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Related: About this forumTodd Friel (Unwisely) Interviews Christopher Hitchens about God and tries to trap him.. but
I don't much care for Christopher Hitchens - I think he was a pompous ass and a war monger with an outlandishly dogmatic version of atheism - but to give the devil his dues - this is really good.idwiyo
(5,113 posts)nyquil_man
(1,443 posts)Hitchens, of all people?
Warpy
(111,359 posts)when he's up against somebody that glib and smarmy who is unbearably pompous, himself.
I'm surprised Hitch gave this little zit the time of day.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)But come to think of it, that's pretty much the best that religion has. Just a bunch of nonsensical "what if" games.
Divine Discontent
(21,056 posts)I see no point in trying to play gotcha with someone. it's typically the act of a fundamentalist. Let me guess, that guy loves Kirk Cameron. lol
edit to state, I believe in God.
shebornik
(127 posts)but I have more faith in the lottery than I do in any religion.
lumpy
(13,704 posts)n
canuckledragger
(1,667 posts)...just makes it up the rules and 're-interprets' them as he goes along trying to trap him.
Naughty theist, isn't that lying in one form or another?
BootinUp
(47,197 posts)papa3times
(150 posts)What if this guy asked one more stupid question traveling at the speed of light? Would it ever catch up to the previous question also traveling at the speed of light?
juxtaposed
(2,778 posts)god has never been a part of my life. 5-6 years old i made my choice.
I sit back and let them fight, but I do not want to be a part of it,,,,,,,,,,
yuiyoshida
(41,864 posts)I tell them I am Buddhist, and watch them cross themselves as if they just met a Satanist.. I keep telling them, its different from you, that's what makes the world go round...but they won't buy it...
They have to save me, right freaking now before I explode into a ball of flame before their very eyes.
I am so glad where I live there are mostly non Christians.. so they don't have to chase me down the street swinging their good books in my direction.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)They figure if you aren't a follower of Jesus it's because you haven't HEARD of him.
I had a girlfriend with a VERY twisted sense of humor (like me) and we played a game with some door to door Bible thumpers once.
We played like we never heard of some guy named "Jesus" before in our lives. It was everything I could do to keep a straight face as she said things like, "Bethlehem? Isn't that in Pennsylvania?" and I said, "No. I think it's out by Van Nuys."
Laochtine
(394 posts)Lol
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)In addition, the whole "human sacrifice" thing is laid bare.
Snake Plissken
(4,103 posts)Yeah, that's right Todd, just because you're dumber than a bag of rocks doesn't mean you have an exclusive on silly irrational mythology.
Missn-Hitch
(1,383 posts)SunSeeker
(51,726 posts)That video demonstrates his hypocrisy. He rightfully asserts that he should be left to be autonomous, not told how to live his personal life by some tyrannical being. Yet, he would force a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term and give birth against her will.
Sky Masterson
(5,240 posts)Lets face it. He was kind of a dick.
When I agreed with him, I really really agreed with him.
When I didn't, I really really didn't.
I loved the Chris Hitchens that I heard in the video above.
I wish he was still around.
jjewell
(618 posts)Rest in peace Christopher Hitchens...
Sky Masterson
(5,240 posts)deutsey
(20,166 posts)I'm not a fan of Hitchens, but I liked how he carried himself here. This Friel guy (I've never heard of him) came off as a smarmy jerk.
When I googled him, I saw that he's in with the Kirk Cameron crowd of crazies.
I disagreed with Hitchens on a lot of things, but I always respected his honesty and his willingness to engage just about anyone, even morons like Friel.
KG
(28,753 posts)Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)Last edited Sun Oct 20, 2013, 10:30 AM - Edit history (1)
the better of Todd Friel in the interview. Most would be so loaded with their own assumptions that Hitchen's clever points would simply sound crazy to them
suzanner
(590 posts)Organized- particularly evangelical/ fundamental Christian- religion has couched itself in an elitism, using anticipatory reward (worldly riches, 'heavenly' future post death) as the carrot while taking their money for itself as a secretly for-profit institution. I did appreciate that Hitchens did not ever get sucked into appeasement. That is what, in my mind, makes him brilliant or superior. Ed Schultz, Mike Papantonio, and a few others also have that.
DefenseLawyer
(11,101 posts)It's a shame that Hitchens got himself bogged down in all that war mongering at the end; he was at his best in a forum like this.
djean111
(14,255 posts)And I believe Friel felt he quite got the better of Hitchens in this exchange.
Like others have said, I agreed with Hitchens sometimes, and disagreed violently at other times. And who can say how Hitchens would have thought about things today?
I do remember how pissy Greenwald got when Hitchens died and some remembered SOME of Hitchens' writings and stances fondly - even though people clearly said they disagreed with Hitchens on some things, but thought other stances of his were right on, Greenwald was furious that anyone eulogized Hitchens at all - kind of Thought Police-y, really, just don't read anything about Hitchens. Easy peasey.
But, much as I disagreed with the pettiness of objecting to anything nice said about Hitchens, I appreciate what GG is telling us now about the NSA. I don't discount it because I dislike other things he has written.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)There never was.... and never will be... another like CH.
K and R