As most people who would be interested probably know, Christopher Hitchens announced recently that he is undergoing treatment for cancer of the esophagus. I have the impression that this is a form of cancer which is pretty difficult to cure. And since Hitchens is one of the half dozen or so most visible and hostile atheists on the public scene, a certain public drama is involved. Many Christians, and I'm among them, have a certain amount of admiration and affection for Hitchens, despite his ferocious bigotry (I see no need to mince words here) toward our faith. There are several reasons for this. One, I think, is an impression that he wishes to follow the truth wherever it leads. I emphasize "wishes" because his ability to make or follow an argument often seems to desert him when the subject is religion. For instance, in a recent review of an historical novel set in the English Reformation, Hitchens appears to denounce St. Thomas More in the strongest terms, not just as someone overpraised but as "one of history's wickedest men." (I say "appears" because I'm not 100% sure that More is the subject of that description, but I think he is.) Really, he said that. Sometimes it seems that when you scratch the surface of these English atheists you find the Rev. Ian Paisley. The whole review is a flight of classically obtuse Anglo-Protestant belligerence (you can read it here).
Another reason why some Christians may find Hitchens interesting is that he does sometimes give evidence of understanding the significance of Christianity better than most atheists and more than a few Christians. He's a bit like Nietzsche in that respect, though so far as I've seen he doesn't reach the depths that Nietzsche does. He does seem to understand–sometimes–that if the Christian faith were true the world would be a very different place from what he conceives it to be. There's an example at First Thoughts, a post by David Mills which includes an excerpt from Hitchens' review (which I have not read) of a book by fellow savage atheist Philip Pullman, in which Hitchens agrees with C.S. Lewis against Thomas Jefferson on the character of Jesus (the post is here).
I have seen mentioned in reviews of Hitchens' recently published memoir, Hitch-22, that his mother committed suicide along with a lover with whom she had left her husband. I have only seen it mentioned in one review that this lover was a clergyman, and have not seen at all what I read somewhere some years ago, I don't know where, that he was a fallen-away Catholic priest. If that is true, it might shed some light on the ferocity of Hitchens' hatred of Christianity.
There is a curious discussion taking place on that First Things post, and on one which preceded it: some people, Christians, are arguing that there is something wrong with praying for Hitchens: either that he doesn't deserve it, or that we should spend our limited prayer time praying for those closest to us, or that we have no right to interfere between Hitchens and God, or…well, I admit that I cannot comprehend this at all. Why should one not pray for anyone and everyone who comes to one's attention? Certainly we all need it, one way or another. There are a number of people for whom I pray often who either never were or have ceased to be Christians. I cannot begin to fathom any line of reasoning which would lead to the conclusion that I should stop. I'll be including Hitchens for a while.
Light On Dark Water 
Leave a reply to Louise Cancel reply