By failing to live by the letter of the texts, while tolerating the irrationality of those who do, religious moderates betray faith and reason equall… - Sam Harris

"There seems, however, to be a problem with some of our more cherished beliefs about the world: they are leading us, inexorably, to kill one another. A glance at history, or at the pages of any newspaper, reveals that ideas which divide one group of human beings from another, only to unite them in slaughter, generally have their roots in religion. it seems that if our species ever eradicates itself through war, it will not be because it was written in the stars but because it was written in our books; it is what we do with words like "God" and "paradise" and "sin" in the present that will determine our future."

The president of the United States has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be in dialog with God. If he said that he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim more ridiculous or offensive.

I think it would be extremely helpful if people focused on the ideas being discussed here, rather than on calling you names — which is an easy way to ignore your ideas.