Christopher Hitchens "Quotes" - "God Ain't Gr8"

Are Dawkins and Hitchens the new 'in' thang? Arrogant and ever so polite, and so much fun to watch in a debate. Perhaps my university lecturers were right about the age we're moving into? We've got access to information like never before and have had it at our fingertips for a while now, but the information age is over, they say. It's a new dawn, it's a new age - The age of Wisdom - the age of Aquarius??? We've got the information, and tonnes of it increasing exponentionally, it's time to sort through all the crap and debate it reasonably.

Hitchens doesn't pull any punches, and he's a brilliant stirrer. He is controversial and comes across as extremely offensive to some... but yet still, as I said, incredibly polite. The English accent helps. I'm a groupie and I'll admit it. He's great and here are some of my favourite quotes:

I will not play with the toys. Don’t bring the toys to my house. Don’t say my children must play with the toys. Enough with clerical and religious bullying and intimidation.

The four most over-rated things in life are champagne, lobster, anal sex and picnics.

(To a 'reverend' in a recent debate) "I have to say it in your presence, sir, I think that the title reverend is something people should be more concerned to live down than live up," Mr. Hitchens said.

Intelligent design? Babies are not born beautiful (says the God of the Bible), they need to be sawn a bit.

The mildest criticism of religion is also the most radical and the most devastating one. Religion is man-made. Even the men who made it cannot agree on what their prophets or redeemers or gurus actually said or did.

The Aztecs had to tear open a human chest cavity every day just to make sure that the sun would rise. Monotheists are supposed to pester their deity more times than that, perhaps, lest he be deaf.

Ethics do not require that lies be told to children by evil old men.

We find this wonderful truffle and open it and look at the chocolate and throw it away and then munch on the wrapper.

The discovery of the carcass of Jerry Falwell on the floor of an obscure office in Virginia has almost zero significance, except perhaps for two categories of the species labeled “credulous idiot.”

There is no vileness that cannot be freely uttered by a man whose name is prefaced with the word Reverend.

Like many fanatical preachers, Falwell was especially disgusting in exuding an almost sexless personality while railing from dawn to dusk about the sex lives of others. His obsession with homosexuality was on a par with his lip-smacking evocations of hellfire. From his wobbly base of opportunist fund raising and degree-mill money-spinning in Lynchburg, Va., he set out to puddle his sausage-sized fingers into the intimate arrangements of people who had done no harm. Men of this type, if they cannot persuade enough foolish people to part with their savings, usually end up raving on the street and waving placards about the coming day of judgment. But Falwell, improving on the other Chaucerian frauds from Oral Roberts to Jim Bakker to Ted Haggard, not only had a TV show of his own but was also regularly invited onto mainstream ones.

It’s a shame that there is no hell for Falwell to go to, and it’s extraordinary that not even such a scandalous career is enough to shake our dumb addiction to the “faith-based.”

You have to watch this video... The man Hitchens owns the phrase "pull no punches".


8 comments:

Eek said...

Never heard of him.

I do like this the "mildest criticism" comment tho. And the baby one. Oh, and the other funny one... the one about the Aztecs.

That was a good movie that aztec mel gibson whateverish movie. But I digress.

Who the fk is Hawkins or whatever his name is? I've forgotten already lol.

tina FCD said...

Your first paragraph hit the nail on the head so to speak! We don't have to settle for news on the television anymore, just click on the internet. News can be so biased on T.V. Only tell you what they want you to hear, all that is changing and for the better!

Anonymous said...

Have you checked the Hitchens debate w/ Wilson? It's interesting I guess...

Anonymous said...

Hitch is a master communicator. He is rational, provocative and eloquent in his style. Those two american's look liked crazed pious fundamentalists and give America a bad name.

reno

James said...

I am a Christian, so do not agree with much of what Hitchens says. However, I do respect his intelligence, and generally enjoy watching his interviews and debates. Also admire his honesty (to put it mildly).

I have to say, I think he comes of well here. The reason being the incredible stupidity of the hosts of this show. To invite someone to come on to your programme for an interview, then talk over them and not allow them to speak is just unbelievable to me. Why bother having them at all? You could just say all these things without an anyone to interview.

Stepher said...

I adore both Dawkins & Hitchens...

Anonymous said...

Sean Hannity is (unfortunately) a well known right wing republican mouthpiece who likes to invite different thinking people on his show and ask them why they hate America and God. Seeing him fumble about the verbal scalding Mr. Hitchens gave him was marvelous. "If you gave Falwell an enema you'd have to bury him in a matchbox". HA!

Anonymous said...

mike says, dear old christopher is the supreme piss artist . my lasting memory will be the picture of him being manhandled by policemen following one of many drunken brawls with a lady friend. this is the real christopher and not all that articulate bullshit he spews out which even he does not believe in. i wish him well