just finished "God is Not Great" by Hitchens

[_EAllusion]

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

Seconded.

[Guest]

Seth,

I read this book several years ago, right around the time I had concluded that Joseph Smith wasn't the man the LDS church wanted me to think he was...

I've been an admirer of Hitchens since then.

I remember feeling a bit nervous having it on my Kindle... nervous that my wife might see the title and think I'd gone right over the edge into Satan-worship. Things have improved. I put several Hitchen's books on my Christmas list and she got them for me, even after I explained to her in some detail the essentials of his pro-humanist/anti-religion position.

[_why me]

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?

It is of course his own opinion and his opinion was basically ignored by most academics in religion. However, the problem was in the title. It was meant to shock and be disrespectful. He could have chosen a different title.

[_why me]

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

Thet title is a problem. But it is a sign of the times to be rude.

[_Nightlion]

I explained to her in some detail the essentials of his pro-humanist/anti-religion position.

That's the anti-missionary position. I bet it's disgusting. You told her details? ehh!

[_Blixa]

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

Seconded.

Thirded. It is a very good book.

Seth: I bet hearing Hitchens himself read the book was a lot of fun. I used to have a great deal of respect for Hitch, I loved his old columns and his Mother Teresa book was fine. I parted company with the later Hitch over his misguided and unpleasant politics.

I doubt I'll look at God is Not Great simply for the reason that these kind of issues are not that urgent for me. But if I do, I'll go the audio book route. Thanks for suggesting it.

[_Username]

I read God is Not Great last spring. Then, I read Atheist Delusions by David Bentley Hart, published a few years ago by Yale University Press. in my opinion, both should be read before any conclusions are drawn one way or the other. Both are essays that interpret the available evidence. Hitchens was a very witty journalist and columnist; Hart is a philosopher and Eastern Orthodox theologian. Those who have read Hitchens's book know his position: religion poisons everything. Hart's position on Hitchens, unsurprisingly, is exactly the opposite. About Hitchens, Hart states: "The journalist Christopher Hitchens, whose talent for intellectual caricature somewhat exceeds his mastery of consecutive logic, has just issued God is Not Great, a book that raises the wild non sequitur almost to the level of a dialectical method."

I think both books are worth reading before conclusions are drawn. For what it's worth to anyone interested.

[_The Dude]

Seth or anyone else:
Is there a way to purchase the audio of God is Not Great as an Mp3 for listening on an iPod? I have some traveling coming up in the next month, and it would be easier to go this route than to have CDs.

[_TrashcanMan79]

Seth or anyone else:
Is there a way to purchase the audio of God is Not Great as an Mp3 for listening on an iPod? I have some traveling coming up in the next month, and it would be easier to go this route than to have CDs.

Amazon has it for $12 (or free with a 30-day trial membership to audible.com [also free]). Or, if you don't have any compunctions about illegal downloading, Pirate Bay also has it (this is the route I'll be going).

[_Uncle Al]

I also Loved it. I also scoured You-tube to see all of his debates and diatribes. Absolutely brought all my doubts and problems with religion into focus. Oh, Smart people think this too!!

Obviously that led to Dawkins' God Delusion, But Penn Jillette's GOd No! started the whole thing