I know him bast as an outspoken critic of religion. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism were his main targets but he viewed all religion as wrong-headed and evil, as can be seen inthe subtitle of his book, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.
I've got mixed feelings about Mr. Hitchens. On the one hand I think his criticism of religion was mean-spirited and unfair, his understanding of the Bible superficial at best, and his suppositions about Christian theology often wildly innacurate. He was fond of making blanked condemnations such as this from God is Not Great...
"violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism, tribalism, and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children".
Despite this, I have to must acknowledge that Hitchens often pointed to real problems that need to be dealt with. He raised important issues that need to be discussed honestly and seriously. While I often disagree--and strongly--with his conclusions, I think his questions are important and am grateful to him for raising them.
Goodbye, Christopher Hitchens. I'm not sure what to offer in farewell because I'm sure you'd scorn my blessing and be offended by my prayers. I guess I'll just thank you for making me think about uncomfortable things. I didn't end up where you'd have wanted me to, but I am better for having struggled with the questions.
I have been reading book of Hitchens "God is Not Great"and i need to capture my raw, first reaction to it.Its has hard to put into words what this book has mean to me.the place that iv'e has been in his lacked in intellectual reason.
ReplyDeleteI need to read it myself. I've read quite a few articles by, and interviews with, Mr. Hitchens, but never this book.
ReplyDeleteDiscovering an intellectual and rational approach to life's questions is wonderful. I'd suggest that the questons he raises, and the methodical approach to finding answers are much more valuable than the answers he raises. As you know from my post, I see a strong anti-religious bias in his writing and take his answers with a grain of salt
It's much more important that a teacher helps us discover how to think than tells us what to think. I suspect Mr. Hitchens would agree.