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Christopher Hitchens

AvalonXQ said:
Wait, seriously?
A dead guy, yes, I agree. But you really think that a Christian who truly believes that a dying man is close to going to Hell if they don't embrace Christ shouldn't say anything? How is that even remotely reasonable?
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while i can understand that reaction, wouldn't it be far more "Christian" of you to silently pray for him? and speak a good word for the guy to your god?
 
DC said:
while i can understand that reaction, wouldn't it be far more "Christian" of you to silently pray for him? and speak a good word for the guy to your god?
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I think that in the case of a guy close to death, I would at least offer to help him give his soul over to God before he passes. As with anything else, I would be respectful about it and then let it drop when he says no, but it sure would be wrong of me not to give him every opportunity considering what I believe the alternative to be.
 
Pardalis said:
Here's another one:

"But it’s always a very tricky business to interpret the purpose of the divine providence. After all, plenty of good, even saintly, people die prematurely from terrible diseases all the time, and lots of atheists and vile sinners live long prosperous lives before dying peacefully in their beds."

Good, he's placing atheists and "vile sinners" in the same category.

What a ****.:mad:
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To be fair, its a basic Christian ideology that all humans are "vile sinners", including themselves. I can see how you perceive it as an insult, but I personally do not.

Pardalis said:
Yes exactly, it's a perfect time to exercise their internal dialogue with god, internal being the operative word here.

It's the respectful thing to do.
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No, its not a respectful thing to do. If you truly believe that all nonbelievers will descend into a fiery pit of doom where only pain exists for the rest of eternity, it is not respectful to just internally pray for them. Any humane person would do anything in their power to convert a nonbeliever. You would need to be a sociopath to simply pray internally for a nonbeliever to be in excruciating pain for the rest of eternity.

Well, the nature of "Hell" is debatable, but thats a different matter entirely. :p
 
AvalonXQ said:
I think that in the case of a guy close to death, I would at least offer to help him give his soul over to God before he passes. As with anything else, I would be respectful about it and then let it drop when he says no, but it sure would be wrong of me not to give him every opportunity considering what I believe the alternative to be.
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That would literally be the worst possible thing you could do to someone on their death bed. Smothering them would be better as you would cause less suffering.

When fairy tales meet reality, the results are never good.
 
To get back on topic ... I'm a huge fan of his ... and so I'm deeply sorry that this has happened to him. I can only wish him well and hope against all hope that he will recover.
 
"So remember, that everything alive will die someday,
and that's ok.It’s the great equating factor in the world
like some desiccated tractor,
we all run out of gas, this life can’t last
‘cause everything alive will die someday"

I dislike the idea of anyone using death or potential of death as some great proof of ideology.
 
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Pardalis said:
M. Barron, you are a filthy piece of ****, a little **** faced delusional little coward. I hope you die of Cholera, or some painful, long and humiliating disease, you stupid dirtbag. And I hope Hitchens survives this just to go and punch you in the mouth. :mad:

There, just needed to vent this out. Feeling better now.
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Being utterly spiteful and asinine makes you feel better?
 
I wonder if he has a chance?

The cancer has metastasized but with the progress in medicine these days, maybe he can still beat it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esophageal_cancer#Prognosis

Patients with distant metastases (who are not candidates for curative surgery) have a less than 3% 5YSR.
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Not so good, but greater than zero. At least he's not going to go for the woo-woo "alternative" "treatments."
 
AvalonXQ said:
Okay, I think I'm understanding -- you're angry because this priest agrees with most Christians that atheists are sinners, and they're wrong because God exists. That's pretty much the extent of it, huh? It's wrong to mention that Hitchens has cancer and also that you disagree with him in the same article?
Because honestly, I'm having trouble seeing anything else to be upset about here.
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It one thing to think atheist are sinner, it is ANOTHER completely different to use the plight and pain of somebody else to promote an agenda, and pretend it is god's will or whatever.

Furthermore christian get cancer at the SAME rate as atheist. To pretend that when an atheist get cancer it is to get him to reflect on his atheism... Then what does that mean for that same bunch of christian with the same cancer ?

No. The priest were definitively uncallous and uncivil to USE that as a corner stone to proselytize.
 
Aepervius said:
It one thing to think atheist are sinner, it is ANOTHER completely different to use the plight and pain of somebody else to promote an agenda, and pretend it is god's will or whatever.

Furthermore christian get cancer at the SAME rate as atheist. To pretend that when an atheist get cancer it is to get him to reflect on his atheism... Then what does that mean for that same bunch of christian with the same cancer ?

No. The priest were definitively uncallous and uncivil to USE that as a corner stone to proselytize.
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I read that differently than you did; it seemed to me that the guy warned other christians away from the very human reaction of doing/thinking the things you mentioned and instead just to pray for Hitch, in the vien of "some might say X, but that is unworthy and un-christian".

I really hope Hitch pulls through. I think he is overly confrontational about his views on religion, but he has always struck me as intellectually honest (and both socially and physically brave - he almost got Michael Totten and himself taken out by Lebanese neo-nazis because he wouldn't back down). Not everyone makes their contribution to society by smiling sweetly at old ladies, and I've read that Hitch can be a major ass, but he's definitely contributed to society, in my opinion.
 
Yeah. So I caught the CNN interview. It was bizarre.

To see the guy maintain a macabre sense of humor with a still lucid mind whilst his body seemed to be deteriorating before Anderson Cooper's eyes was something to behold.

The guy has balls. That, I respect.
 
ravdin said:
I will be disappointed if Kissinger and Ratzinger outlive him. I'm very much looking forward to the obits he'll write.
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For a while I have suspected that Hitchens has already written his obituary of Kissinger and it will appear even if Kissinger outlives him.
 
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