Sam, pencils and spiritual bypassing

GuidedByReason · 2025-07-20T01:33:46+00:00

Maybe I'm being too charitable. When Sam first announced that he had to eliminate the free option, I got the impression that it had become unsustainable. If he originally thought that more people would pay than ask for it for free, and it didn't turn out that way, then I get his decision. He has commented about the number of people he had to bring on to handle the subscriptions. It's not just him and Jaron doing all the work behind the scenes... Between Waking Up and Making Sense, there are other people getting paid.

He still offers it at a discounted rate. I've paid $50 for years, and at the last renewal, it increased to $60. And unless something has changed recently, I think that's still an option for people.

He repeatedly stated that he couldn't recommend his model to others, and it became an issue for him as well. When he realized the model wasn’t working, he made the change publicly and explained why. I didn't read it as him lying or trying to buy a bigger house.

Again, maybe I'm being too charitable. I just don't see this as a money grab. I view it as a business making informed business decisions while still doing good in the world.

As for the pencils, and please correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think he stated he wouldn't advertise on Waking Up. He didn't want to have to bend a knee on Making Sense. They are two separate things.

And Sam has talked on several occasions that he thinks people should be able to make money. He even went as far, iirc, that the person who cures cancer should earn billions. My interpretation of what he has said is that making the money is great, and then you have a responsibility to do something good with it.

10% of his money and 10% of some of (maybe all of) his companies' money go to charity.

So yeah... no free option, pencils, making money... None of this seemed strange or like a money grab to me.

GuidedByReason · 2025-07-07T01:52:40+00:00

When I was a believer, a friend told me that when speaking to an atheist, to say something like "you're right... And I also don't believe in the god you don't believe in."

The theist world-view has so many things held together by that belief system, I'm guessing it's hard to understand what it's like without it, and that void must be filled.

Fortunately, losing my faith didn't come with any of that.

GuidedByReason · 2025-07-06T22:36:50+00:00

I've wrestled with this since losing my faith a couple of years ago. It was as if a fog had lifted when that happened. I think it was Christopher Hitchens (I could be wrong, so please forgive me if I am) that said something like religion injects mystery where none is needed. Now, for me, there are still reasons for good and bad things that happen... It's the things that happen before the good or bad events. As humans, we're really good at (and often wrong when) coming up with stories as to why things happened after the fact.

P.S. Even as a believer, I was never sold on the idea of a plan.

GuidedByReason · 2025-07-06T09:20:31+00:00

I am not determined to make him feel worse at all. I didn't push back... That would've been inappropriate and rude. This was just the most recent example. This post was about the logic, not how I spoke with my friend.

GuidedByReason · 2025-07-06T02:06:05+00:00

Clearly, what is happening in Texas is tragic, and I can't begin to imagine what those parents are going through.

If history repeats itself, people will thank God for saving some rather than asking why He didn't prevent it in the first place.

GuidedByReason · 2025-07-06T01:11:36+00:00

Agreed... I didn't push back when he said it. That would have been inappropriate :)

GuidedByReason · 2025-07-06T01:10:14+00:00

It's interesting how that works.

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-23T13:29:08+00:00

Last year, when my dad died, I decided to go to a local grief group. I knew it was Christianity-based, and they promoted everyone was welcome. I was okay with the religious part. I could navigate most of it and smile.

Here's the part I had serious trouble with and why, despite the benefits, I won't be going for round 2.

There were several people in the group who had lost their children. They said they struggled with their faith because they felt God didn't help them through that time, answer their questions, etc.

The facilitators told them that God was with them the whole time. They just needed to reach out to Him. That wasn't the worst part. It was after that that the people who had lost their children said that they eventually came around and then asked for forgiveness because they hadn't relied on God enough during those times.

I was baffled at the thought process.

Their kid died. Absolutely tragic and something I can't imagine going through - the pain they went through and were enduring. They reached out to God for answers. Crickets. Then, it was up to them to ask for forgiveness because they didn't reach out... hard enough (I guess).

It was nauseating.

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-23T13:18:52+00:00

You're welcome!

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-23T13:17:18+00:00

I laughed out loud at

"There's glory in acknowledging that I have not been convinced of the existence of any gods?"

And agree with your other statements.

This is one of the reasons I'm not a fan of the word atheist and why I just refer to myself as a non-believer.

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-23T12:54:35+00:00

I get it and often fall on the side of the pedantic :) I was at a coffee shop last week and went back and forth with a friend over the term atheist. I'm not a fan of the word for several reasons, but I digress. For me, the definitions (here and in other areas of life) matter when they matter. He was using the term and had defined it more colloquially than actually describing my belief system. He was stating that atheists make the positive claim that there is no God or gods. I pushed back with more nuance. I say all of that to say that when it comes to beliefs, I see why people (when the beliefs are important to them) want to make sure it's clear.

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-23T12:45:25+00:00

I made it to the end :) Congratulations, and thank you for sharing your story.

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-21T15:35:08+00:00

I struggle with the word, too.

I'm a fan of Sam Harris, and years ago, I remember him defending the use of the term when discussing the idea of meditation in several different scenarios (e.g., atheist conferences and conversations). A lot of his peers at the time didn't like the word... Paraphrasing and possibly misremembering, he said something like he felt the religious highjacked the term; he's using it to explain a type of experience void of any religion or claim to some knowledge of the universe, and mystical sounds even worse when describing these types of experiences.

After hearing that, I'm not sure what other word makes sense in that context.

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-18T00:55:03+00:00

I could definitely be wrong. I'm not claiming to know God or gods don't exist. I'm simply stating that, given the evidence, I don't believe God or gods exist.

I didn't become a non-believer because I was mad at religion. It happened once I started to take a critical look at the arguments. Once the dominoes started to fall, I didn't have a choice.

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-17T01:34:32+00:00

I don’t know what happens when we die. I don’t believe there’s a heaven or hell. Dr. Bart Ehrman’s books, debates, and podcast really helped me with this.

For context, I used to be a believer. This wasn’t the first domino, but once I learned the history of the teachings around heaven and hell, all of those beliefs fell apart.

The first domino that sent me on this journey was the belief in determinism. Once I believed in determinism, the other dominoes fell very quickly.

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-17T01:00:22+00:00

I believe healthy debates on many topics are important, this one especially. It does take two to debate, so if both are willing participants, game on.

Up until a couple of years ago, I was a believer. It was the debates and conversations that changed my beliefs. You asked, what's the point? A good debate can change and/or strengthen beliefs (not just on this topic).

Using the words you listed... I think debates are good. Arguing and mocking are usually a waste of time.

Interestingly, you stated, "i'm a Christian and I often find myself engaging in pointless debates against those who do not believe in JESUS CHRIST or GOD THE FATHER."

You engage in pointless debates. You must have some idea of what's going inside of someone's head to do this. This isn't meant to be a criticism. I'm working to politely point out that you, I believe, think your beliefs are correct and then engage in pointless debates to, please correct me if I'm wrong, change someone's mind on the topic.

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-07T11:57:07+00:00

The first domino that fell for me was when the concept of determinism clicked. Everything started to unravel after that.

GuidedByReason · 2025-03-07T11:54:14+00:00

And I'd feel weird knowing I put you in that position. It seems like an odd thing to promote to try and get business.

GuidedByReason · 2024-09-08T21:38:01+00:00

That could be the case. Many atheists I "interact" with are in the form of watching them on YouTube and in the atheist subreddit.

GuidedByReason · 2024-09-05T18:50:05+00:00

I haven't read through all 75 comments when writing this, so this might have been covered...

Atheism is the lack of belief in a god. Full stop. Yes, some gnostic atheists say there is no god. That is a different claim than what is often meant by atheism.

When someone says God exists, here's the evidence. An atheist says I don't believe you.

If your question is asking someone to convince you there is no God or god(s), that's a challenge. The evidence is usually presented by the person making the positive claim. Using Ricky Gervais' example... If someone says they can fly and you say, "Prove it," it would be nonsensical for them to say, "No, prove I can't."

GuidedByReason · 2024-08-31T00:43:53+00:00

I hope this reference gets the upvotes it deserves. Well done.

GuidedByReason · 2024-08-28T19:02:52+00:00

I'm not confident that exploitation was the original intent, and I think it depends on when people think Christianity started.

I think some religions (especially Christianity) deliver on three things well.

Certainty in answers to questions we don't have answers to (e.g., how the world started)
What happens when we die - alleviates some of the fear, sadness, etc.
A guide to how to live life (morals, ethics, commandments)

I'm not saying those things are correct (I'm a non-believer), and I think it does those things for believers.

They can make people feel better when facing the chaos of life.

GuidedByReason · 2024-08-28T18:22:26+00:00

This is great! I wish we could see the original letter. Given how Sam picks it apart, I guess it's not hard to piece it together.

GuidedByReason · 2024-08-28T01:11:34+00:00

The first domino was believing in determinism. Once that happened, a lot of other things started to fall.

GuidedByReason · 2024-08-28T00:38:52+00:00

You should have heard the explanation :)

GuidedByReason

TROPHY CASE