Christopher Hitchens Dead (dec 15, 2011)

So, L.T.N.A.I.P. then? (Lay There Not Alive In Peace)

The things people take the time to complain about these days.

It's not that we don't think about it because we have religion ingrained. It's that most of us wouldn't bother taking the time to have ourselves get up in arms over something so pointless and/or someone just trying to be a kind human being.

There is no way in blue hell I will ever say "Gazoontite" to anyone who sneezes. It's either "Bless you" or nothing. And honestly if I ever say "Bless you" to someone who sneezes and they tell me what you just said, they've officially made my ***list.

Religious or not, anyone who can't toss back a simple "thank you" says more about them then it does about the person who took the time out of their day to give you a "bless you."

I bet he complains when people say "Happy Birthday".

"Celebrating a birthday is derived from old Pagan customs! Screw you guys! Christmas too! Its an old pagan event and its insulting that people are allowed to have a culture! Like omg!"

I understand how it seems that someone like me being "offended" by something so minute seems silly and ridiculous. But saying, "the things people take the time to complain about these days" is exactly why some more "dedicated" atheists do so. People have been so lazy since the old days where religion ran everything. "Oh we've said this for so long why even bother changing?" If you don't believe in an absurdity such as a god then why would you want to continue relaying religious references?

As the years go by we're seeing more and more people "coming out" as being atheist. You're going to see more and more phrases (amongst other things) under scrutiny. You're going to see that people want to change from the old, religious saturated society into a place where reason and fact outweigh "believe" and blind faith.

I suppose being offended by such nonsense is just the start.

Must be a woman thing. They get offended all the time by birthdays.

ENKIDOU: Happy birthday, Susan! How old are you today?

SUSAN: F!*k you.

:(

I have nothing against the guy. Sometimes people get dealt a bad card. I will say I find it funny all of you would refer to him as a “great mind.” He was a great speaker, but everything he said contributed nothing to the betterment of human kind. Religion isn’t perfect and neither is atheism. Everything becomes corrupt when humans touch it. If the guy worked to develop technology that led to betterment of lives and had some thought that wasn’t just a rehash of things spoken several times over the course of human existence, then maybe. You can believe whatever you want to believe, that is ok with me, but please saying/doing things just because you think it is cool, cause your mom and dad go to church and you don’t wanna be like them cause your emo and hate their rules. Again, sad he had to go through the whole cancer thing, but death is something we are all born to face and I have already given this guy’s death more time than it deserved because he literally helped no one.

It's a true shame. Hitchens was an inspiring and talented writer, orator, debater... when he would do something, he would do it right.

I wish I would have gotten a chance to thank him for everything that he has done for me, a person he never met. He's been a positive influence on me since the day I first read him.

I raise my glass for you, today, Hitchens. You will never be forgotten.

All I saw in that video was him ridiculing his debate opponents.
Also, Atheists just make me want to troll them.

Maybe it's different where you come from, but saying 'Bless You', is just a habit/courtesy. There is no malicious religious intent beneath it. Don't be a douchebag and just say 'Thank you' and move on.

I myself am not religious or a believer. One thing I do believe however is other atheists seemingly having too much time on their hands when it comes to offense and irritation, and their intended message usually falls on deaf ears due to their impoliteness and lack of tact.

Rest In Peace

You're trivializing and oversimplifying a lot.

And you're also talking out your ***.

Just because Hitchens didn't make some new medicine doesn't mean that he helped no one. Hitchen's writings and oratory works have been an inspiration as well as an intellectual challenge to many. To say that Hitchens helped no one is like saying philosophy helps no one because it hasn't provided us with medicine.

and just like people say bless you when someone sneezes its just a sign of respect and well wishes. I would venture to guess that 90% of the time people don't even think of it as a religious thing... they just say it out of respect and to wish one well.

People that nitpick at little stuff like this that really has no harmful effect when said, I just don't get that. Hey you're wishing someone well? well do it the right way next time or don't do it at all! Doesn't make sense to me.

So let me get this straight, he was a philosopher? I don’t think that he offered any valid solution to a problem. He just criticized. To say that doing away with religion is the answer was unsupported. I mean, I haven’t found any article while searching where he condemned Native American beliefs. I’m sure they killed, raped, and pillaged long before Catholics came to America. So no he did not deal with any issues of human nature in a direct nature and thus does not qualify as a philosopher atleast from the knowledge I have of the word. Way to get all worked up though.

The guy challenged alot of people to think about the religious belief that they center their lives around and pointed out many of the atrocities that these beliefs have wrought upon societies for millenia. Depending on how you take it, it could strengthen or weaken your belief in theism.

Many people had their eyes opened by some of these facts and that alone is worthy of praise. Far too many people live through their lives knowing something is wrong yet doing nothing about it. This goes beyond religious faith as his overarching argument could be summed up to 'think and question everything' - the major point of all the famous atheists. The very fact Hitchens wrote text that can be read 10, 20 or 200 years from now is enough to say he contributed to society.

I love how you use technology as the barometer of success in ones life. Is that some shoutout to Steve Jobs or something? Cause you don't need to make Ipads to benefit society though they were brilliant none the less. I didn't agree with some of Hitchens points but to theists and atheists alike the guy got you thinking and thinking is one of the greatest things humans can do because fosters progress and progress is the driving force of our mortal lives.

So in being a hardcore atheist you have no respect for anyone's beliefs but your own? Not only that you frown upon it when someone you disrepect them for saying it? Is someone that is not atheist not allowed to pay this man respect in their own way?

I like anyone who can challenge you to examine your beliefs. I think its something that everyone should do regularly and *** your own values in life.

One of the things I disagree with is the way Church activities in the say 6th century are brought up as atrocities and applied to the 21st century way of life. To me, you also have to examine the times and the culture and apply it to that as well. Even saying that, the Church should have always held itself to a higher standard through its teachings. But to really understand something you also have to understand the people as well. At leasts that's how I feel.

Personally I wish the world was a little more cumbayah (sp?) and less worried about what the other person believed in on every side. There are always going to be differences in people. I think the steps we need to take are towards understanding those differences and respecting them. Until people get over their insecurities though I think thats quite the endeavor. As far back as I can remember there has always been someone who wanted to feel better than the other (guilty of this myself sometimes) and I think thats part of the problem.

Go do some research and come back to us, buddy. He did a lot more than criticize and he offered valid solutions to how to change the world: by getting rid of absolute morality, for example.

The problem is that the church was shackled by the beliefs imparted upon it by the religious text that served as the foundation of the system. When such a text is held up as the ultimate authority and the text itself has declarations to commit violence against others, is it any surprise when we arrived at the atrocities of the Crusades, Inquisition, destruction of the New World, Slavery and institutionalized racism? The text itself was flawed, people were repeatedly hammered to believe it or die, the church became completely drunk on its own authority and everyone was encouraged to stop thinking. When the masses stop thinking, they become puppets for those with agendas.

The enlightenment only happened because some individuals did start thinking and rejected the nonsense that had dominated society for generations prior. Many were not atheist and most could be considered deists or pantheists but the point is that religion's icy grip shoulders a majority the blood spilled for centuries because it shaped the societies of history' past. Had the Bible been written with more peace and less hate, the world would be a fantastically different place and I am quite sure of that.

Our society today is only the way it is because we shook off the shackles of such passages as "You must not suffer a witch to live" and began to think more about what was moral and not what was written in some book.

Most Christians today are not biblical literalists and for good reason.

I haven't heard of this man, but I do remember Xueye mentioning him last night I think. I will need to watch the video. I'm sorry for all of you who lost a hero in his passing.

See, atheist can be crazy too. Generally when someone says bless you nowadays, they don't expect you God to come down from the heavens and cure your disease. They're offering sympathy, an expression of desire of speedy recovery, or just simply being polite. As evidenced by numerous numbers of languages referencing health rather than God. The fact that the English equivalent is Bless You shouldn't be met with any rudeness on your part.

Being healthy is not an alternative treatment, and being healthy does not cure fatal illnesses. Does being healthy typically supplement a faster recovery? Of course. A healthy body is typically in a better position to fight, and a healthy body is in a much better position to handle brutal chemotherapy.

The problem is when the message is blurred, and people begin thinking that veganism(which doesn't exist), and organic foods(who's appeal are fallacious) are an alternative to modern medicine, which is going to do nothing but insure your death. That's not to say that you don't possess the option of choosing a potentially, albeit minimally longer lifespan. Fighting something like cancer is not a pleasant experience, and you're well within your rights to simply accept your death and make the best of the time you're allotted.

And speaking of wariness, be wary of any doctor who suggests any form of alternative treatment instead of what's typically done. I'm not conspiracy theorizing against doctors, but morons are found in all corners of society. Take Mehmet Oz, for example. He's the hottest thing in society as far as doctors go right now, and half of what he pushes on his audiences should be criminal.

lol

Get back to us when you know something about his work. How anyone is taking you seriously right now is beyond me.

Also, if you're new to Hitchens I would recommend a debate that he partook in backed with Stephen Fry.

Yeah, I'm not going to bother with him anymore, despite the fact that he's trying to take a piss on my hero.

Minjo,

your constant arrogance and condescension make it hard to process what you say. I'm not saying you're always wrong, you're just not always palatable.

@Yuriki Should I ever meet you irl, I will respect your hatred of the polite phrase 'bless you' by withholding it. Instead I will say, 'May the God of the Christians smite you and render your lineage plagued with leprosy.'

@OP Sucks that he died during the holidays. :( I hope his family and friends can find comfort.

I have been reading various things of his for the last 3.5 hours and I got to say, I’m just not seeing his appeal. Let’s face it, he was no MLK Jr. I guess he could reach some people with his rants, but to change a mindset you have to actually have a solution and not just attack. And this guy, from what I can tell, just wanted to attack and that was his solution. Hell you can listen to his debates and tell that. I guess he managed to inspire some people but his method would never lead to any major change. I’m still going with he wasted a lifetime. If you want to think he was a great man, I can’t change that. I just hope that some other character that can put on a show comes around for you guys. *insert generalized statement referring to god or heavens that is just meant as a figure of speech* forbid people that actually bought into what he said as a solution be without another person to praise.
Do you know what would happen if the catholic church fell, or any other organized religion for that matter? Nothing, the problem is in the minds of people, not the church, so why did this guy focus on the church so much? I went to church. I don’t despise it. I consider myself a Christian. Do you want to know what I believe in? I have gay friends and am ok with them getting married. I used to have conversations with a Muslim and would consider the guy a friend. I never once spoke to him about Christianity being better and he was able to talk to me about the teachings of the Quran. We got along great. That is where humanity should be, I think. That is how we solve all these problems he mentioned, but yet he did not even follow his own teaching if that is what you are saying. This guy wanted piece but taught demonstrated hatred.
Maybe I’m generalizing too much again. From my experience, the solution is happening without the useless ramble of guys like this. 90% of the people my age that went to Sunday school and youth meetings on Wednesdays don’t do any of what he talks about. We all go out and have fun on weekends, have friends that don’t believe what we believe, study science (some even believe in evolution omg), and we all still believe in a heavenly father. So it seems like the solution this gentlemen offered up may have been faulty.
Again, you are welcome to think otherwise. If I see you on the street with an atheist and proud shirt, I won’t turn my nose up at talking to you. You may have some good insight about how it has changed your life. Arguing won’t change anything. If you treat me like a human should treat another then we don’t have a problem. This guy did not treat people this way. I’m not sad he died, not happy either. As I have said before, it happens.

It's not that I'm angered by the cultural sign of "be well." I just despise that fact that so much of our culture is derived from what is blatantly false.

Those that are "real" Christians are offended by the phrase "god damn it!" But they're fine with "damn it!" With the former you have insulted their god.

In a similar context, "god bless you" or "bless you" (they are one in the same, as you're requesting that God bless you whether you say god or not) is insulting to someone who completely rejects the idea of belief itself. Regardless if you are inferring that you want your god to bless me for expunging bacteria and other nasties from my mouth and nose, I find it insulting. Why? 1) If you are wanting your god to bless me, then I don't want it. It's worse if you actually know me, because then you're just insulting me on purpose. If it's just a passing "bless you" from a random then it's not as bad but as a whole it's appalling due to my second reason. 2) If you really are just saying "bless you" because it's what you've been taught to do, then this is where I have the most issues. If you're in this category then you are not religious, or else you'd really want your god to bless me. So assuming you reject the idea of a god (or just don't give a damn at all, which is what most people seem to do) then you're mindless contributing to the survival of modern religion.

"What?! That's ridiculous! Damn conspiracy theorist!"

Not quite. The best way to spread an idea is to repeat it over and over again. "(God) bless you!" "Oh my god!" "Jesus Christ!" "In god we trust." "God bless America." "Holy crap/***/hell!" All common phrases used by mostly everyone in this country, and this is just an extremely small example of how our culture is saturated with religious influence (mostly Christian). If you stopped everyone from saying such things, would that magically make religion disappear? Of course not. It may help weaken the influence of religion in our culture though. Which, over time, might prevent stuff like this from happening:

It's along the lines of "fight the good fight" (which of course is taken from the Bible, le sigh).

tl:dr - So do I think that someone who says "bless you" to me is a jerk? No, but I'm not going to say "thank you" because I don't mean it. Plus, to be honest, why do we need to say anything when someone sneezes? We don't say anything when someone coughs, burps, farts, blows their nose, or hiccups.