It is time we realize that belief is not a private matter. As a man believes, so he will act. Believe that you are a member of a chosen people, awash in the salacious exports of an evil culture that is turning your children away from God, believe that you will be rewarded with an eternity of unimaginable delights by dealing death to these infidelsโand flying a plane into a building is only a matter of being asked to do it.
Sam HarrisIf our well-being depends upon the interaction between events in our brains and events in the world, and there are better and worse ways to secure it, then some cultures will tend to produce lives that are more worth living than others; some political persuasions will be more enlightened than others; and some world views will be mistaken in ways that cause needless human misery.
Sam HarrisMartin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches.
Sam HarrisIt is still fashionable to believe that how you organize yourself religiously in this life may matter for eternity. Unless we can erode the prestige of that kind of thinking, we're not going to be able to undermine these divisions in our world.
Sam HarrisThe atheist, by merely being in touch with reality, appears shamefully out of touch with the fantasy life of his neighbors.
Sam HarrisUnlike statements of fact, which require no further work on our part, lies must be continually protected from collisions with reality.
Sam HarrisIf faith is what you have to go on, if faith is the link between your beliefs and the world at large, your beliefs are very likely to be wrong. Beliefs can be right or wrong. If you believe you can fly, that belief is only true if indeed you can fly. Somebody who thinks he can fly, and is wrong about it, will eventually discover there's a problem with his view of the world.
Sam Harris