Moses, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad were dumb people -sam harris

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   pisean282311posted 12 years ago

   recently saw video on you tube where sam harris said that moses,abhraham,jesus ,muhammad knew next to nothing and dumb people...what are your views on this?

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      kessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      What else youd expect from the dumb?
      If he understood anything at all he would know not to call them dumb...or as a  matter of fact noone

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      Chasukposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Harris was describing a lack of knowledge or education, which has nothing to do with being dumb.
      
      Here is what Harris actually said:
      
      "All of our scriptures were written by people  who, by virtue of their placement  in history, had less access to scientific knowledge and what is now basic common sense than any person in this room. In fact, there is not a person in this room who has ever met a person whose worldview is as narrow as the worldview of Abraham  or Moses, or Jesus or Muhammad. These people knew nothing -- next to nothing -- of the facts that are now relevant to us, in the 21st century. They knew nothing about the origins of life, or the relationship between mind and brain. They didn't know that mental illness was even a category of human suffering. They knew nothing about DNA or viruses, or computation or electricity. None of this is in scripture. They had no idea why people got sick and died. Unless you saw someone stabbed with a spear,  you had no idea why they died."
      
      Here is a link to the YouTube video so that you can watch it for yourself:
      
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqn4Zn3pyNc

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         AKA Winstonposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Or, as the demon in The Exorcist might have said.
         
         Demon: What's that?
         Father Karras: Facts.
         Demon: You keep it way from me...No-o-o-!  It burns, it burns!

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   davidkalugeposted 12 years ago

   Who is the Sam? I don't really know about him.

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   davidkalugeposted 12 years ago

   I trust you mean, Sam Harris the author of "End of faith"

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   Druid Dudeposted 12 years ago

   Moses was raised in the house of Pharoah. He knew how to read and write, and many other things which the Egyptians of his day knew. I wouldn't say he was dumb...although he did have a speech impediment. Jesus was raised by a carpenter, which suggests a level of education equal to that profession in that day and age. Indications are that he could also read and write, though no real evidence can be shown....just logically speaking. Abraham? For his day and in that world, he may have been sharp as a tack. His neighborhood is the home turf of the oldest strain of domestic wheat on the planet, and a few hours away is the mysteriously hidden lost complex of Gobekli Tepe.

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   Emile Rposted 12 years ago

   I don't know if I agree with that. It depends on how you define dumb. Abraham was ancient, even in ancient terms. He probably couldn't count higher than the digits on his hands....but by the standards of the time he was probably as educated as the next guy.
   
   Moses was raised in the royal house of Egypt. So he was probably well educated. Now, you could argue he lost IQ points when he saw the burning bush....but we can't know that for sure. He was obviously goood at organizing. He led a people  out of Egypt and around the desert for forty years. So, I'd say Sam is wrong on that count
   
   Jesus, as the son of a common laborer obviously didn't have a formal education. But a lack of education doesn't make someone dumb. He was obviously insightful enough to impress others with his words.
   
   Mohamed...I don't know a lot about him, but you can't accomplish the things in life he did without a savvy brain.
   
   I think Sam Harris might be an arrogant elitist. A lack of formal education doesn't make people dumb.

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   Druid Dudeposted 12 years ago

   He also used his toes.

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      Emile Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I heard he had twelve of them. So, maybe he was two toes smarter than the neighbors.

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   livelongerposted 12 years ago

   Any person living thousands of years ago would be dumb by our standards today.
   
   We will be considered irredeemably stupid by our descendants, too.

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      Shanna11posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      That last sentence actually just motivated me to do my homework. I don't want my future kids to think I'm dumb! But maybe it's a lost cause already...

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         livelongerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Your kids won't, but your great-great-....-great-grandchildren?
         
         I'm sure I'll be considered a knuckle-dragger by my distant descendants, and I kind of hope I will be. If they haven't made any progress since my generation, that'll be a bad thing.

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