In Chapter Seventeen, Hitchens tries to answer the question created by secularist atrocities. “Is it not true that secular and atheist regimes have committed crimes and massacres that are, in the scale of things, at least as bad if not worse?” (p. 229) There are two responses here. The first is a brief reply to …
The Temple Fires are Extinguished
In his next chapter, Christopher Hitchens takes on religion as original sin. In this chapter, he demonstrates that he understands the Christian gospel better than many televangelists do, but at the same time, that understanding is suffused with the kind of hatred that brings a different kind of confusion. Hitchens says here that the behavior …
Only Wrong When the Buddhists Do It
At first glance, it may appear that the next chapter of Hitchens’ book would be another one where there is considerable agreement. It is entitled “There Is No ‘Eastern’ Solution,” and, of course, I completely agree with that, as far as it goes. In addition, I agree with Hitchens’ assessment of why many Westerners have …
More FV Clarifications
My apologies to Green Baggins for taking so long to answer his questions. I have been up to my neck in discussions with atheists. For the same reason, my answers here will be brief, and may come across like a laundry list, but I hope they will still be able to do the work of …
Another Potent Reply
If you are on an atheist jag as I am (and why shouldn’t you be?), you really ought to get The Return of the Village Atheist. American Vision published it at the same time they published my Letter from a Christian Citizen. I got my copy the other day, and just finished it last night. …
Stalin Has No God, Including Hitchens
I need to check and see if Congress declared this National Hitchens Week or something. His next chapter in God is Not Great asks the question: “Does Religion Make People Behave Better?” We have noted before that the question is framed improperly. It is like asking “Does Anything Going By the Name of Medical Treatment …
You Have to Leave Wichita Too
As we continue through this book, it is becoming more and more apparent that Hitchens’ gods — science and reason — are really starting to let him down. In the previous chapter, Hitchens said in passing that “the argument from authority’ is the weakest of all arguments” (p. 150). And how do you know that? …
The Need for Human Sacrifice
I think I will treat the next two chapters together. Chapter Seven of Hitchens’ book is on the nightmare we call the Old Testament, and Chapter Eight informs us why the evil of the New Testament surpasses that of the Old. That which is good in the Old Testament is, according to Hitchens, not unique …
Mucho Macaronic Mirabile Dictu
Chapter Six of Hitchens’ book is all about “Arguments from Design.” I have gone back and forth in my mind about how to approach this one. Should I do a slow inexorable build to the point in my last paragraph where I place the capstone of a fun quotation from this chapter, doing so with …
Because My Brain Burbles
It used to be possible for believers to have a brain, but no more. This is because our ancestors lived in the blackest of ignorance, and theologians like Aqinas or Maimonides were just playing cards with the hand they were dealt. Ya know? I said in an earlier post that I was going to point …