God Is Not Great
How Religion Poisons Everything
by Christopher Hitchens · first published 2007
56% recommend44% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Witty, incisive polemic against religion that argues its case at length, including chapters on specific historical atrocities and doctrines; recommended for readers who want a sharp, articulate case against religion.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris's recent bestseller, The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope's awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burn
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…argumentation than the "it is thus" justification you just provided. I'd recommend reading Hitchens, specifically [1] where he addresses that lame claim at length. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Is_Not_Great [EDIT]: here's a good summary from the man himself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOHgrnaTxk0
on “Gallup: U.S. church membership dips below 50% for first time” ↗God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens
on “Ask HN: What's the Best Book on Religion” ↗I wish Hitchens was still with us. People should read his books - especially God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. RIP, we miss your tact, witty jabs and awesome accent.
on “Charlie Hebdo: first cover since terror attack depicts prophet Muhammad” ↗I came to believe religion was essentially bad for humanity after reading and following Christopher Hitchens. He has a great book: http://www.amazon.com/God-Is-Not-Great-Everything-ebook/dp/B... Here's my other favorite 'religion is bad' infographic: http://www.religico.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/who-kille...
"God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" by Christopher Hitchens. http://www.amazon.com/God-Is-Not-Great-Everything/dp/0446697...
on “Ask HN: Great nontech book that you read recently?” ↗Hitchens has a section on Buddhism in God is Not Great[1] wherein he discusses some violent atrocities in which Eastern Buddhism has taken part (Japanese Buddhism during WWII, for example), as well as the malevolent sex acts forced upon female practitioners.…
on “Not your Tibetan Buddhism” ↗Christopher Hitchens - God is Not Great
on “Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?” ↗…The clarity of his thought, writing and speech was a breath of cool fresh air amidst the unfortunate smog that is modern media, especially television. Am currently reading Hitch-22, have already read "God is not Great" and would recommend it.
on “In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011” ↗…Plato. Or how about the Trump bubble: 1. Time to Get Tough 2. Righteous Indignation 3. Going Rogue Lots of religion here. What if we escape atheism? 1. Letter to a Christian Nation 2. God is Not Great 3. The God Delusion Hmm. Not so much religion here... but we got Aldous Huxley, Bruce Li and Richard Feynmann. I think... I've got a lot of reading to do. I LOVE this tool.
on “Show HN: An anti-book recommendation tool, to help you escape your echo chamber” ↗God Is Not Great for example.
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗…wrong. On the contrary, many believe that their actions are morally justified." >None of which contradicts anything Hitchens' said. Is a direct contradiction of his paraphrase of Hitchins (from "God is not great") saying that we all have an innate conscience; which you claim is a "fine paraphrase". If we all have an innate conscience with a high degree of equivalence in it's value propositions then it would be…
on “The Mystical Ethics of the New Atheists (Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, etc)” ↗"God is Not Great" is trending on Twitter right now... (Hilarious material too.) Too bad Hitchens missed it.
on “In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011” ↗…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_sin#Roman_Catholicism If you look at the three conditions that a sin must meet to be considered a mortal sin, I think there is a very high probability that writing a book titled God Is Not Great is a mortal sin. There are hundreds of things that Christopher did which very likely meet those conditions, and there is also a high probability that he has not repented about them before death. According…
on “In Memoriam: Christopher Hitchens, 1949–2011” ↗…stance on the issue, from "everyone is going to die from climate change" to "the world will thrive like never before". Christopher Hitchens mused about "how religion poisons everything" in his book "God is not great: how religion poisons everything" [1]. Were he still alive he could write a similar book on politics: "How Politics Poisons Everything". It would be a good read and it would not change the situation one…
on “US-Canada heatwave 'virtually impossible' without warming” ↗In God is Not Great, Hitchens unequivocally laid into buddhism, though obviously it wasn't the focus of that book, or, as you intimate, much of his work. But within, he attributes imperialism through to kamikaze indoctrination…
on “Five Mildly Anti-Buddhist Essays” ↗