Just now getting around to this, but yesterday my son had enough of a cough and cold that we kept him in from church. Since my wife was scheduled to sing, I stayed home with him.

During that time, I managed to read a book. A whole book. That’s almost unprecedented, that I would be able to sit and read a book from beginning to end (although, granted, it was only around 91 pages.)

The book was Sam Harris’ Letter To A Christian Nation. Harris is an athiest who writes this short book in the form of a letter to American Christians (more specifically, fundamentalist Christians, but he also includes all religion and all religious people at different points in the book.) I thought he asked a number of valid questions - sometimes even questions I myself would ask. Other things were less convincing and almost seemed to born out of his own frustration that everyone doesn’t see things as plainly as he does. In other words, Harris seems fairly hostile towards what he sees as nonsense and, in fact, dangerous. (Interestingly, he also chides Christians for their arrogance, but displays a healthy amount himself.) It is a book about religion, but also seems to be about politics as well (or, at least, that’s the way I read it.)

I remembered that Mike Cope had written about this book last year, and so I share his posts as well, as he had posted some quotes and some good thoughts as well.

Mike’s posts:

• Letter to a Christian nation

• Christian evidences

The book is worth a read, and certainly interesting to read how another person from the outside sees the Christian faith. And as Mike mentions, I think it’s something that can be beneficial to Christians, allowing us to look at how well we represent the one we claim to follow.