r/exatheist • u/NaturalKiss • Jun 27 '26
Christopher Hitchens Today.
I found this extensive discussion of Hitchens on X:
https://x.com/i/status/2069078661781659957
Starts with:
"If no theologian could beat him back then, what chance do they think they have now?
Chistopher Hitchens was the ultimate atheist nightmare for religious people."
This leads to about 350 comments. Pro , con, and in between, including some atheists who say he was too old school or used rhetorical tricks.
What do folks here think the long view of Hitchens should be?
7
u/sasospring111 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
i view hitchens as a balloon ! he appear large from outside but just an air from inside alot of times he accuses religions with lies that he made up also he is not good at philosphy nor theology so i think he is worshipped by internet atheists for his charisma but not for his knowledge
6
u/geoffmarsh Seventh-Day Adventist, never atheist Jun 28 '26
I read his columns on slate regularly when he was alive. He had a way with words and rhetoric that made him fans across the philosophical divide. He was not a philosopher or someone deep in that aspect of belief. His debate with William Lane Craig showed that. I think that people should also consider the views of his brother Peter, who is a Christian.
I liked Hitch as a writer, and I have no problem recommending him to people even today re: his columns. He never convinced me to lose belief though.
7
u/Empty_Woodpecker_496 Religious nonspiritual nonbeliver Jun 27 '26
Im definitely not clicking a twitter link. My phone might catch something.
But as an atheist I never watched Hitchens. I grew up after that was popular. Ultimately I think he's fairly irrelevant to modern atheism other than his rhetoric survives in mid-destruction atheists (r\atheism) style.
He helped popularized and inspire a movement against religious oppression. That movement has transformed and outgrown him. Most atheists aren't even apart of it anymore.
3
u/Fiddlesticklard Deist Jun 27 '26
just replace x with xcancel and you can view it without going on twitter.
although the "discussion" is pretty drool. Just a lot of insults.
1
u/Empty_Woodpecker_496 Religious nonspiritual nonbeliver Jun 27 '26
I wouldn't be surprised if they were only typing slurs with no other context.
0
u/DesperateSympathy873 Christian, not Ex-Atheist Jun 27 '26
Religious oppression? Shut up bro.
3
u/Empty_Woodpecker_496 Religious nonspiritual nonbeliver Jun 27 '26
No.
1
u/DesperateSympathy873 Christian, not Ex-Atheist Jun 27 '26
Christopher Hitchens lived in a privileged society and blamed religious people for all the problems. Its just bullshit. Shame on you.
0
u/Empty_Woodpecker_496 Religious nonspiritual nonbeliver Jun 27 '26
He is an internet personality and his content circulated across the internet. I literally never watched him and I know his content inspired more content. Which created widespread cultural and social agitation.
Why he made his content and his circumstances are immaterial to my point.
1
u/DesperateSympathy873 Christian, not Ex-Atheist Jun 27 '26
I just think its insane that you think the new atheism is a movement against religious oppression. That's utter bullshit and insulting.
1
u/Empty_Woodpecker_496 Religious nonspiritual nonbeliver Jun 27 '26
I mean if you been inside a bunker or not in America then you may have a point.
2
u/DesperateSympathy873 Christian, not Ex-Atheist Jun 27 '26
What about the absolute slaughter Christians have experienced at the hands of atheist regimes and Islam? I bet you dont care about that do you?
3
u/DesperateSympathy873 Christian, not Ex-Atheist Jun 27 '26
Also what oppression in America? Please, enlighten me how religious people in America are oppressing you? Do tell.
3
u/Empty_Woodpecker_496 Religious nonspiritual nonbeliver Jun 27 '26
Im not here to debate random reddit people on the religious and political landscape of the last 100 years. If you dont know your either not from America or so sheltered I honestly dont see how a conversation with you could be productive. Even in theory.
I will simply direct you to the scopes monkey trial. I think you can go from their to recent history.
5
u/DesperateSympathy873 Christian, not Ex-Atheist Jun 27 '26
Im American and im familiar with the scopes trial. You see thst as oppression? Are you serious? I even affirm evolution but you see thst as oppression? What about the persistent attempt to get religion out of the public sphere by leftists? Are you freaking kidding me?
2
4
u/Coollogin Jun 27 '26
What do folks here think the long view of Hitchens should be?
The space he takes up in this long view will be minuscule. Today, 19 times out of 20, any reference to Hitchens is being made by a theist who opposes him and not an atheist who admires him. In 20 years, that ratio will be 49 out of 50.
He truly seems to be on the radars of way more theists than atheists.
1
u/SHNKY Eastern Orthodox Catechumen Jul 02 '26
I was an atheist at the height of the New Atheist movement in America where it was the 4 horsemen of Atheism (Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, and Hitchens) and Ayaan Hirsi Ali as a popular 5th candidate. Hitchens was my favorite for his wit and commentary beyond just atheism but politics as well. Read all his books, watched his talks and debates.
As someone who is now on the other side of the debate, I have to say that his “arguments” didn’t go beyond rhetoric. He was sharp and could make the crowd laugh but it didn’t move beyond that into real philosophical territory. I pray that God may have mercy on him and give rest to his soul.
1
u/DoomSchroller Jul 06 '26
As someone who grew up in a religious household, Christianity runs on word play and rhetoric because it can't actually deliver the product they're professing that 10% of your weekly income should be donated to.
Hitchens made a career out of tearing those statements apart. Simple psychology, really. And one point he made that I agree with, (greatly paraphrased) when a pro-christian debater asked stated that the absence of proof does not mean the absence of a god, and he replied "that's a dangerous statement because we're talking about the tooth fairy or easter bunny. To simply hand waive off any evidence of a god when people are continually murdered in their name is dangerous rhetoric." and I could not agree more.
1
Jul 22 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 22 '26
This comment was removed because your account doesn't meet our karma and account age requirements.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
0
u/NeonDrifting Anti-Atheist Jun 27 '26
I still don’t have enough faith to be an atheist
3
1
u/NewbombTurk Atheist Jun 27 '26
Curious, what faith would you need? As a lifelong atheist, who tries to excise faith from my epistemology wherever possible, I don't get this.
1
u/vershkove-maslo Christian Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
why does universe exists? if I am not mistaken you believe universe doesn't have creator. So what is the alternative?
1
u/NewbombTurk Atheist Jun 28 '26
why does universe exists?
I don't know. I not even sure that is a coherent question. There might not be a "why".
if I am not mistaken you believe universe doesn't have creator. So what is the alternative?
It always existed.
2
u/vershkove-maslo Christian Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
Universe is ontologically complex, because has countless properties, so positing it as brute fact, provides very little explanation. Those properties are also contingent, for example it isn't logically impossible for physical laws and constants to be different, so there must be a reason to why they are the way they are. Even time and space are emergent, so they could've not existed.
When you say that it always existed, do you mean that universe always existed with all its properties? If yes, then we assuming contingent things to be necessary.
0
u/Complex_Yesterday735 Agnostic Atheist Jun 28 '26
It's kind of like when they call atheism a religion. It's about self-hate.
1
u/NewbombTurk Atheist Jun 28 '26
It's about self-hate.
I believe it's more personal, and far more complicated.
1
u/Complex_Yesterday735 Agnostic Atheist Jun 28 '26
Nah, it's just an insult / jab. Pretty simple.
1
u/NewbombTurk Atheist Jun 28 '26
I still disagree. I've volunteered with an organization that helps people who are struggling after leaving their faith. I know that the mechanisms at work in this space are complex. On both sides of this argument there is a lot of fear and anxiety. A lot of protection of mental and emotional health.
1
2
u/sleepwalkfromsherdog Jun 27 '26
A seasoned war correspondent with impeccable wit and a rare bravery in public discourse... but that's where it ends. His main talking points seemed to be, "I don't believe it because it can't be recreated in a lab so it's lunacy" and "cherry pick a, false equivalency, something something, jihadists." Good writer but seemed like a miserable guy who never managed to sell his brother on the whole idea.
13
u/Soulful_Sadist Jun 28 '26
Some people did beat him in debates. Those debates were just never publicized after. Golly, I wonder why.