Christopher Hitchens passes

Masterful speaker, writer, journalist, contrarian, and revolutionary

Christopher Hitchens passed away on Thursday at age 62,

after a 2 year battle with cancer.

Hitchens was a longtime proponent of intellectualism and

speaking directly, which led him to cross political and party

lines in his assault on ignorance (leading to much controversy

over the years.) He identified as an anti-theist, although the

public would dismiss much of his views by labeling him atheist.

He had been a writer at Vanity Fair for nearly 30 years, as well as a

multitude of other magazines (The Nation, The Guardian,etc.) and was the

author of "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything"

(highly recommended.)

His series of written debates with pastor Douglas Wilson, "Is

Christianity Good for the World?" were widely read, and led to a book

and film based on the works.

He was a frequent guest commentator on television both in America

and Britain, and was an eloquent and well-versed speaker.

He was also widely respected for sticking to his guns, being

a man of principle, and the fair-mindedness of even his

more impassioned stances. Evidence of this respect

shows in many places, like the remembrance of Hitchins

penned by oft-times debater Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.

*******************

A Few great Lines from Hitchens

"(Giving Obama a Nobel Peace Prize) would be like giving

someone an Oscar in the hope that it would encourage them

to make a decent motion picture."

"My own view is that this planet is used as a penal colony,

lunatic asylum and dumping ground by a superior civilisation,

to get rid of the undesirable and unfit. I can't prove it, but you

can't disprove it either."  (- excerpted from "God Is Not Great")

"Nothing optional - from homosexuality to adultery - is ever

made punishable unless those who do the prohibiting (and exact

the fierce punishment) have a repressed desire to participate."

  (-excerpted from "God Is Not Great")

                                                   ******************************
For more info and complete articles/books....
http://www.hitchenszone.com/


http://buildupthatwall.com/


http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7358646n


Thank you for all your hard work, Christopher.
May your work continue to influence the world and
break down the insanity that we have crafted.

*****************************************