Well said, Wes.
Thanks. 
I object to atheists. God has nothing nice to say about them either.
Meh.
You inexplicably agree with Mr. Harris' really huge assumption; that physical death is a bad thing. It may indeed be a frightening thing to go through, but a great many witnesses indicate that believers get a sense of peace right at the end, almost as if, you know, there is an omnipotent, omniscient, and compassionate God looking out for them.
"...the reality that we live in a fallen, cursed world..."
That is indeed the orthodox, Christian explanation of evil and suffering in this world. And of course, many people object to this by saying that if God knew that mankind would fall into sin, then why did He create the world? Read Romans 9:20-23. Do I like this explanation? Humanly speaking, no, I do not. But speaking as a Christian, I accept and believe it. I teach it to my children. ( Q.3 of The Children's Catechism; "Why did God make you and all things?" A. "For His own glory." ) To me, life makes no sense otherwise.
You inexplicably agree with Mr. Harris' really huge assumption; that physical death is a bad thing. It may indeed be a frightening thing to go through, but a great many witnesses indicate that believers get a sense of peace right at the end, almost as if, you know, there is an omnipotent, omniscient, and compassionate God looking out for them.
You're talking about believers; the majority of people are not believers, in the sense that they've accepted salvation by the blood of Jesus. How many of those who died during Hurricane Katrina were believers? The answer is that we have no idea. The deaths of the lost can be characterized only as great tragedies.
As for physical death being a bad thing, you find that viewpoint "inexplicable?" Really? 1 Corinthians 15: 20-22 tells us that death came into the world through Man, and that life also comes to us through Christ. This certainly implies that death is "bad;" nor is it solely speaking of spiritual death, unless you believe that Christ died spiritually, not physically.
1 Corinthians 15: 26 calls death "the last enemy."
Romans 5: 12 characterizes death as a product of sin.
So the question is: If death is an enemy, an effect of sin, and something that must be mitigated in its effects through the sacrificial physical death and resurrection of Jesus, why would we classify it as anything other than "a bad thing?"
That's what I call inexplicable.
Spiritual death came into the world through Adam, and was conquered by Christ. Spiritual death is a consequence of sin. Physical death happened prior to the fall and is unrelated to sin.
Wes, I'm having doubts about your theology. Christ did die spiritually, that is, Christ went to hell. That, in fact, would be the whole point of his suffering - separation from God.
The Apostles' Creed states:
"I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead....
Christ's spiritual, as well as physical, death are core tenets of Christianity. You cannot be a Christian without believing that Christ died both spiritually and physically and was then resurrected and reunited with the Father. That was the whole "Why have you forsaken me" thing. Christ took our sin upon Himself, that meant that He had to go to hell, He had to be separated from God the Father.
Bill, when I said: This certainly implies that death is "bad;" nor is it solely speaking of spiritual death, unless you believe that Christ died spiritually, not physically., my point was that 1 Corinthians 15: 20-22 includes physical death, not just spiritual death.
Christ did die spiritually, that is, Christ went to hell. That, in fact, would be the whole point of his suffering - separation from God.
I think one should have care with the term "spiritual death." If you just mean that He entered a brief state of separation from God, I agree, as this was accomplished on the cross, when He cried out: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27: 46)
On the other hand, spiritual death for humanity is a state of unrepentantance for sin, which is why the lost endure eternal punishment. In this context, Jesus did not suffer spiritual death, as He was without sin. (Heb. 4: 15; 1 Peter 2: 22; 1 Peter 1: 19; 1 John 3: 5; etc.)
Since Jesus became separated from God on the cross, as per Matthew 27: 46, it doesn't follow that His descent into "Hell" furthered His separation from God, in the suffering of some form of torment. Revelation 1: 18 says that He has the keys to death and hell, which implies that He has free access to them, if He so wishes. 1 Peter 3: 18-20 tells us that He "went and preached unto the spirits in prison"; a reasonable assumption is that these were beings pent up in the portion of Hades reserved for those who reject Christ. Otherwise, why were they in prison? Luke 23: 43 says that He told the thief who died with Him that "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise," so He was not going to be suffering in Hell that very day. John 19: 30 says that He proclaimed "It is finished," just before dying on the cross. This indicates that the requisite separation from God already had taken place. Acts 20: 28 and Romans 3: 25 say that He purchased us with His blood, meaning that His physical death was sufficient.
So if you want to claim that Jesus' going to the abode of the dead somehow was a component of His taking our punishment upon Himself for our sake -- by His continued suffering while in that place -- you're going to have to offer more evidence than the Apostles' creed.
As a supplement here's an article that I find helpful in understanding the distinctions between Sheol / Hades and Hell.
I'll comment more later.
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