Bill Maher tweeted most accurately that this was a bad weekend for atheism. Atheism lost two radically different voices. Radical in that one was an atheist determined to eradicate and brutalize his own people and the other seeking to challenge the Christian claim through ideas. One murdered, the other intellectualized.
But at the end, assuming they had no change of heart, both will suffer the same end (John 3:36). While there is no sympathy for the death of the North Korean dictator, many–even Christians–are grieving over Christopher Hitchens. The reason they grieve–rightly to a certain extent–is that everyone of us at some point had hope that Christopher would see the decay of his body as a sign of the decay of his soul.
Kim Jong Il boasted in his power, while Christopher boasted of his intellect. These are two different sides of atheism, but both representative of atheism nevertheless.
“These are two different sides of atheism, but both representative of atheism nevertheless.”
I’d say that they are both representatives of atheists, as opposed to ‘atheism’. There’s a subtle difference there.
Explain the difference…I may agree with your distinction.
Aside from religion, Hitchens was a literary genius. His writing was the kind that I would read on lunch breaks, every spare minute.!
Hitchens was a war-monger…he supported George Bush’s policy…agree that he was brilliant, but he used his wit for naught in the end.