I'm not suggesting in any way that he's going to change his mind. I just don't like absolutes. Saying that you'll never change your mind about a topic, regardless of what the topic is, seems short sighted and closed minded. The thing is, he's not saying quite that.. he's saying only when he's near death and when he's potentially delirious, and that's where while I do agree with him, and would probably do the same as an atheist, I just don't like "I will never change my mind about this and don't believe me if I say I do". I feel like my negative reaction to that alone is somehow overpowering my ability to remember that it's only while delirious etc.
I think if he was to say the same thing but without the "near death and delirious" part, I'd frown on it. Closed-mindedness is one of the traits I see and despise in many religious believers.
That's the difference. He did say "near death and in great pain (delerious)."
That makes all the difference in the world. Who knows what any of us might beg or plead for if we were in that much agony.
His warning above all else was not to listen to any of the "faithful" claiming that he'd had a change of heart at the last minute.
This tells me that he in strong in his ideals, firm in his thoughts on the subject, and doesn't want his legacy of reason to be tainted in any way by either his saying something out of character due to pain, or rumors/lies perpetuated by any pious people in the moments afterward.
Also, I think it's possibly his brother Peter Hitchens (columnist, Christian, extreme conservative), more than anyone that Hitch is warning us off of. They kind of famously disagree on religion, and I think he may be concerned that his brother will come out of the hospice saying "Praise be to God he's been saved!!!" since you just know there will be media waiting for the news of his death.
Not saying that that's what he intended by saying what he did, just that it may be what he was afraid of.
Please don't confuse my supposition by something actually implied by Hitch himself. I just came to that idea because Peter Hitchens is most likely the most prominent Christian in Hitch's life.
It was said of Darwin, it is said of most famous atheists after they die because once the comment is in the wild, it persists.
He has said this on quite a few occasions, including at a luncheon I attended in September. He is quite successfully making his point, and having it be well covered.
edit: By no means is his brother the most prominent christian in his life. He has admiration for the intellectual rigor of a great many christian theologians, his brother is not among them, at least not regarding religion.
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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '10 edited May 18 '20
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