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Douglas Wilson on Christopher Hitchens


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From this it sounded like he was able to have a cordial and respectful relationship even with the people he debated with:

http://www.christianpost.com/news/athei ... ope-49615/

I think that speaks well of both sides, that they could put aside that dispute over such a topic.

Anyway, I give Hitchens a lot of credit for being brutally honest even about topics many people find it hard to discuss candidly. It is rare for people to be so completely honest with themselves, much less others, about being terminally ill, but I think it's a healthy thing to be able to do that.

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The commenter 'John' summed up how I feel about the article.

"Despicable. Hitch was resolute in his unbelief. Wilson's speculations at the end, that he was labouring under the burden of a fear of God, are utterly unwarranted. If Wilson had integrity, he'd have contented himself with paying tribute to the man, without weaving such consolatory Christian fictions that insult his memory. But he had to turn his obituary into a pulpit. Are there no depths to which the proselytisers will not stoop?"

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The commenter 'John' summed up how I feel about the article.

"Despicable. Hitch was resolute in his unbelief. Wilson's speculations at the end, that he was labouring under the burden of a fear of God, are utterly unwarranted. If Wilson had integrity, he'd have contented himself with paying tribute to the man, without weaving such consolatory Christian fictions that insult his memory. But he had to turn his obituary into a pulpit. Are there no depths to which the proselytisers will not stoop?"

This. And they won't stop. See Rick Warren's tweet:

My friend Christopher Hitchens has died. I loved & prayed for him constantly & grieve his loss. He knows the Truth now.

All the bullshit about deathbed conversions is why Dawkins wants to be filmed dying if at all possible.

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That's so gross on Warren's part. Either he doesn't believe his own theology or he's a malicious bastard. Neither is a positive attribute.

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I am so sad for Hitchens, he was a great man, even though he can be harsh and slightly unfair with religion but that doesn't matter. He was the most influential freethinker of our time.

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I hope Hitchens does get well, well enough to be with his family long enough, even though he can be harsh and slightly unfair with religion. And this is coming from a Christian, I hope he does not fall for the deathbed conversion or I will become atheist myself.

He died last night.

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He died last night.

I just realized, that's why I changed my comment. Its so sad. He was the most brilliant atheist and freethinker of our time.

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The commenter 'John' summed up how I feel about the article.

"Despicable. Hitch was resolute in his unbelief. Wilson's speculations at the end, that he was labouring under the burden of a fear of God, are utterly unwarranted.

Wilson didn't say that, though. He didn't say or suggest Hitchens feared God. Instead he noted Hitchens's concern that he might say something on his deathbed that contradicted or seemed to contradict his atheist beliefs. I thought Wilson gave Hitchens his due and did a reasonable job of avoiding being a malicious bastard or denying his own theology--not an easy job as I see it (I don't believe in hell and imagine that's a hard line for a believer to walk, when contemplating the death of an atheist).

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I thought the last page of the article was pretty insulting.

Implying that Hitchens might have had a deathbed conversion:

We have no indication that Christopher ever called on the Lord before he died, and if he did not, then Scriptures plainly teach that he is lost forever. But we do have every indication that Christ died for sinners, men and women just like Christopher. We know that the Lord has more than once hired workers for his vineyard when the sun was almost down (Matt. 20:6).

Good grief. Why doesn't he just call a spade a spade? I fail to understand all this beating around the bush. If he believes that people who don't accept Jesus are in hell, then he should be honest about that. What's with all the "wiggle room?" Hitchens didn't believe in Jesus. If Wilson is right, then Hitchens is in hell. End of story.

It's like these people don't really want to have to face up to what their belief system requires when it comes to the deaths of actual people. They have no hesitation proclaiming, loudly, that specific believers are in heaven, but when a particular nonbeliever dies, they go on and on about how only "the Lord" knows what's in someone's heart. Has it never occurred to them that someone could have a deathbed deconversion?

Christopher Hitchens was baptized in his infancy, and his name means "Christ-bearer." This created an enormous burden that he tried to shake off his entire life. No creature can ever succeed in doing this. But sometimes, in the kindness of God, such failures can have a gracious twist at the end. We therefore commend Christopher to the Judge of the whole earth, who will certainly do right. Christopher Eric Hitchens (1949-2011). R.I.P.

That last paragraph. Just, ugh. :(

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Over at Vision Forum, meanwhile, the 'other Doug' pulled rather fewer punches - http://visionforum.com/news/blogs/doug/

I can't decide what I find more amusing - his misspelling of 'Pilate' as 'Pilot' (never got that far in the Bible, Doug?) or his bizarre insistence that Hitchens knew God existed deep down because (a) he got married, and (b) he used words in his job.

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I'm also curious about the Einstein and Darwin remarks in the article. Is there any evidence of that?

I cannot bring myself to read the article, but are you referring to the commonly quoted fundie-ism that Darwin recanted his theory and became a Christian in old age? In actuality, Darwin was a practicing Christian and a minister before, during and after his famous theory--no change of heart needed. He did not see belief in God and belief in science as contradictory.

Einstein was critical of organized religion, but also critical of atheism. He was a proud lifelong agnostic who believed there was "something else" but rejected conventional ideas of what that might be. Again, many fundies claim he was an atheist who became religious later in life, but Einstein's own writings prove this false.

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Over at Vision Forum, meanwhile, the 'other Doug' pulled rather fewer punches - http://visionforum.com/news/blogs/doug/

I can't decide what I find more amusing - his misspelling of 'Pilate' as 'Pilot' (never got that far in the Bible, Doug?) or his bizarre insistence that Hitchens knew God existed deep down because (a) he got married, and (b) he used words in his job.

Quote Doug the Tool's article: "In the death of Hitchens we see the horror of the sin of pride in the face of God’s authority and man’s mortality."

Um Dougie we SEE the sin of Pride along with a liberal dose of horror up close every time you go on an Anconda Hunt or storm the beaches at Normandy.....

Doug Phillips is a tool.

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Finding Darwins God (K. Miller) does an excellent job of aligning Darwins belief in the creator with his own theories. Darwin expressed on many occasions that faith could be compatible with his scientific theories. Problem is fundies don't read Darwin, and ergo only know talking points when it comes to Origin of the Species.

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Over at Vision Forum, meanwhile, the 'other Doug' pulled rather fewer punches - http://visionforum.com/news/blogs/doug/

I can't decide what I find more amusing - his misspelling of 'Pilate' as 'Pilot' (never got that far in the Bible, Doug?) or his bizarre insistence that Hitchens knew God existed deep down because (a) he got married, and (b) he used words in his job.

Doug is an indescribable, unforgivable cunt. I was no Hitch fan, but could Doug not be a fanny for one fucking day.

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I actually think I prefer Phillips. He's a jerk, but at least he's honest about what the belief system entails. To me, it's more offensive to see evangelicals pussyfooting around.

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When Philips said

'We should acknowledge that Hitchens spent his life building on the borrowed capital of Christianity.

Christopher Hitchens, like all skeptics and scoffers, lived, operated and survived in our Father’s world'

Did he meant that America is the Christian Capital? Does Dougie believe that America is the only Christian country in the world?

What a smug bastard.

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As someone said when Falwell died, Wilson, Phillips & Warren are going to be very, very surprised when they get to Heaven and see who else is there.

That's assuming, of course, any of them get within even country mile of the Pearly Gates...

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That's so gross on Warren's part. Either he doesn't believe his own theology or he's a malicious bastard. Neither is a positive attribute.

Co-singed. Warren is an asshole to the nth degree.

RIP Mr. Hitchens. I'll miss the fur flying and the rip-roaring fun when he was a guest on Maher's show.

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Over at Vision Forum, meanwhile, the 'other Doug' pulled rather fewer punches - http://visionforum.com/news/blogs/doug/

I can't decide what I find more amusing - his misspelling of 'Pilate' as 'Pilot' (never got that far in the Bible, Doug?) or his bizarre insistence that Hitchens knew God existed deep down because (a) he got married, and (b) he used words in his job.

It's been corrected to Pilate now.

Hi interns! :dance:

Edited due to a lack of a wave emoticon.

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Christopher Hitchens was baptized in his infancy, and his name means "Christ-bearer." This created an enormous burden that he tried to shake off his entire life. No creature can ever succeed in doing this. But sometimes, in the kindness of God, such failures can have a gracious twist at the end. We therefore commend Christopher to the Judge of the whole earth, who will certainly do right. Christopher Eric Hitchens (1949-2011). R.I.P.

I was named after Bionic Woman. It has created a great burden in my life, that I have always been trying to shake off. Perhaps when I am near the end, Dr. Wells will swoop in and give me one super strong arm (with Kung Fu grip!) and super awesome hearing.

:doh:

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It's been corrected to Pilate now.

Hi interns! :dance:

Edited due to a lack of a wave emoticon.

It's nice to think that I managed to cause a Grade B Alert over at Intern HQ. "We need a spellchecker on that post, stat!" "Do we wake Doug?" "Negative, this is not, repeat not, a Doug-waking scenario at this point!"

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It's nice to think that I managed to cause a Grade B Alert over at Intern HQ. "We need a spellchecker on that post, stat!" "Do we wake Doug?" "Negative, this is not, repeat not, a Doug-waking scenario at this point!"

They really need to start paying our site for our services.

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