2(2) BBC Newsnight Special: Christopher Hitchens

[Chris201076]

I should have written.

[hlb101]

Oh Hitch... you make my problems seem so trivial. x

[FreedomLiberty21]

your brilliance illuminated many minds and stirred in us a need to think critically about authority, religion, even life.

we'll miss you, Christopher :(

we were lucky to have you

[oddashuman]

RIP

[caveman73]

Fuck! He is no longer here.... This sucks! I will miss him.

[ZF1000]

Nice painting of Mr Hitchens and his wife behind Mr Paxman.

[colosshitman]

Jesus still unconditionally loves you Christopher Hitchens & if you were the only person on Earth with sin, he still would of died for you.

[GoCardinal2012]

Thumbs up if you are going to write him!

[styops]

This is fantastic. Thanks for posting.

[MrTruthAddict]

I'm writing Hitch a letter right now to thank him for helping free my mind of the mental slavery that comes from growing up around fundamentalist Christians.  I feel like I have had a born again experience after realizing I don't have to respect superstition and the simple people who revere it so much, to the detriment of us all.

Thanks Hitch! I'm so grateful...

[MultiUniv3rsal]

"Do you think your life was well-lived"

"I suppose I'll have to leave that to others"

I'll say it has been quite well-lived. Let us all hope he goes on living it for as long as it takes.

[tylerdurden4495]

If there is a God, he would be proud for having created Hitchens.

[bethnor]

ARGH!!! this must me the 1,000,000th time someone's asked him about pascal's wager!

[radmonkey999]

thank you xx

[EclecticSceptic]

I'm going to write to him.

[embich]

...Thanks for making me think about this stuff. You help make it possible to clearly contemplate both life and death. In large part because of you, I feel more ready for either certainty.

[embich]

...Thanks for making me think about this stuff. You help make it possible to clearly contemplate both life and death. In large part because of you, I feel more ready for either certainty.

[embich]

No need to twist Kim Jong Il into a defacto religious leader - just point out how unreasonable he is. Yes Stalin used dormant religious impulses in his followers to command unquestioning loyalty, but it was the unquestioning aspect of the religious fervor (rather than the fact that Jesus had a beard, for instance) that is most salient....

[embich]

sn't homeopathy vs. Janism akin to alcohol vs. marijuana? Your fellow horseman Sam Harris is much more accurate in this respect - it isn't religion, per se, that is your enemy - it is lack of reason. To the extent a religion is reasonable, it is good. To the extent another belief is unreasonable, it is bad....

[embich]

Secondly, I'm sure you don't need others to bestow meaning upon your life, BUT if helping others to find and interpret great writers of the past who originally made many of the arguments you repeat is worthwhile, your life has been most valuable - at least to me....

[embich]

Since the choice is to write or not, I choose to write.

Firstly, thanks Hitch for arguing in favor of that which you believe, especially since you are most often arguing in favor of reason. Thank you for being a clear, concise and erudite author. Although I have no desire to be an author, let alone any of the aforementioned adjectives, I appreciate reading an author with a loving and critical eye toward the use of the English language.

[cclarke10able]

@blinkyreadsbooks obscene? thats a strange word to use, any Christian I know is chiefly concerned with helping other people

[blankz121]

crap, i had no clue hitchens had cancer.

damn.

[culchie1982]

@blankz121 Were you living on the moon?

[blankz121]

@culchie1982 under a rock, apparently.

[offpatsmile]

@blinkyreadsbooks exactly - that was the surprise. I have met Jeremy and he is a delightful man to work alongside, and generous - but that exaggerates the shock...

[cclarke10able]

@blinkyreadsbooks pascal's wager is certainly not ridiculous. Its 100% on the money!

[cclarke10able]

@blinkyreadsbooks how is my comment underhanded? I would say it would be the best thing that could ever happen to him

[Jbear9]

Well, I for one, am here to say Mr. Hitchens' life was lived as perfectly as anyone's.

I found an email address in an article and wrote to him. I don't expect him to write back, or to even read it, but I can't help wishing he knew what a gift his life has been to others, like me.

[scrubjay93]

@blinkyreadsbooks I'm sick of hearing him asked about it. At least the interview did stray finally from the same questions he has been asked for the last six months.

[offpatsmile]

Paxman's pushing of the Pascal wager argument seems to show him as somewhat religious himself - a surprise. Hitchens is as congruent as ever - as one who recognises the truth in his polemic against the vile fictions of the scriptures would expect..

He has put into eloquent words all the arguments I felt instinctively to be true, and used reason to make them clear and unassailable - a great service to mankind.

[cclarke10able]

I hope he beats the cancer, he certainly has the right strength of mind to do so. Even though I feel he has said some shocking things about Christianity, I hope he accepts in his heart that it is true.

[scrubjay93]

@cclarke10able Lol, you've got to be kidding, right?

[cclarke10able]

@scrubjay93 not at all, stranger things have happened! Eg Saul/Paul who was a far bigger enemy to Christianity than Hitchens

[ilieklolcatz]

He actually ventures to call the anti-globalist movement conservative (right after defending the market system too). Black is white, right is left, etc...

[hautelick]

Watched this yesterday; just watched it again.

Didn't look at it as a valedictory piece; i'm sure he has a lot more to say and hopefully will be granted, whether through the grace of a higher-power or happen-stance, plenty of time to say it.

Have read/listened to only a small-percentage of what the man has written/said over the years; don't agree with it all but he's always struck me as having the guts to try and represent his best take on humanity at all times.

[SatyreetBacchante]

Some of the more useful days I've had in college were the ones when I listened to Mr Hitchens on Youtube.

[jlsr1000]

Well, I'm glad you are here because America needs more intelligent people to lead the way.

[wintershadows]

@blinkyreadsbooks Yes, but here he answers it better than anyone I have ever heard.

[MrRedthief]

Hitchens is very much a brilliant and honest man. I hope he can beat this cancer and live longer so we can hear more of his words of wisdom.

[RandomVortex]

I (for many reasons)have the deepest respect for Christopher Hitchens and find his frankness in the face of probable death both heartbreaking and inspiring!

Good luck to him and his family!

[HimmuraTube]

Christopher Hitchens is the modern day Thomas Payne...his ideas and thoughts will live and inspire forever.

[LordSlag]

FUCK!! I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person and I can rotate a string of words fairly well, but to be able to speak like this.....how smart IS this fuckin' guy?! I wish I could have 1/10th of what he's got. It's hard to watch the good ones die. <:*-(

[party489]

@LordSlag Be proud we got to know he lived. Mr. Hitchens makes me proud to be born of my species.

[EdgeofWorld86]

I can't believe people are still bringing up Pascal's Wager!!!!

[kuroshashu]

You can ask the man anything and you choose to waste some of his few remaining minutes bringing up Pascal's wager? >:(

[scrubjay93]

@kuroshashu Really, what a waste. I think it is quite insulting to him too, as if you are saying his previous twenty answers to this question are somehow insincere.

[Territomauvais]

I wrote to Hitchens once. Admittedly after he was diagnosed with cancer, but 'twas was a product of haste not sympathy...I've always intended to shake this mans hand. And now it seems I'll probably never have the opportunity.

But at LEAST I can say we've read each others written word. And although I'm disappointed at the extent of our contact, I'm certain Hitch is mildly pleased.

Pleasure- A feeling I distill every time I hear his voice- it's good to have finally been able to do him the favor!

[mnaicck]

classy



[elvisload]

Christopher, you are the unknotted tongue of my mind. When you are gone I will parrot your words but it will not be the same.

[ExtremeBogom]

Many thanks for the up mate.

[inappropriategiggle]

I love him so much. Horrible man that he is. Wonderful man. Please stay longer, Hitchens.

[lordrazi111693]

William Li: Can we eat to starve cancer? ( the name of a TED talk )

i wonder if this could actually help him?

would be great.

[theclewis]

"In case ... you ever wonder whether to write to anyone, always do, because you'd be surprised by how much difference it can make." - C.H.  This man is inspiring.

[Poleschs]

How would I go about sending him a letter? How can I get his home address? I don't understand :/

[DailyHitchens22]

@Poleschs whitepagesdotcom

[DaithiDublin]

If I were to write to Hitchens as he suggests at the end, I would write to thank him. Not for teaching me that religion is false, or that it is worthy not only of contempt, but ridicule. I would thank him for his example, for his method, and for his eloquence. And for the power that education and language has to strip away the thin sheen of respectability that religion shrouds itself with in order to maintain it's self granted moral authority. For that, Mr. Hitchens, I will be forever grateful.

[Drvol1]

has hitch had a life well lived? safe bet.

[JayJayAbels]

Did not like how Jeremy Paxman pressed him on his convictions... the way that he did. It seemed like a failed attempt at persuasion and disingenuous... given the circumstances.

Hitch... the man never held his tongue. So eloquent and yet adamant about his beliefs... or lack thereof. At the same time... extremely reflective and logical about the events that he was a part of.

Very admirable. Very inspiring.

[bobster451]

This man is so awesome!

I wish him well!

[knoose]

Sir, you should start a "School of Hitchens".

Something for thinkers and minds to attend and learn and listen to your logic and wisdom.

The world needs more of you.

[lolingattheism]

@knoose Well, isn't it kind of ongoing right here? This world will be half of its value when CH is gone, but luckily we have these documents for the coming generations. Maybe they will be better equipped to think than current cavemen.

[TylerMcManus1]

@knoose I'd join that school..

[SlappyThePenguin]

Hitch continues to inspire, perhaps even more so now that he is so ill.

[dickyguapo]

Hitch is a genius.

[B21983]

"God" Bless Hitch! A truly wonderful and eloquent man and the greatest person of the Left since Orwell.