by James Lynne

Created on: September 01, 2008   Last Updated: September 03, 2008

As Sam Harris discusses in his book, The End of Faith, there is no other arena of modern life in which we blindly accept the unsupported, the unsubstantiated, and the illogical on quite the same level we do in our concept of religious faith. When political decisions are based on religious faith it paves a path of potential destruction.

Religious history is dominated by the destructive power of faith in man's commission of unspeakable atrocity. One only need read the history of the Catholic Church and the Papacy, the Holy Crusades, the history of Islam, The Salem witch trials, The history of the Church of England, The history of the practices of the Mormon Church, the history of the Civil War of the United States, Mein Kampf, the story of Jonestown, Ghana, to discover the historical truths of faith. It isn't the lack of faith that has disastrous results. It is the concept of faith in governmental decision making that brings about social disaster.

We question our doctors regarding their diagnoses of our illness and the medicines they prescribe for us before we agree to treatment. We want facts, reasons, and proof. We want to know why our mechanics must replace parts on our cars and why it costs so much to do so. We seek substantiation for most of the decisions we make in our daily lives. Yet, we legitimize religious faith as our basis for life and death decisions with no supportable evidence beyond faith. Faith, by definition, requires belief in what cannot be proved. Why do we not accept our doctors, or mechanics, our investment bankers' words on faith? Why do we demand proof before entrusting them with our lives and resources? It is because reason demands it.

Reason, by definition, relies on supportable fact. Faith, by definition, is the substance of things unseen; that which is hoped for, yet unsupported. Faith precludes fact, reason, and logic. Living by logic and ethics rather than by faith promotes intellectual and scientific growth. Living by faith shackles people to myth, tradition, interpretation, and inconsistency. The "lack of faith" within a culture propels cultures forward. Control by faith generates ignorance. One only needs to study the histories of Christianity and Islam to be uncover the travesty of faith.

Countless US politicians refer to the terrorist acts committed against the United States on September 11, 2001, as acts of outrageous "cowardice." Nothing could be further from truth. Although heinous, the flying of hijacked airplanes into The

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