Christopher Hitchens Has Succumbed To Cancer.

[iamlowsound]

They may not admit to it but I bet a great many of them are breathing a sigh of relief today.

As a Christian, I am very saddened to hear of his death. He was a man that I admired and he always carried himself with respect and wasn't afraid to change his view when presented with enough evidence. It is something that, unfortunately, many Christians could learn from him.

lowsound

 

[DaveKirkpatrick]

What a loss. His voice will be missed.

 

[drteeth]

Very sad news. The world is a little worse off without this man.

 

[GregC]

As a Christian, I am very saddened to hear of his death. He was a man that I admired and he always carried himself with respect and wasn't afraid to change his view when presented with enough evidence. It is something that, unfortunately, many Christians could learn from him.

lowsound

Very well said, I agree.

 

[fraublugher]

Twitter

2009 interview airing now and at 11pm eastern again

 

[hbarcat]

Hitchen's voice of reason based on intellectual honesty will be sorely missed.

I will pour myself a bit of JW after lunch today and have a couple more this evening in his honor.

 

[warnergt]

Even as a Christian, I always respected his opinions and he always brought interesting/insightful things to the table. He will be missed. RIP.

Same here. He was a smart guy who could make a strong
case for his positions. I admired him.

However, he often seemed to have a bit of a chip on his
shoulder when it came to faith. I felt that was his loss.
Statistically, people of faith are happier, live longer and donate
more time, money and blood than their counterparts. I always
wondered how a very intelligent guy such as Christopher
Hitchens could reconcile that with his negative view on faith.

 

[MakiSupaStar]

I might not have agreed with him on every point, but the guy was a master smack talker. No one could serve someone a plate of ass as well as he did. One of my favorite articles was one that he wrote a long time ago about Sen. Larry Craig who got caught trying to solicit sex in a public bathroom. It was hilarious.... Found it.

Why men like Larry Craig continue to court danger in public places. - Slate Magazine

 

[Tegzsa]

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[Tituscrow]

Same here. He was a smart guy who could make a strong
case for his positions. I admired him.

However, he often seemed to have a bit of a chip on his
shoulder when it came to faith. I felt that was his loss.
Statistically, people of faith are happier, live longer and donate
more time, money and blood than their counterparts. I always
wondered how a very intelligent guy such as Christopher
Hitchens could reconcile that with his negative view on faith.

I could rip this post to pieces but shall refrain from doing so to avoid a thwack with a mod-stick.

Hitchens was a legendary orator, author and debater, regardless of his spiritual beliefs. YouTube is peppered with clips of him in full flight. A sad loss.

 

[Sonicfrog]

My many thanks and high praise to you for your moving send off to a man who truly embodies what it is for a human being to exist at the pinnacle of his own interest to live, participate and share in life as he did, which in and of itself defines him as a true master of his craft. This can be said of very few people at any point thriughout history to present day and you eloquently convey his character and significance. I appreciate learning of his passing from your words very much as opposed to the news blurbs I most assuredly would have loathed to endure as none will likely do his legacy justice as you have here. Thank you for this post.

Thanks. I just wish I had his absolutely wonderfully mad and incisive knife of an intellect.

 

[BassyBill]

I always wondered how a very intelligent guy such as Christopher Hitchens could reconcile that with his negative view on faith.

Maybe you should read some of his stuff if you're interested in understanding his stance on that and many other contemporary issues. He always justified his views with great eloquence. In fact, most of the widespread respect for the man was accorded to him precisely because he always took pains to explain his views so articulately that people who disagreed with him seemed to find it beyond their means to offer anything even approaching intelligent refutation.

 

[Roscoe East]

Darn. He was a brilliantly eloquent man with unwaveringly rational & defendable principles...god I will miss him!

Huh... Well, I've spent a good part of today reading obituaries for Mr. Hitchens, and I've learned a few things about him that I didn't know. Which I guess isn't surprising, because almost all I knew about him -- certainly all that prompted me to write the above quoted accollade -- comes from reading his book God Is Not Great.

Now, it's pretty difficult to get too specific due to the tight limitations on TB concerning politics and/or religion, so allow me to coyly and deftly leave it at this:

I (and the world, imho) will sorely miss his viewpoints on religion. But apparently, as I've just learned today, I will not miss his viewpoints on politics.

he always took pains to explain his views so articulately that people who disagreed with him seemed to find it beyond their means to offer anything even approaching intelligent refutation.

Okay, perhaps I need to read more of his own explanations vis a vis his political views before I condem them. Thanks for reminding me of his gift.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

I am absolutely heartbroken at this news.

 

[Tituscrow]

^i think that's bills point. Regardless of whether you agreed or disagreed with any of his views, his ability to argue, persuade, refute or convince was all secondary to his power to make you THINK.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

In honor of Christopher.

 

[CDweller]

Hitchens was a master at articulating his point of view. I enjoyed hearing him speak.


RIP.

 

[Tituscrow]

In honor of Christopher.

Class.

 

[BassyBill]

^i think that's bills point. Regardless of whether you agreed or disagreed with any of his views, his ability to argue, persuade, refute or convince was all secondary to his power to make you THINK.

Yes, true - but I was also referring to his prowess as such a formidable debater. That doesn't mean he was always right, but it does mean he was always damned hard to prove wrong. With one or two elegant and economical sentences, he could tear arguments apart that lesser folks would wrangle with almost interminably.

 

[Tituscrow]

Yes, true - but I was also referring to his prowess as such a formidable debater. That doesn't mean he was always right, but it does mean he was always damned hard to prove wrong. With one or two elegant and economical sentences, he could tear arguments apart that lesser folks would wrangle with almost interminably.

Indeed. There are some things he has said that I KNOW I don't agree with, but I'm damned if I can think of the words I need to express that opposition with a level of appropriate articulation. And that's sort of what I meant....he made me think, and think hard, about all sides of a viewpoint.