Questioning your religious position - Sam vs. Ravi

I feel it is important for anyone who considers themselves to be a person of faith and who subscribes to Christianity to fully understand their religious position. Many do not take the time to truely understand what they say they believe. Nor do many Christians today ever attempt to sincerely question what they believe. How good is any belief that cant be tested (brought through the fire so to speak) and come out on top.

Sam Harris is an athiest who wrote the book "Letter to a Christian Nation." Harris poses a lot more questions than he provides answers, which I believe Ravi Zacharias would argue is a fault and weakpoint of the athiest position. Nonetheless, if you you havent truely taken time to question the Christian belief then I encourage you to read Harris' book as a starting point.

Let me make clear that I do not agree with Harris' letter on the basis that he makes many sweeping generalizations, flawed aasumptions, and unreasonable conclusions. He clearly does not have a good understanding of the Christian faith (but neither do many "Christians" in my opinion).

However, to Harris' credit I feel he does make some valid observations. Many of his observations on the hypocrasy and misrepresentation of Christians are valid. However he tends to lump radicals in with moderates.

I would encourage you to read this book and then follow up with Ravi Zacharias' book "Has Christianity Failed You" which provides the counter argument to Harris.

Then make up your own mind on what you truely believe, and which side of the debate you tend to align yourself.

How good is a belief or a position if it cant withstand debate? Just another thought to consider.

Timothy (T.J.) Martin
Tuscaloosa, AL
www.tjmartin.org