” religious myths that are a record of the strangest things we have been able to imagine so far. As long we don’t claim that the myths should be taken as litteral truth.

Rather than asking science to “destroy religion”, we should ask science to study it. For the more destructive and dangerous we claim religion is, the more difficult it is to explain its persistance, unless it also has significant points on the plus side. If religions have under evolutionary pressure evolved to be relatively harmless, then it is much easier to account for the prevalence of religion in the human species.

While it may be popular wisdom, that religion causes most war, and senseless suffering, it is not a claim that has much science behind it. The four year war in Gombe, seems to indicate that our capacity for war and violence, predates religion. The focus must be in getting rid of stupidity where ever we find it, and not in proving that religion in every imaginable form is nothing but stupidity.

I think its gone rather badly.

I still don’t agree with him. However, I do agree the first statement he mentions does sound better and I would not do the second one. The second one serves no purpose.

I found it interesting that Harris mentioned Missouri in the Washington Post. Could it be he’s been to MO, used the word atheist, and then got scared out of using it due to the Religious Reich here? Jackson County is further north of me, but they are just as bad there as they are here. They are a Holy Horror sometimes.

I suggest before contemplating what Harris says about not using the words atheist, Humanist, Freethinker, etc. Consider that he mentions Jackson County Missouri in this mess. It is my guess something happened to scare him into keeping quiet. I wonder if he would honestly and openly discuss that with us?

Here it is:

First, these differences make all religions look contingent, and therefore silly. Consider the unique features of Mormonism, which may have some relevance in the next Presidential election. Mormonism, it seems to me, is—objectively—just a little more idiotic than Christianity is. It has to be: because it is Christianity plus some very stupid ideas. For instance, the Mormons think Jesus is going to return to earth and administer his Thousand years of Peace, at least part of the time, from the state of Missouri. Why does this make Mormonism less likely to be true than Christianity? Because whatever probability you assign to Jesus’ coming back, you have to assign a lesser probability to his coming back and keeping a summer home in Jackson County, Missouri. If Mitt Romney wants to be the next President of the United States, he should be made to feel the burden of our incredulity. We can make common cause with our Christian brothers and sisters on this point. Just what does the man believe? The world should know. And it is almost guaranteed to be embarrassing even to most people who believe in the biblical God.

With everything he said about Civil Rights, the KKK, Jackson County MO, and alike, I would consider his words suspect of something that could have happened in this area and he’s been scared out of using the word. It would not surprise me a bit.