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He complains that the only proofs of God's existence offered, were subjective experience and blind faith. Yet, these are the very essence of faith.  

He is correct that there have been attempts to prove the existence of God by reason. Since there are many opinions about the existence and nature of the supernatural, these "proofs" are only subjectively persuasive. My religious training (Catholic) recognized the need for a "leap of faith." This is the conscious decision to believe in something that can't be proven; and act that is inherently irrational. After all, belief systems are called faiths, because faith rather than reason or science, is central to the experience.  

Mr. Harris also suggests the "reliability of the Bible" and "historicity of Christ's resurrection" as rational approaches to faith. The internal inconsistencies of the Christian bible have been debated for centuries. To choose a classical example: If God created only Adam and Eve, where did the wives of Cain and Able come from?  

Try to convince a Muslim or Hindu of the reliability of Christian scripture, or visa versa. In belief systems, the truth value of a statement is determined by the act of belief, a purely subjective experience. In bumper sticker speak, it is as rational to claim "Jesus Saves!" as Elvis Lives!".

As for the "historicity of Christ's resurrection,", historicity means historical actuality or fact.

Most damming is Mr. Harris' claim that "It is not a virtue to believe without reason." Yet in the story of doubting Thomas, John 20:29 states, "Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.' To believe without reason is exactly the requirement of faith. Objective reality be dammed.  

Todd Brennan 
Clifton 
The Cincinnati Enquirer Thursday, August 7, 1997 
(340 words)