Moderated Book about Hitchens claims he almost converted

RogueKitten said:
Saw this today: http://religionnews.com/2016/04/20/...hens-considered-christianity-new-book-claims/

I haven't read the book yet, but reading the comment by the author and this article sounds to me like either a) this guy sold out the memory of his friend or b) he's revised his memories to fit what he wanted to have happened.

Thoughts?
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They say that about pretty much any prominent atheist.

During an interview, Hitchens, knowing his chances of surviving another year were grim, flat out said he found the idea ridiculous and insulting.
 
Aepervius said:
It is the same tactic used as pretending there is no atheist in a foxhole. "You pretend to be atheist but once it comes to the end you'll repent and admit to believe in god. Ra-ra-ra you are not really an atheist you just pretend to be so. (insert childish giggle)".

Usually if you dig enough you see such tactic reflects the fragility of the faith of the theist and their need to reassure themselves they got the "good" path. One of such is to pretend the faith of others is an empty shell.
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^ Absolutely this.
 
Noztradamus said:
At least the bevilers care about Hitchens and want him saved. He could have ended up like notorious infidel Voltaire who once said “In one hundred years the Bible will be an extinct book”, then suffered the posthumourous humiliation of having Bibles printed in his former house- no redemption there.

At least I think he said that. I haven't located the actual quote, and the fundies who quote it seem to have forgotten where they first saw it.

But I have to admit it sounds authentic, because Voltaire had such a deep and naïve faith in human rationality and intelligence that he might well have said it.

(Or am I thinking of Vultan? I always get him and Voltaire confused)
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Voltaire may or may not have said this on his deathbed, but it is commonly attributed to him.
According to one story, his last words were, "Now is not the time for making new enemies." It was his response to a priest at the side of his deathbed, asking Voltaire to renounce Satan.
Voltaire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Voltaire​
I like to think it's true. I hope I may be inspired by a similar courageous spirit when I am in the same situation.
 
A very different account of the last words of atheists is given in http://www.thefreepressonline.co.uk/news/1/1830.htm
Famous atheists’ last words before dying. Voltaire: ‘I am abandoned by God and man…I shall go to hell.’ Thomas Paine: 'I would give worlds, if I had them, that the "Age of Reason" had never been published. Oh, God, save me; for I am at the edge of hell alone…’

Thomas Carlyle: I am as good as without hope, a sad old man gazing into the final chasm.’ ... (etc, etc)​
 
Hang on, they've got Cardinal Mazarin there.
I dunno, but I find it slightly difficult to class a Catholic Cardinal as an atheist.

And Gandhi. Can you really class Hindus as atheist?

Methinks these people don't actually know what they're talking about...
 
Tolls said:
Hang on, they've got Cardinal Mazarin there.
I dunno, but I find it slightly difficult to class a Catholic Cardinal as an atheist.

And Gandhi. Can you really class Hindus as atheist?

Methinks these people don't actually know what they're talking about...
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For that matter Voltaire and Paine weren't Atheists either.

ETA Paine wrote a short book called Atheism Refuted, a strange occupation for an "atheist" writer, if such he was.
 
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I think this last words thing is, as has been noted above, over blown. When I worked as a nurses aide I witnessed many last words. They rarely made any sense. I vividly recall one man yelling for "Janice". No one in his family knew who this was. Few weeks later one of the nurses aides recalled he had been watching a show with a character by that name the day before he passed. So even if I believed these claims, I could just as easily believe this gentleman coached a dying Hitchens to repeat after him when he was so poorly he couldn't understand.
 
I went to order the book on Amazon, and was blown away by all the "critical thinkers" who rail against the book they have not read. Cripes, I get he is St. Chris and all, but lets not elevate him to god just yet.

Looking forward to a great read!

Thanks for the thread
 
16.5 said:
I went to order the book on Amazon, and was blown away by all the "critical thinkers" who rail against the book they have not read. Cripes, I get he is St. Chris and all, but lets not elevate him to god just yet.

Looking forward to a great read!

Thanks for the thread
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You don't need to read a book to understand it's full of lies. Perhaps you should do a spot of reading, I recommend Mortality, Hitchens' final work in which he kept a diary of his final years and never once softened on his detestation of organised religion and his feelings about the imaginary gods.
But hey, that might contradict something you desperately want to believe. :rolleyes:
 
16.5 said:
I went to order the book on Amazon, and was blown away by all the "critical thinkers" who rail against the book they have not read. Cripes, I get he is St. Chris and all, but lets not elevate him to god just yet.

Looking forward to a great read!

Thanks for the thread
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OK...be the bigger man. Please post your honest opinion after you have read the book. I for one am not interested in giving him any of my money.
 
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16.5 said:
I went to order the book on Amazon, and was blown away by all the "critical thinkers" who rail against the book they have not read. Cripes, I get he is St. Chris and all, but lets not elevate him to god just yet.

Looking forward to a great read!

Thanks for the thread
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catsmate said:
You don't need to read a book to understand it's full of lies. Perhaps you should do a spot of reading, I recommend Mortality, Hitchens' final work in which he kept a diary of his final years and never once softened on his detestation of organised religion and his feelings about the imaginary gods.
But hey, that might contradict something you desperately want to believe. :rolleyes:
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Such books are not for non believers anyway. They are for believers to shore up their faith, just like movies such as "God's Not Dead." Just because the movie, or book, is complete BS does not mean anything.
 
Desert Fox said:
Such books are not for non believers anyway. They are for believers to shore up their faith, just like movies such as "God's Not Dead." Just because the movie, or book, is complete BS does not mean anything.
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God's Not Dead is heart breaking. The main character is a self destructive profrssor who is depressed after his wife dies. A student in his philosophy class refuses to obey the professor's order to deny God. They then embark on a movie-long debate about whether god can be refuted. At no point does anyone report to school authorities that this professor is bordering on an emotional breakdown and needs serious mental health care. At the very end, the professor rushes to a Newsboy concert,gets hit by a car, accepts Jesus, and dies.

Its also unbelievable that Kevin Sorbo could die getting hit by a car....he's Heracles.
 
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Interesting, he played a character in a bunch of kick starter fantasy movies that actually were not bad.
 
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