The problem with religion, because it's been sheltered from criticism, is that it allows people to believe en masse what only idiots or lunatics could believe in isolation. - Sam Harris
That which is aware of sadness is not sad. That which is aware of fear is not fearful. The moment I am lost in thought, however, I'm as confused as anyone else. - Sam Harris
I'm the Ted Bundy of string theory. - Sam Harris
We are all trying to find a path back to the present moment. And good enough reason to just be happy here... Mindfulness meditation is just a trick for doing that. It's a trick for setting aside your to-do list, if only for a few moments, and actually locate a feeling of fulfilment in the present - Sam Harris
We know enough at this moment to say that the God of Abraham is not only unworthy of the immensity of creation; he is unworthy even of man. - Sam Harris
Faith does not offer a strong link between our beliefs and actual states of the world. - Sam Harris
What we do in every other area of our lives (other than religion), is, rather than respect somebody's beliefs, we evaluate their reasons. - Sam Harris
Becoming a part of a movement doesn't help anybody think clearly. - Sam Harris
The problem of vindicating an omnipotent and omniscient God in the face of evil is insurmountable. Those who claim to have surmounted it, by recourse to notions of free will and other incoherencies, have merely heaped bad philosophy onto bad ethics. - Sam Harris
Ideas matter—and philosophy is the art of thinking about them rigorously. In my view, that should be done in as public a forum as possible. - Sam Harris
Theology is ignorance with wings. - Sam Harris
Let me assure you that my intent is not to offend or merely be provocative. I'm simply worried. - Sam Harris
There is no society in human history that ever suffered because its people became too reasonable. - Sam Harris
The faith of religion is belief on insufficient evidence. - Sam Harris
If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn’t value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic? - Sam Harris
We have a choice. We have two options as human beings. We have a choice between conversation and war. That's it. Conversation and violence. And faith is a conversation stopper. - Sam Harris
In Islam, it is the "moderate" who is left to split hairs,because the basic thrust of the doctrine is undeniable: convert, sub-jugate, or kill unbelievers; kill apostates; and conquer the world. - Sam Harris
When the stakes are this high- when calling God by the right name can make the difference between eternal happiness and eternal suffering, it is impossible to respect the beliefs of others who don't believe as you do. - Sam Harris
What I'm asking you to entertain is that there is nothing we need to believe on insufficient evidence in order to have deeply ethical and spiritual lives. - Sam Harris
Christians.....expend more moral energy opposing abortion than fighting genocide. - Sam Harris
We rely on faith only in the context of claims for which there is no sufficient sensory or logical evidence. - Sam Harris
You can't take credit for your talents, but it matters that you use them. You can't really be blamed for your weaknesses, but it matters that you correct them. So pride and shame don't make a lot of sense, in the final analysis, but they weren't much fun anyway. - Sam Harris
If you're constantly ruminating about what you just did- or what you should have done- or what you would have done if you only had the chance, you will miss your life. Ok, you will fail to connect with it. You will fail to connect with other people. - Sam Harris
In the year 2006, a person can have sufficient intellectual and material resources to build a nuclear bomb and still believe that he will get seventy-two virgins in Paradise. - Sam Harris
If there is any kernel of truth in the religions we so deplore,and they are just a carnival of errors,the truth is that it's possible to sink into the present moment in such a way as to find it sacred and to cease to have a problem. - Sam Harris
The only thing that guarantees an open-ended collaboration among human beings, the only thing that guarantees that this project is truly open-ended, is a willingness to have our beliefs and behaviors modified by the power of conversation. - Sam Harris
Atheism is not a philosophy; it is not even a view of the world; it is simply an admission of the obvious. - Sam Harris