Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Eric Hitchens (April 13, 1949 - December 15, 2011) was a journalist, author and literary critic. Hitchens received degrees in philosophy, politics and economics from Balliol College, Oxford, in 1970. From 1971-1981, he worked in Britain as book reviewer for The Times newspaper. He emigrated to the United States in 1981, and has written regularly, or been a contributing editor for Harper's, Vanity Fair and The Nation. He was an avowed Marxist, atheist and antitheist. Hitchens has a younger brother, Peter Hitchens, who is also a journalist, author and critic. Mr. Hitchens was one of the more prominent spokesperson for the New Atheism movement.

Christopher Hitchens was a member of the International Socialists and an active Trotskyist during his youth. Before his death he claimed to be "on the same side as the neo-conservatives," but does not consider himself a conservative. He supported George W. Bush's foreign policy, but has a negative attitude towards Bush's support of intelligent design. Hitchens made himself unpopular, even among fellow atheists for his support of the Iraq War, which was motivated by his hatred of religion - in his own words, he supported the Iraq War simply because Iraqis were Muslim, which has been compared to endorsement of racially-motivated genocide.

He was a harsh critic of Ronald Reagan, and considered Henry Kissinger a war criminal. Mr. Hitchens was also known for having a history of heavy drinking.

Christopher Hitchens was being treated for esophageal cancer caused by drinking and smoking up until his death on December 15, 2011.

Hitchens on bestiality

See also: Christopher Hitchens on bestiality and Atheism and bestiality and Evolutionary belief and bestiality

Bestiality is the act of engaging in sexual relations with an animal.

At the end of a Christian apologist William Lane Craig vs. atheist Christopher Hitchens debate there was an audience question and answer period.VIDEO Around an hour and 54 minutes into the aforementioned video, the first audience member to ask a question asked Christopher Hitchens twice whether it is "good that the Bible prohibits humans from having sex with animals." Hitchens answered the question essentially by saying the Bible is not needed to stop humans from doing that, since we are genetically inclined against it and societies that do engage in such harmful behavior tend to die out, citing the example of cannibalistic societies that get kuru. Dr. Craig said the question posed to Hitchens was a good one and it helped illustrate that atheism cannot offer objective moral standards (see: Atheism and morality).

Opposition to Islam and Support of the War on Terror

Christopher Hitchens became an activist against Islam when Ayatullah Kohmeini declared a fatwa against his personal friend Salman Rushdie. The event has led him to become very vocal in his support of the war in Iraq and heavily critical of Muslim society and ethics.

Insults toward Jerry Falwell

In a TV interview with Hannity and Colmes a day after Jerry Falwell's death, Christopher Hitchens expressed his anger over Falwell's legacy, calling the media coverage of his death uniform in its "stupidity" and calling Falwell himself a "vulgar fraud and crook". Hitchens went on to state such comments as "we have been rid of an extremely dangerous demagogue who lived by hatred of others and prejudice", "that it's a pity there isn't a hell for him to go to", "the evil he did will live after him", and "and I think his death is a deliverance" . Hannity said that such comments were "crude", "thoughtless", "mean", and "hateful."

Select bibliography

• Callaghan: The Road to Number Ten (Cassell, 1976)
• Hostage to History: Cyprus From the Ottomans to Kissinger (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1989)
• Imperial Spoils: The Case of the Parthenon Marbles (Hill and Wang, 1989)
• Blood, Class and Nostalgia: Anglo-American Ironies (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1990)
• The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice (Verso, 1995)
• Prepared for the Worst (Hill and Wang, 1989)
• For the Sake of Argument: Essays & Minority Reports (Verso, 1993)
• No One Left to Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family (Verso, 2000)
• God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything - outside the US, published with the alternate subtitle The Case Against Religion (Atlantic, 2007)

Some other titles include: “Letters to a Young Contrarian,” “The Trial of Henry Kissinger (2001)” and his memoir, “Hitch-22. [1]

“Stranger in a Strange Land”: In this piece that The Atlantic published two months after the attacks of 9/11, Hitchens summed up his break from the establishment left over the attacks and the war on terror that was then only beginning. Ibidem

Death

Christopher Hitchens died on December 15, 2011. The media has reported that the cause of his death was pneumonia, a complication of oesophageal cancer. The cancer was likely caused by his heavy drinking and smoking.

Atheism and Hitchens' cancer

The possiblity that Hitchens' unfortunate death from cancer could have been directly or indirectly influenced by his atheism remains open. In the indirect sense, it is known that the atheistic philosophy of the objective meaninglessness of life correlates with vices and mental unwellness. Atheists and secular Americans are known to have higher rates of drug abuse^{[Citation Needed]}(which in a broad sense could include smoking and drinking as well), and regular churchgoers are known to have much lower rates of mental illness and depression^{[Citation Needed]}. The depression that sometimes persists alongside atheism could have conceivably influenced him to use harmful matericalistic pleasures like tobacco and alcohol as a coping mechanism^{[Citation Needed]} , since an avowed atheist like Hitchens would not decide to seek spiritual health, attend a Christian church or look for "answers" in the Bible. This provides reason to speculate that atheism influenced Hitchens' bad habits^{[Citation Needed]}, which lead to his cancer and death.

Whether Hichens' cancer death was influenced in any direct sense remains more uncertain. While a Christian should not speak directly for God, the Bible does show that, in specific instances, God has been known to punish sinners and the unrepentant with disease. The Bible has also made it clear that those who wish evil on others deserve no better themselves, and as Hitchens praised the sad and gruesome death of Rev. Jerry Falwell, the possibility of divine retribution remains as well depending on a Christians interpretation of God's word and actions.

On the flip side, God has been shown to bestow mercy on those who are sick and seek His help. The many stories of Jesus healing the blind, crippled, and ill are the first examples. Even during today's times, there have been claims of modern day miracles as well, such as the possible "curing" of a person's cancer by a Roman Catholic priest, through the power of prayer - something which Hitchens likely rejected to his deathbed. Again it would be presumptuous for a Christian to speak directly on God's behalf, as is Hitchen's most obvious eternal fate according to the Bible (for only God knows for a fact whether or not he repented on his deathbead) nevertheless the possibilities are a good topic of discussion among Christians and non-Christians alike.

External links

• "Why Christopher Hitchens Is Wrong About Billy Graham", Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, Time magazine Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2007