they say god is not great

looking through myspace of all places, there was a book review of the book by reknown author and atheist Christopher Hitchens. i read some of the quotes, and i think, God willing my faith is strong enough, might read it just to really see what he thinks. but what really angered me were the chosen and obviously controversial quotes they borrowed from the book itself:

" • “When the earthquake hits, or the tsunami inundates, or the twin towers ignite, you can see and hear the secret satisfaction of the faithful. Gleefully they strike up: ‘You see, this is what happens when you don’t listen to us!’ With an unctuous smile they offer a redemption that is not theirs to bestow and, when questioned, put on a menacing scowl that says, ‘Oh, so you reject our offer of paradise? Well, in that case we have quite another fate in store for you.’”


• “Islam is at once the most and the least interesting of the world’s monotheisms. It builds upon its primitive Jewish and Christian predecessors, selecting a chunk here and a shard there, and thus if these fall, it partly falls also. Its founding narrative likewise takes place within an astonishingly small compass, and relates facts about extremely tedious local quarrels.”


• “During carnival season in Brazil, the auxiliary bishop of Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Llano Cifuentes, told his congregation in a sermon that ‘the church is against condom use. Sexual relations between a man and a woman have to be natural. I have never seen a little dog using a condom during sexual intercourse with another dog.’”


• “If one could nominate an absolutely tragic day in human history, it would be the occasion that is now commemorated by the vapid and annoying holiday known as ‘Hannukah.’”


• “Many otherwise intelligent mammals affect the belief that heaven hates ham.” "

what also angered me were some of the people who gave their thumbs up opinion and reasons why. here are some of the things these supporters said (NOTE: what was written here were the opinions of these people only, i am only letting them on here to show reality and not sugarcoat anything; for literary purposes, in other words):

"This is a book I plan on buying and not that "god is why humans are living today" shit. Its called science evolution u dumb fucks."

"any religious people read this book? like... is it possible for somebody that believes in a higher power to even make an attempt to think subjectively and say, "what the fuck, ill read this for shits and giggles." i havent even read this but "the god delusion" is amazing. religion causes child abuse. subjective nihilism for all. : )"

"god...isnt real. end of story."

"We bash religion because it is shoved in our faces daily, it is on our money, it is in our schools, but the world is changing for the better and secularism will one day be the norm."

"I cannot wait to read this book!!
Christians have been brainwashing our youth for too long. Freedom of choice is crucial to our nation. Why let them take away our freedom to choose without always pushing it so hard? The DVD "Jesus Camp" sums it all up very nicely."

"Religion... Hah, why would a free minded creature bind themselves in such a way as following such a foolish belief system? Do you need to be controlled so badly that you believe fairy tales meant to oppress the population. Whenever something is needed by the government, religion is always a great way to start a war, as well as brainwash them into your control. I just don't understand how you can believe this..." (this from someone who's display name was "a boy brushed red...living in black and white"...sorry, but ironic much?)

"you know what we need...more church burnings!" (i thought "all thinking men were atheists")

needless to say this set off a spark of anger in my mind. i didn't think twice about retaliating...i did choose my words as carefully as possible, however. here was my response:

"here's the thing i've noticed about a lot of atheists proclaiming this kind of stuff. they can be smart and very intelligent people, no doubt, look at all the vocabulary this guy is spouting.

but all i have to say is that his first mistake is in the title: "God is NOT great"

i was under the impression that atheists believed that there was no, not ONE, higher power or authority or god or any powerful spiritual being.

i quote one of my best friends (who's actually a pagan, by the way, chew on that food for thought) when she was talking about how atheists just contradict themselves. she said, "it's like saying, 'I don't believe in God, but I hate him!'"

and while it is sad and true that some self-proclaimed christians go around with a holier-than-thou attitude, calling for fire and brimstone for all, i am sad to say that anyone who calls themselves a christian but does not fully practice love and kindness and compassion towards everyone, neighbor or enemy, and who place themselves on pedastals above the rest, they are not truly a christian. again, sadly, i know very few people who call themselves christians who truly show christ's love towards everyone.

no one is saying you can't publish a book about God not existing; the question is can mr. hitchens back up his findings with solid proof? no. no one can. people ask me all the time to prove that God is real, then, without "using the Bible as an excuse." i tell them that the true difference between true Christianity and many other religions is that it is largely and widely based on FAITH. and yes, in today's world of logic and science, where we are so used to technology solving half our problems that we demand tangible proof for everything, it does not seem like much. but even charles darwin himself admitted that his theory of evolution was only a theory, and that he still did not find enough scientific proof to convince himself that his theory of evolution fully and truly existed.

have you ever stopped to think about that? that not everything has to be written in cold, hard stone to be taken seriously?

and why do you think people who undergo the transformation of accepting christ into their hearts are different from any other religious convert? because of FAITH, and because of the love that He promised, and that there aren't so many rules and guidlines and fine print to follow that it becomes so easy to lose your way. bottom line, God loves you. we'd all be dead if it weren't for jesus, because all of us is a sinner. if he hadn't taken it upon himself, there really wouldn't be anything you could do, but you can.

it doesn't mean that becoming a christian means you're home free and you can sin all you want as long as you pray to the big guy upstairs to please forgive you, you'll never do it again. it is a whole-hearted commitment, but we all sin. Paul said, "All have fallen short of the glory of God." if you are truly earnest in your commitment and truly sorry, just ask for forgiveness. only if you mean it. if you can't, you can walk away if you don't feel like committing.

that's another difference between christianity and other religions--or should i say, between God and everything else that man decides to worship in whatever form--God loves everyone so much that he gave us a choice. we don't have to accept it. apparently mr. hitchens has chosen not to.

i'm putting this all out there in the hopes that, not to convert everyone on the spot, but just to point out the true aspects of the other side in this ongoing debate, and that if you can't accept anything but solid proof, then HERE IT IS. be happy.

i've spoken my peace."

peace.

-d