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Comments

1. #1
   On December 21st, 2007 at 2:14 pm, tre said:

   “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God’”. “The wisdom of men is foolishness to God”.

   There really is nothing more I can say about him.

2. #2
   On December 21st, 2007 at 2:30 pm, Uplander said:

   Good point. The Name means ‘Christ Bearer’.

3. #3
   On December 21st, 2007 at 2:31 pm, Marshall Russ said:

   Xopher Hitchens is a great writer. I am more comfortable with someone that states what he believes and why, than I am with someone who doesn’t know what they believe and can’t tell you why they don’t know. He is not luke warm about it. He is a strong apologist for the US and it’s place in the world. There are some transcripts and videos of he and his brother, who is a Christian, in a debate about the subject. Very interesting.

4. #4
   On December 21st, 2007 at 2:33 pm, lgm said:

   There are atheists in both parties, but the obnoxious ones all seem to be conservative (Hitchens, Rand, …).

5. #5
   On December 21st, 2007 at 2:37 pm, James Felix said:

   Part of the reason I hang around here is to (hopefully) demonstrate that athiests are not by-definition bad people. As individuals a lot of us share your policy goals, and “athiest” does not have to mean “anti-theist”.

   I wish people “Merry Christmas” all the time. This to me is a no-brainer: the vast majority of people in this country are some kind of Christian. Among the ones who aren’t Christian I think that if you take offense at something that is obviously meant as a gesture of goodwill then the problem is with you, not the well-wisher.

   Christmas trees are not the harbinger of theocracy. If you believe in what they symbolize they mean something to you, if you don’t then they’re just pretty. Either way they’re not bothering me, so why get worked up about it?

   You know when I’ll worry about Christmas? The day someone holds a machete to my throat and tells me to celebrate it or be decapitated. Until that happens: Merry Christmas, all of you.

6. #6
   On December 21st, 2007 at 2:41 pm, Marshall Russ said:

   James Felix,#5
   Thank you. Back you at ya.

7. #7
   On December 21st, 2007 at 2:41 pm, Bad Candy said:

   There are atheists in both parties, but the obnoxious ones all seem to be conservative (Hitchens, Rand, …).

   I can assure you that’s not true, most of the militant atheists are hardcore leftists, and unlike Hitch, they’re frothing relativists, and they’re even more obnoxious when you get the chance to see them say what they really think.

8. #8
   On December 21st, 2007 at 2:41 pm, PaleoMedic said:

   LOL! If Mr. Hitchens is true to his school he’ll be right on top of that name change.

9. #9
   On December 21st, 2007 at 2:46 pm, Papa Louie said:

   I don’t believe in Zeus, but I don’t spend my days denouncing him, writing books against him, or trying to ban any mention of him. Xopher seems to hold a personal grudge against God and anyone who associates with him. Why would you be offended by, or even dislike something that you believe does not exist?

   I like Xopher and usually agree with him on just about everything but religion. But does he really believe God does not exist? Or is acting like a teenager who is upset at being grounded by his parents and now sulks in his room with his fingers in his ears, refusing to talk to his parents anymore or even acknowledge they exist? There are none so blind as he who will not see.

10. #10
    On December 21st, 2007 at 2:54 pm, James Felix said:

    I don’t believe in Zeus,

    BLASPHEMER!!!!

    

11. #11
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:02 pm, James Felix said:

    …trying to ban any mention of him…

    And that’s the part I don’t get. Why waste all that energy?

    I think religion should be kept out of public policy, except insofar as it informs the values of the people making those policies. I think it should be kept out of science classes because, well, it’s not science.

    But aside from that, if people want to believe what’s the problem? We’re often told by social liberals that what consenting adults do is their own business. Well, shouldn’t that include religion?

12. #12
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:04 pm, nyc123me said:

    Why aren’t non-Christian religious celebrations stripped of anything that identifies them as religious too?

    If the dems are so determined to have freedom from religion instead of freedom of religion, they should at least try to hide their obvious anti-Christian prejudice by applying their anti-religion mantra liberally to all religions (pun intended).

13. #13
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:13 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    On December 21st, 2007 at 2:33 pm, lgm said:
    There are atheists in both parties, but the obnoxious ones all seem to be conservative (Hitchens, Rand, …).

    When did you become a conservative?

14. #14
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:15 pm, On-my-soap-box said:

    On December 21st, 2007 at 2:37 pm, James Felix said:
    Part of the reason I hang around here is to (hopefully) demonstrate that athiests are not by-definition bad people.

    As a Christian I just would like to say I appreciate you!

15. #15
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:16 pm, 2manybooks2littletime said:

    If I remember my education correctly (I attended a Bible College for 2 years) X is actually shorthand for Christ in Greek. Either “X” is an abbreviation or the first letter in the word for Christ.

    So, people that have used the letter “X” to take Christ out of it have failed!

16. #16
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:22 pm, ACHefty said:

    Should Hitchens be working during the Christmas holidays? Will he work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to give those who want to celebrate Christmas with their families a day off?

17. #17
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:23 pm, Eclectic said:

    There are few people I find more obnoxious than Xopher. I don’t care if he’s atheist, so why should he care what I believe? I actually really enjoy talking with people whose beliefs differ from mine and find it helps me better understand my own beliefs. But I avoid people like him at all costs.

18. #18
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:25 pm, RetFireman said:

    On December 21st, 2007 at 2:33 pm, lgm said:
    There are atheists in both parties, but the obnoxious ones all seem to be conservative (Hitchens, Rand, …).

    Are you freakin serious? This is one of those things called an “ironic post” right? Do you have any idea the amount of crap we have to listen to from every gosh darn anti-religious zealot from the Left every freakin day of our bloody lives? No, you wouldn’t, because you think that they are in the right and are in no way obnoxious. Geez…go back under your bridge.

19. #19
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:27 pm, Go_Fish said:

    I’m an unapologetic atheist and have been for years. I admire Hitchens for his vibrant writing style and ability to make cogent arguments. The thing that grates me though about him and other atheists who have written critiques of religion recently, (Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, etc.)is the harshness with which they do it. I undertand the need to vigorously defend a point of view, but even I find them off putting sometimes.

    I highly recommend Hitchens’ book “God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything”, but not as a Christmas present.

20. #20
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:32 pm, ajmontana said:

    yeah, i’ll pick that book up around the 3rd of Nevuary.

21. #21
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:34 pm, OneofThem said:

    Yes, “Xmas” has never been used to “take the Christ out of Christmas.” The “X” is really the Greek letter chi, Χ standing for Χριστος (“Christ” in Greek). You have the people who hate God, but you also have those who love to take anything as an offense against Him (such as those who hate the abbreviation “Xmas”).

22. #22
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:36 pm, LarryD said:

    Hitchens is not in denial about the existential conflict between the West and the jihadis. And he has consciously chosen to take the side of the West.

    But that doesn’t make him a conservative.

23. #23
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:36 pm, RetFireman said:

    JF: there is nothing wrong with not believing in God. Just like there is nothing wrong with not believing in Allah, Buddah, Kallimah, or any other deity. However, there is a GREAT DEAL WRONG when you attack the faith of others if there is no cause.

    I know, people, mainly the bridge living trolls are going to come at me and say, “A-ha…you blatant hypocrite…you attack Muslims all the time for their faith and you just said…”

    yes, i do. i attack them with a passion for their faith…but READ WHAT I SAID idiots. I said WITHOUT REASON. We have PLENTY of reason. 1400+ years of reason. They are killing, raping, torturing and murduring by the thousands every year in the name of their religion and in the name of global domination. i believe that is planty enough reason.

    Therefore, being an Athiest in general is not grounds for anyone to dislike you. I know plenty of Athiests and Agnostics, Buddhists, Wiccans, Pagans etc. We all get along just fine. We all respect each others religions and religious beliefs and learn from each other.

    It is the Liberals that seem to be the most intollerant of the lot and who have died in the wool pre-conceived belief patterns concerning Christians…or as they like to call them, “Jesus Freaks” and they will attack and descriminate against them every single chance they get. Just take a look at the postings on this site here, or on the top three Liberal posts always referred to here. You will get a heaping healthy dose of Liberal hate and bias against Christians and Christianity. DAILY.

24. #24
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:37 pm, UberInfidel67 said:

    Just one tiny small correction, I believe it should be XTopher…forgot the “t” in there. : )

25. #25
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:38 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    Either “X” is an abbreviation or the first letter in the word for Christ.

    So, people that have used the letter “X” to take Christ out of it have failed!

    Hmm, maybe instead of Xopher, we should call him Festopher.

26. #26
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:43 pm, Marshall Russ said:

    This is getting way too technical.

27. #27
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:50 pm, secondsight said:

    I refuse this argument and won’t take part in a fatwa ala Salman Rushdie.

    We, the US and here as MM readers, are perfectly able to accept Christopher Hitchens at face value. Without ad hominem attacks or shunning.

    We have always had atheists, accomodated them even. And unlike some societies we don’t kill them or outlaw them.

    And when they are as entertaining a thinker as Hitchens we sometimes even give him a listen. He’s got a piece of the truth too.

28. #28
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:54 pm, 30 pcs of silver said:

    Buy, Dinesh D’Souza’s – What’s so great about Christianity instead.

    Here’s an excerpt from an interview Dinesh had regarding Hitchen’s book:

    Kengor: In a recent interview, Oxford’s Alistair McGrath said that he is somewhat shocked by the lack of new insights in these best-selling books by Hitchens and Dawkins and the like, and how they are actually, in his view, filled with hackneyed, easily refutable arguments served up for years. He said it seems clear—and very surprisingly so—that these authors don’t appear to read the many readily available counter-arguments that quickly refute their assertions. McGrath believes they have constructed very weak cases that any rank-and-file minister worth his salt could dissect paragraph-by-paragraph with little effort. That’s pretty harsh. Likewise, Dr. Stanley Fish—not exactly a conservative—calls these books unsophisticated “rants.” Do you agree with these judgments?

    D’Souza: While there are a lot of shallow arguments made by Dawkins, Hitchens, [Sam] Harris and the others, behind them there is the formidable atheism of philosophers like Bertrand Russell and Friedrich Nietzsche. My book takes the new atheists to task on specific fallacies and whoppers that they routinely make. But I’m not content to defeat them on their weakest ground. So at times I strengthen their arguments, remove contradictions, and give them the benefit of every doubt. I attack their argument not at its vulnerable point but at its strong point. If I succeed there, then I have defeated atheism in its strongest and most coherent form. Ultimately, it is Russell and Heidegger and Nietzsche who pose the greatest challenge to believers, not intellectual snipers like Hitchens and Dawkins.

    For the rest of the article, here.

29. #29
    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:55 pm, 30 pcs of silver said:

    On December 21st, 2007 at 3:32 pm, ajmontana said:
    yeah, i’ll pick that book up around the 3rd of Nevuary.

    Aj, what would we do without you?

30. #30
    On December 21st, 2007 at 4:03 pm, mycroft69 said:

    Someone’s goofed here. Hitchens himself will be the first to tell anyone asking that he is NOT a conservative!

31. #31
    On December 21st, 2007 at 4:16 pm, John Ansell said:

    It might just be me but everytime I see Hitch on T.V. he looks ripped out of his mind. Not that that’s bad, just saying he looks like he had been with Ted Kennedy beforehand knocking back shots.

32. #32
    On December 21st, 2007 at 4:17 pm, James Felix said:

    I know, people, mainly the bridge living trolls are going to come at me and say, “A-ha…you blatant hypocrite…you attack Muslims all the time for their faith and you just said…”
    yes, i do. i attack them with a passion for their faith…but READ WHAT I SAID idiots. I said WITHOUT REASON.

    This line of reasoning ties in with my (our?) opposition to “hate crime laws”. Judging someone’s beliefs is usually a bad idea, judging their actions on the other hand is perfectly reasonable.

    If someone believes in God and that belief prompts him to be a good person I don’t really care about the belief. All I care about is that he’s a good person.

    If Muslims would stop butchering innocent people in the name of their prophet pederast I’d stop caring what they believe too.

33. #33
    On December 21st, 2007 at 4:30 pm, James Felix said:

    books by Hitchens and Dawkins and the like, and how they are actually, in his view, filled with hackneyed, easily refutable arguments served up for years. He said it seems clear—and very surprisingly so—that these authors don’t appear to read the many readily available counter-arguments that quickly refute their assertions.

    There is no way for the faithful to refute the athiest’s assertion. Boiled down to its essence we believe that the existence of God violates observable laws of physics. Before we accept such an extraordinary claim we demand equally extraordinary proof, which the faithful cannot produce.

    But there is likewise no way for the athiest to refute the faithful’s assertion, which is essentially that God invented those laws of physics and is not bound by them.

    You have faith or you don’t. You believe or you don’t. After having presented your basic argument further attempts to convert the other side is just a waste of effort. It can’t be done.

34. #34
    On December 21st, 2007 at 4:32 pm, John Ansell said:

    LOL James Felix #32. I feelthe same way. I’m make fun of Muslims all day long and will insult Mohamed on a regular basis so long as they keep acting the way they do. The day the main stream Muslims take back their religion, well that’s the day they earn the respect. Until then, the picture of Mohamed on the bottom of my toilet bowl stays.

35. #35
    On December 21st, 2007 at 4:53 pm, coldfront said:

    You know when I’ll worry about Christmas? The day someone holds a machete to my throat and tells me to celebrate it or be decapitated.

    How about the day there wasn’t a Christmas Tree in the local PO because all things Christian had become ‘politically un-correct’ & about to be made ‘hate crimes’ & outlawed.

    “Are the non-believers paying attention?

    These are accounts documented by medical doctors.

    Those ready to eradicate His Name and rob Him of His holy day might do themselves a favor and read the research. ” http://spiritdaily.com/neardeathJesusChristmas.htm

36. #36
    On December 21st, 2007 at 6:10 pm, hadsil said:

    It is really annoying when Athiest Fundamentalists try to ram their religion down people’s throats.

37. #37
    On December 21st, 2007 at 6:16 pm, lgm said:

    RetFireman said (#18):

    lgm said:
    There are atheists in both parties, but the obnoxious ones all seem to be conservative (Hitchens, Rand, …).

    Are you freakin serious? This is one of those things called an “ironic post” right? Do you have any idea the amount of crap we have to listen to from every gosh darn anti-religious zealot from the Left every freakin day of our bloody lives?

    The best answer was given by Papa Louie (#9):

    I don’t believe in Zeus, but I don’t spend my days denouncing him, writing books against him, or trying to ban any mention of him.

    Hitch is in your face telling you God is bad. Libs might rant and rail about the religious right, they might denounce the Pope for opposing birth control, they might want the school to be secular (no X-max pageant), but they do not denounce belief in God itself.

38. #38
    On December 21st, 2007 at 6:22 pm, zorro said:

    Xopher! Very clever Michelle. And a guy like him will probably thank you.

    Here’s wishing him a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas (and all your readers and comments too)!

39. #39
    On December 21st, 2007 at 6:47 pm, John Ansell said:

    LGM #37, They denounce the people who believe in God. Take Rosie as an example.

40. #40
    On December 21st, 2007 at 7:40 pm, Blind_Mule said:

    lgm:
    obnoxious one

    Yes you are.

41. #41
    On December 21st, 2007 at 7:56 pm, beenthere said:

    Annoyed as I am at the moment, I refuse to contribute any acrimony to the site. Instead, I offer the following Christmas commentary by Ayn Rand. Judge for yourself:

    “A national holiday, in this country, cannot have an exclusively religious meaning. The secular meaning of the Christmas holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will toward men — a frame of mind which is not the exclusive property (though it is supposed to be part, but is a largely unobserved part) of the Christian religion.

    The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says: “Merry Christmas”—not “Weep and Repent.” And the good will is expressed in a material, earthly form—by giving presents to one’s friends, or by sending them cards in token of remembrance …

    The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying … stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions—the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors—provide the city with a spectacular display, which only ‘commercial greed’ could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.”

42. #42
    On December 21st, 2007 at 10:43 pm, englishqueen01 said:

    Wasn’t Hitchens the one – while debating a priest – who threw a fit when the priest told him he’d either die a Catholic or a madman?

    Sadly, I think he’s leaning towards the ladder but I pray he ends up in the former.

    Atheists – considered so “progressive” – are really just rehashing the same tired, fruitless arguments raised by *all* anti-Christian groups over the course of the past two millenia. They’ve literally offered NOTHING new in the way of rhetoric or insight.

    So we must fight against them.

    lgm: If you denounce those who believe in God, you are denouncing God. Period. And I’ve met far more liberals who are secular humanists and atheists than conservatives. Hitchens is the exception, not the rule.

43. #43
    On December 21st, 2007 at 11:24 pm, 3Steps said:

    Freedom of speech.

    Freedom of my wallet.

    Xofer can write whatever he wants.

    And I can choose to ignore him. Giving him neither thought, money or even advertising hits.

    I feel the same way about atheists as I do Buddists, Jews and Catholics. It’s their choice. As long as they aren’t hurting anyone, then it’s none of my business.

    Muslims on the other hand….

44. #44
    On December 22nd, 2007 at 12:29 am, Christian Soldier said:

    Christopher-let’s name all TEDDY Bears in the Muslim world CHRISTOPHER-Christ-Bearer!

45. #45
    On December 22nd, 2007 at 2:16 am, RetFireman said:

    Hitch is in your face telling you God is bad. Libs might rant and rail about the religious right, they might denounce the Pope for opposing birth control, they might want the school to be secular (no X-max pageant), but they do not denounce belief in God itself.

    I take it back.You spend WAAAAAYYYY too much time under your bridge. I cannot believe that you actually made that statement. you cannot for one minute believe that. you can’t You must be sayiong that just to provoke me or others into an arument. You honestly cannot believe that Liberals and others on the Left do not attack, belittle and berate Christians and others just because they believe in Jesus and God. Are you really that stupid? Or are you really just that sheltered and don’t read much? I have always understood you to be a person that has never been one to go out and find out things for yourself and to only parrot what you hear, so I would not be surprised one ipta to find that you are the latter.

    As I told you to do, all you need do is to go to HuffPo, DU and Kos, read their posts…pick a freakin day…ANY day…ANY POST….ANY FREAKIN SUBJECT….and you will see them going off on the attack against the Christians and how stupid and lame they are for believing in God and Jesus and how stupid they are for being Jesus freaks etc., stc.

    The simple fact that you can even make that claim, not once, but twoce, shows an amazing amount of ignorance towards what your own party and it’s members do to Christians ON A DAILY BASIS IN MASS NUMBERS. This is not some fringe group we are talking here. This is seen on many posters in rallys and protest marches. this is seen every time Bush speaks and they are protesting against him. this is seen everywhere. Christians are mocked constantly in the media, in cartoon strips in the daily newspapers, on television, on prime time TV shows…EVERYWHERE…for believing in “A make believe deity” etc.

    Yes, you support people and defend them for doing a great many evil and wrong things. What is worse, is wither you are just plain ignorant of it or you are playing dumb to try to get =out of guilt by association or to hide your guilt. Either way, you stink of this guilt. You lay with the skinks, you wake up with the stink. And buddy, you can be smelled from 10 miles away.

46. #46
    On December 22nd, 2007 at 2:48 am, blues said:

    As a self-proclaimed atheist unfamiliar with Xopher,may I say that an a**hole is an a**hole and Xopher fits the bill perfectly.
    The sociologist linked to is just another idiot trying to tell others what they feel.(Perhaps it is because he feels”out in the cold”.)
    Let these people wallow in their self-hate,I love the CHRISTmas holiday,and all those who celebrate it.The important part of Christianity IMO is not whether Jesus Christ existed or not.The important part is the message imparted to us.So I happily say to every Christian MERRY CHRISTMAS.Likewise to my Jewish friends I say HAPPY CHANUKAH.I may not believe what you believe,but I respect your right to believe it,and I respect you for your beliefs.You God is the God of peace and love for mankind.

47. #47
    On December 22nd, 2007 at 2:49 am, blues said:

    Oops,your God.

48. #48
    On December 22nd, 2007 at 3:53 am, RetFireman said:

    Blues…you actually got the message of Christmas. Happy Christmas to you and yours as well.

49. #49
    On December 22nd, 2007 at 6:15 pm, countrybumpkin said:

    I’ve waffled on this issue for years. The more I hear from the atheists, liberals, Darwinists the more I move toward God.

50. #50
    On December 22nd, 2007 at 6:17 pm, countrybumpkin said:

    Oh, and Merry Christmas one and all!

51. #51
    On December 22nd, 2007 at 8:49 pm, baldilocks said:

    Ha! So much fun.

    Merry Christmas, Michelle.

52. #52
    On December 23rd, 2007 at 12:13 am, LuxEternam said:

    LGM Said:

    Hitch is in your face telling you God is bad. Libs might rant and rail about the religious right, they might denounce the Pope for opposing birth control, they might want the school to be secular (no X-max pageant), but they do not denounce belief in God itself.

    LGM,

    Everytime you open your mouth in here, you proclaim the fact that you will lie ad infinitum to defend your liberal cohorts. I live in a liberal college town, and I see and hear PERSONALLY the pachouli stinking so-called “enlightened” liberals telling me and my fellow Christians every day that God does NOT exist and that we are idiots for believing otherwise. While I know not nearly all liberals are atheists, your contention that none of them are telling us God does not exist is completely laughable. You aren’t on the receiving end of it, so you have no idea what you are talking about.

    And BTW, Xopher Hitchens is about as conservative as you are. Conservatism at it’s core starts with a belief that you serve something higher than yourself. A belief Liberals will never understand. Your idiotic statement makes that clear.

53. #53
    On December 23rd, 2007 at 2:55 am, blues said:

    Thank you,Fireman.Have a safe and joyous CHRISTmas.

54. #54
    On December 23rd, 2007 at 4:10 pm, Bob69 said:

    Happy Holidday Season to you too, John Felix. The world needs more like you, regardless or perhaps because of your beliefs.

55. #55
    On December 23rd, 2007 at 6:17 pm, yohannbiimu said:

    If there’s an athiest out there who isn’t a fanatic (i.e. one who is rational and logical about it, and can live without such a need to proselytize) then I’d like to meet them. Supposedly, atheists are the way they are because they are “rationalists,” yet if they are so “rational,” why do they spend so much of their time and energy attacking something that doesn’t exist?

    Anyone truly rational about it would have to make certain conclusions about the existence of matter (according to scientific law, it does not exist by itself, it cannot (in our material realm) be created or destroyed, and that eventually all matter degenerates in form rather than improves), and with regard to our own ethical and moral laws pertaining to human behavior within a civil society. If you exclude God from either one or both, and you try to force others to reject him also, then you are behaving irrationally, and illogically.