Christoper Hitchins dies

[Traitorfish]

Misereátur tui omnípotens Deus, et, dimíssis peccátis tuis, perdúcat te ad vitam ætérnam.

Requiescat in pace.

-

May almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you your sins, and lead you to life everlasting.

Rest in peace.

You're quite aware that this is the equivalent of me turning up to your funeral and trying to bless you in the name of Satan, aren't you?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Well, too be honest, Rest In Peace isn't that void of reference to the afterlife either.

 

[Jehoshua]

Christopher Hitchens defining characteristic in the public consciousness was unbelief. Unbelief would presume that he does not, or rather did not, believe in any supreme being or supernatural spirit and as such my wishing him well in death in the name of God, a fictional being to his worldview, would presumably be empty words to him in life, and hardly equivalent to say a satanic benediction at a christian funeral.

 

[Kyriakos]

Well, he appeared to be ok, although i did not agree with most of his views i came to contact with. Cancer is regarded as a psychosomatic illness, so his mental cancers were playing a part in it too.
And although he was an atheist, he did strike me as the kind of atheist who in reality has not at all gotten rid of the matter of religiousness, and has also mixed religiousness with his impression of spirituality, which are two different matters in my view.

 

[Traitorfish]

Christopher Hitchens defining characteristic in the public consciousness was unbelief. Unbelief would presume that he does not believe in any supreme being or supernatural spirit and as such my wishing him well in death in the name of God, a fictional being to his worldview, would presumably be empty words to him and hardly equivalent to say a satanic benediction at a christian funeral.

Well, Hitchens went on record as holding the god of the monotheistic faiths to be a vindictive totalitarian despot (rightly or wrongly, that's not a debate we need here), so for you to quite sincerely wish him into the eternal clutches of said despot would be taken as little less than an insult.

 

[Jehoshua]

Of course presuming God exists and likewise presuming wrongly or not that he is a totalitarian despot, my wish that said despot would have mercy on him, forgive his transgressions and grant him everlasting life would reasonably be seen as a wish that the despot does not punish him for offenses against said despot.

 

[Traitorfish]

Of course presuming God exists and likewise presuming wrongly or not that he is a totalitarian despot, my wish that said despot would have mercy on him, forgive his transgressions and grant him everlasting life would reasonably be seen as a wish that the despot does not punish him.

A benevolent despot is still a despot, and you're still (in his view) wishing that upon him.

 

[Jehoshua]

Point out where I said I wished that "God would get him" so to speak, although to be fair there is the unwritten assumption of inevitability there.

 

[Traitorfish]

Point out where I said I wished that "God would get him" so to speak, although to be fair there is the unwritten assumption of inevitability there.

I'm talking about how Hitchens himself would view such sentiments, and why that makes them inappropriate on this thread.

 

[Jehoshua]

And are you Christopher Hitchens mind?

 

[Traitorfish]

And are you Christopher Hitchens mind?

Christopher Hitchens was not known for keeping his thoughts on the subject to himself, so I'd say that I can probably give you a pretty solid estimate of his reaction.

 

[Pangur Bán]

Jehoshua, if you can, watch the Paxman interview on the BBC website. You'll understand then.

 

[Jehoshua]

Ah yes, but the fact remains you are not Christopher Hitchens, and as such it is not within your faculties to say he would react in this, that or another way in this, that or another situation.

He could think as I mentioned before that what I said was merely empty words, or he could be outraged, a childish response, as you seem to imply he would be, something I doubt as for all his faults he was nothing if not intellectually inclined. Or he could pity me for making such an uninformed statement of belief (considering his atheism) or he could think it a nice, but ultimately stupid expression of good wishes. The fact remains that he could presumably have reacted in a myriad of ways and since you are not he, you should refrain from making an assumption as to what his reaction would be and keep your thoughts to yourself.

 

[Traitorfish]

And you should refrain from giving Catholic benedictions in a RIP thread about an outspoken atheist. So none of us are perfect.

 

[Jehoshua]

I was making an expression of good will for a person who obviously I had disagreements with. Sue me for being Catholic and for showing a modicum of goodwill for the man rather than say metaphorically dancing on his grave as some ignoramus in down in Topeka in the deep south is likely to be doing.

 

[Traitorfish]

If your goodwill was intended to be sincere, as it may well have been, then it would have been offered on his terms, not your own. A bottle of whisky is not a thoughtful gift for a teetotaller, as it were.

 

[Camikaze]

Moderator Action: Quit bickering, please.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

He's had a lot of great things to say(ie. anti-theism), and I agree with him on a ton of stuff, but unfortunately like many atheists he took his anti-Islam views way too far.

Why? They're a target just as massive.

 

[luiz]

Well, Hitchens went on record as holding the god of the monotheistic faiths to be a vindictive totalitarian despot (rightly or wrongly, that's not a debate we need here), so for you to quite sincerely wish him into the eternal clutches of said despot would be taken as little less than an insult.

After being diagnosed with cancer, he actually stated his thanks to those who prayed for his recovery in good faith.

 

[asbestos]

He was a propagandist for the neocons and pushed heavily for the war in Iraq. He forcefully justified waterboarding as harmless and 'not torture' until he agreed to have it done to him. I frankly have a hard time feeling sorry that he's dead.