|
|
Post by eckadimmock on Aug 5, 2010 22:42:02 GMT
Christopher Hitchens has discussed his cancer in Vanity Fair. Sadly, it doesn't look as if he is likely to survive it. I have to say I'm sorry about that. For all that he can be one-sided and unfair, I find him far and away the most entertaining of the "new atheists" (sorry, Tim). While he yields nothing here (and notes he had been looking forward t writing the obituaries of "elderly villains like Henry Kissinger and Joseph Ratzinger") he is fair enough to acknowledge the support of "an astonishing number of prayer groups". Although one doesn't know how he is in private, he comes across as brave and philosophical here. |
|
|
|
Post by tatterdemalion on Aug 30, 2010 22:33:02 GMT
I am looking forward to his follow-up article that was hinted at in the Vanity Fair article that you reference. In the follow-up article, Hitchens is supposed to address all the well-wishes and prayers that are being showered upon him. From his previous comments in other forums, it sounds as though he will be fairly gracious about all the well wishes that he is receiving.
|
|
|
|
Post by timoneill on Aug 30, 2010 23:18:37 GMT
From his previous comments in other forums, it sounds as though he will be fairly gracious about all the well wishes that he is receiving. This is hardly surprising - why wouldn't he be? Whenever someone tells me they are praying for me, I thank them. I don't bother to add that their prayers are a total waste of time and the equivalent of waving a voodoo chicken over me or making a burnt offering to Baal. The fact they are praying for me is clearly something important to them. And they are telling me about it because they want to express their concern for me. So to be ungracious about it would be pretty churlish. For that matter, I'd thank someone who said they were making an offering to Baal for me as well. So long as it wasn't a baby. |
|
|
|
Post by eckadimmock on Aug 31, 2010 11:40:01 GMT
There's an interview with him on this site if you're interested. He mentions that there are some praying for him to suffer, a much larger number praying for him to recover or be redeemed, and some praying for both! The latter is a bit puzzling: "save his soul, but then kill him off anyway". |
|
|
|
Post by merkavah12 on Aug 31, 2010 12:13:30 GMT
Well, I know people who have made sacrifices to the Old Ones in the hopes of making Cthulhu rise up and challenge him to a drinking contest.
He may be a dark Elder Thing From Realms Beyond Mortal Ken, but I still put my money on the boy from Portsmouth.
|
|
|
|
Post by tatterdemalion on Sept 1, 2010 2:00:50 GMT
From his previous comments in other forums, it sounds as though he will be fairly gracious about all the well wishes that he is receiving. This is hardly surprising - why wouldn't he be? Oh, I agree. Though I dare say that there are some atheists who not so gracious as the two of you..... |
|
deef
Bachelor of the Arts
Posts: 87
|
Post by deef on Sept 1, 2010 19:29:00 GMT
This is hardly surprising - why wouldn't he be? Oh, I agree. Though I dare say that there are some atheists who not so gracious as the two of you..... Yep, last week I had a discussion with an atheist who said he would punch anyone in the face who says he prays for him since it's supossedly a very disrespectful thing to say. |
|
|
|
Post by James Hannam on Sept 4, 2010 12:53:28 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by timoneill on Sept 4, 2010 21:17:56 GMT
Oh, I agree. Though I dare say that there are some atheists who not so gracious as the two of you..... Yep, last week I had a discussion with an atheist who said he would punch anyone in the face who says he prays for him since it's supossedly a very disrespectful thing to say. I certainly wouldn't react that way, but telling someone you know thinks prayer is nonsense that you're praying for them is kind of rude. It's like saying "I know you're going through a bad time, so by the way - everything you believe is wrong!" Not nice. If you must beseech your capricious deity on the behalf of an unbeliever, do so without telling them. That's just passive aggression and I'm sure horrible old Yahweh will burn you in his petty Hell for that, amongst many other things. |
|
|
|
Post by elephantchang51 on Sept 5, 2010 5:00:39 GMT
Personally if someone told me,in the full knowledge I am an atheist,that they were praying for me,I would regard it as patronising or condescending,but probably unintentional.It seems that Hitch has responded with the dignity,common decency,and moral courage his admirers have come to expect from him.
|
|
|
|
Post by jamierobertson on Sept 5, 2010 9:22:02 GMT
I certainly wouldn't react that way, but telling someone you know thinks prayer is nonsense that you're praying for them is kind of rude. Yes, we know. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, though. |
|
|
|
Post by merkavah12 on Sept 5, 2010 20:10:21 GMT
I once taunted The Reaper. Brett "The Reaper" Collum, 1999. Amateur Bout. Brutal right hook on that guy. I really pissed him off--and he made me pay for my fast mouth for a good three rounds.
|
|
