GOD IS NOT GREAT - Christopher Hitchens

by Dansk 26 Replies latest jw friends

  • Rabbit
    Rabbit

    Terry

    A rabid believer could never, ever, under any circumstances read this book.

    I ADORE IT.

    Oh ! Never mind...I thought you said, a 'rabbit' believer.

    I'm gonna add this to my list of 'must hears.'

  • ithinkisee
    ithinkisee

    I'm about a quarter of the way thru the book right now (Freedomloverr got it for me for Father's Day). I have been a Hitchens fan for a bit now because I enjoy his verbal dialogue on TV. He says things - even snobby literary things - in ways that most regular people can understand. The only thing I disagree with is his current stance on Iraq, but the major points about religion in it so far are spot on. -ithinkisee

  • jaguarbass
    jaguarbass

    Thanks for the book tip Ian. I will check it out and put it in my library.

  • done4good
    done4good

    Thanks for the book tip Ian. I'll start on this one after I get my CCNA cert this fall, (reading nothing but Cisco stuff on train ride to/from work now). Anyway, Alan mentioned a few that I have read, and would recommend them as well to anyone:

    God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows that God Does Not Exist, Victor Steng
    The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins
    Breaking the Spell: Religion As A Natural Phenomenon, Daniel Dennett

    Jason

  • Dansk
    Dansk

    I've just finished reading the chapter on 'Child Abuse', i.e. caused by religion, and am currently reading about the old chestnut of when religionists point to so-called atheists like Hitler and Stalin as examples of people who go looney because they didn't have religion. Hitchens shows that they did have religion, which is why they went looney in the first place! There's no excuse, religion cow-towed to these mad despots to suit their ends - and it still goes on today in some countries.

    My beloved Buddhism isn't spared Hitchens' wrath - and I sat back as a neutral and exclaimed "Wow, I didn't know that!" (yes, I really did become a neutral. I can't allow my 'beliefs' to cloud my reasoning). Buddhism needs a good verbal kicking (and those referred to in the book perhaps a literal one!). Just joking. I'm atheist and against all violence, but the perpetrators need to be held accountable!

    I'm nearing the end of the book now and it's a real 'can't put down'! Thank 'God' for science!

    Ian

  • cognizant dissident
    cognizant dissident

    My beloved Buddhism isn't spared Hitchens' wrath - and I sat back as a neutral and exclaimed "Wow, I didn't know that!" (yes, I really did become a neutral. I can't allow my 'beliefs' to cloud my reasoning). Buddhism needs a good verbal kicking (and those referred to in the book perhaps a literal one!). Just joking. I'm atheist and against all violence, but the perpetrators need to be held accountable!

    I haven't read this book yet (it's on my list!) but I understand what you say about Buddhism, Ian. Learning to meditate has made a huge difference in my life, allowed me to give up antidepressants I had been on for 10 years. Studying Buddhist philosophy has taught, and is still teaching, me how to live at peace with myself and others, not just in action, but internally. So, I love the philosophy and find much of it is useful for achieving greater levels of physical and mental health which has been attested to in empirical scientific medical studies. Many doctors, nurses, and psychologists practice buddhist philosophy for this reason.

    However, we cannot deny that there are also many schools of Buddhist thought and divisive factions have sprung up and sometimes even violence has occured in defending which is the "correct" one. In this way, Buddhism, is no different than other organized religions which sometimes prove to be more divisive than unifying. This doesn't mean there is no wisdom in Buddhism. It just means that people are pretty much the same everywhere, and their ego motives of being "right" often supersede the very objectives they claim to be trying to achieve. This is observable in every religion and also amoung scientists and academics if they are being totally honest.

    I just take from it what is positive and useful and discard the rest. You can do that with Western buddhist psychology because it is rather informal and non-dogmatic. Belief in God not required. Nor is strict adherance to centuries of Asian tradition and ritual.

    Cog

  • Dansk
    Dansk

    Very well put, Cog!

    Ian

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