just finished "God is Not Great" by Hitchens

[_Sethbag]

I had previously purchased a hard copy of "God is Not Great", but my daughter snagged it and took it to college with her before I could read it. So I recently downloaded the audiobook version from Audible and listened to it.

I frickin loved it! After hearing so many downers about it from those who are offended by it for religious reasons, or even those who find it too low brow for their brand of philosophical or academic sophistication, my expectations were tempered somewhat, even as big a Hitchens fan as I am.

Well, they were all wrong. The book is brilliant. Now, hear me out. I think there's a way this book needs to be read and understood, in order to be appreciated fully.

This book is not an attempted proof that religion is false. It could never serve as such anyway. There is such a variety of religious practice and faith in the world, that there is no way Hitchens could ever provide evidence against them all. So believers who think this is an attempted proof can easily just say "well he's not talking about me, so the book fails". Fine, be that way, but you're missing the point.

The book is also not an academic, peer-reviewed dissertation or paper. Remarkable though his grasp of some Mormon-related concepts was for such a disinterested nevermo, I did notice several very minor, niggling mistakes in his Mormon discussion. One example is that he said Joseph Smith claimed to be using crystals fastened in two breastplates, one called Urim, and one called Thummim, where we know that the actual claim was that both crystals for fastened to the same breastplate, and the whole rig was called Urim and Thummim. Ok, yeah, so he missed a technicality. But none of his little mis-statements like this one really changed or affected the gist of his argument. You could have gone through and fixed his little errors and his main argument would have been exactly the same. I presume there are other mistakes of this nature in his discussions of other topics about which I am less knowledgable.

Christopher Hitchens was a columnist. Sure, he wrote books too, but his primary bread and butter over his whole career was writing columns. He was a commentator. He talked about things, made observations, and shared his opinions. If one reads this book as one long commentary on religion in the world, rather than as an attempted proof or scholarly dissertation, one will find it actually quite enjoyable. There were so many pithy quotes that I could not memorize with a single hearing, that I now want to get my hard copy back from my daughter so I can read it on paper and highlight some of the quotes I heard in the audio version.

The audio book was narrated by Christopher Hitchens, which probably multiplied my enjoyment of it immensely. I've watched so many debates and discussions and Q&A sessions and interviews and whatnot with him over the years that I've really grown to dig his manner of speaking, his particular accent, and sometimes his understated or dry sense of humor. He was able to narrate his own words perfectly, conveying that typical Hitchens wit in a way that some other narrator would probably never be able to pull off. Of course nobody can do Hitchens the way Hitchens does.

So read the book, think about what Hitchens is saying, try to grasp the gist of his arguments, his observations, his opinion on the overall arc of religion through our world history, and try to treat this book as a particularly long Vanity Fair column, rather than as an attempt to create an air-tight Aristotelian proof, and I think you may well enjoy the book as much as I did.

Or maybe you just have to be a Hitchens fan, I don't know. My taste for Hitchens grew over time, since I've been reading his words and listening to them on youtube, Google videos, TV, or any other source he appeared in for at least the last decade.

[_MrStakhanovite]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's always a thrill to read/listen to a book that excites you.

[_kairos]

Unfortunately Christopher had his own god who turned out not to be so great- alcohol!

I liked his speaking truth to power when he confronted men and religions, especially those claiming special power from God and using itto control their followers. He often accurately reported about how war and persecution in the name of God was detrimental to civilization.

His was a keen mind, in life's later stages besotted by alcohol-i believe he was a tragic figure but perhaps, if there is a God, He used Christopher for His purposes to awaken us to carefully discerning truth especially as to the claims made in the name of religion.

Rest in Peace Christopher !

[_Sethbag]

Thanks for the comments!

One anecdote, in which Hitchens' dry wit was so well expressed, was in his description of the testimony he was asked to give at the Vatican, opposing the effort to canonize Mother Theresa. In previous centuries, the Vatican had a specific office, that of the Devil's Advocate, whose job it was to offer the opposing argument at any canonization process. This office had been abolished, however it was still considered important to bring in both sides, so Christopher Hitchens was brought in and, as he put it, represented the devil pro bono.

[_why me]

Hitchens wrote a book about Mother Theresa and her missionaries of charity. He called the book The Missionary Position. Disgusting. He was a mean spirited individual and a disrespectful person toward religion.

[_Sethbag]

Did you ever read that book, Why Me?

I haven't read it yet, only heard him talk about Mother Theresa in other contexts. What he said, if true, is very disturbing to me. To sum up, it seems that Mother Theresa had a sort of fetish for suffering, and set her charity up in such a way as to promote, and even revel in, the suffering of those she served, when it was within her means and ability to alleviate a lot of that suffering. Would this not disturb you?

[_Ceeboo]

Hey Seth,

The audio book was narrated by Christopher Hitchens, which probably multiplied my enjoyment of it immensely.

I can surely understand that.

I've watched so many debates and discussions and Q&A sessions and interviews and whatnot with him over the years that I've really grown to dig his manner of speaking, his particular accent, and sometimes his understated or dry sense of humor.

Agreed!
Although I (as a believer) obviously would not share in many of his opinions, I think he had a very unique and brilliant sense of humor.
Like you, I also enjoyed his manner of speaking and accent a great deal.

Of course nobody can do Hitchens the way Hitchens does.

Without question!
Among his many talents, his profound ability to communicate, in any scenario, to any audience, was crystal clear.

RIP!

Peace,
Ceeboo

[_MrStakhanovite]

In my opinion, "The Missionary Position" is Hitchen's finest work.

[_TrashcanMan79]

He called the book The Missionary Position. Disgusting.

"It was either that or Sacred Cow, and I thought Sacred Cow would be in bad taste." - Hitch

[_The Dude]

When it first came out I read about 1/3 of "God is Not Great" but I lost interest. I can imagine the audio version would be a different experience, with his Brit accent and liquored intensity. I do appreciate the way Hitchens expresses his opinions, even though I believe his opinions are are half sincere and half crafted to be maximally controversial. Certainly he was sincere in his atheism. I will have to get his book on audio and listen to it with an open mind.

...Sacred Cow... ROFL