* Hitchens vs Hitchens: Brothers will do Battle over God, War, Politics, and Culture

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens, both journalists and authors, couldn’t be more different and divided. A friend to both said, “one is a conservative, traditionalist, church-going Anglican; the other a liberal, louche, drinking-and-smoking atheist.” The brothers, throughout a long estrangement and recent reconciliation, have clashed in print on many issues. Now they plan their first public debate on numerous topics, from religion to Iraq. The event is being sponsored by Grand Valley State University’s Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies and the Center for Inquiry, an international think tank promoting science and secularism.

Christopher, who works in Washington, D.C., has written 20 books including scathing critiques of Henry Kissinger, Bill Clinton and Mother Teresa. Most recently, he wrote a book on atheism, "god is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything." Younger brother Peter works in England as a columnist for the Mail on Sunday. He is author of "The Abolition of Britain and The Abolition of Liberty."

"We are proud to play a role in bringing Christopher and Peter together for this debate," said Paul Kurtz, chairman of the Center for Inquiry. "The books by the 'new atheists' have generally played a positive role, especially in widening the parameters of critical discourse about religion in this country. I'm sure this debate will continue the discussion in a lively fashion."

Pope Prays for Peace on Easter Sunday

"As is tradition, the 80-year-old pope prayed for peace in troubled parts of the world, singling out Darfur in Sudan and Somalia, “the tormented Middle East, especially the Holy Land, Iraq, Lebanon.” He also mentioned Tibet, a sensitive issue for the Vatican, which is working to improve ties with China, amid unconfirmed reports of direct talks here last week between Chinese and Vatican officials."

Popes have been praying for peace for hundreds of years but it never happens. You'd think that a loving god would grant this important plea. Not. While on the History channel right now is a one-hour special on "Crucifixion." The warning at the beginning was that the program is 'graphic' and some viewers might not want to watch it. Christianity itself is violent. ~ BlogHer

~ The God Debate with Rev. Al Sharpton & Christopher Hitchens

The God Debate, June 28, 2007: Chris Matthews moderated a special debate on the existence of God between Christopher Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great, and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

Transcript

* Christopher Hitchens Revisits Lou Dobbs

May 9, 2007 ~ LOU DOBBS, HOST: "Tonight, Reverend Al Sharpton facing accusations of bigotry after he made highly-charged remarks about religion, politics and a presidential candidate. In a debate with author Christopher Hitchens, Sharpton said true believers in God won't be voting for a Mormon candidate."

DOBBS: "We'll have exclusive video on this broadcast of Sharpton's comments. Christopher Hitchens will join us here as well."

Read the CNN Transcript ...

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Lou Dobbs interviews Christopher Hitchens, author of
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Brilliant show.
Click to watch the video or read the transcript.

* God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything ~ by Christopher Hitchens

To be released May 1, 2007

"Not only does religion poison everything, which Hitchens argues by explaining several ways in which religion is immoral, but the world would be better off without religion. Replace religious faith with inquiry, open-mindedness, and the pursuit of ideas, he exhorts. Closely reading major religious texts, Hitchens points to numerous examples of atrocities and mayhem in them. Religious faith, he asserts, is both result and cause of dangerous sexual repression. What's more, it is grounded in nothing more than wish fulfillment. Hence, he believes that religion is man-made, and an ethical life can be lived without its stamp of approval.

"With such chapter titles as "Religion Kills" and "Is Religion Child Abuse?" Hitchens intends to provoke, but he is not mean-spirited and humorless. Indeed, he is effortlessly witty and entertaining as well as utterly rational. Believers will be disturbed and may even charge him with blasphemy (he questions not only the virgin birth but the very existence of Jesus), and he may not change many minds, but he offers the open-minded plenty to think about." ~ June Sawyers, Review

"Christopher Eric Hitchens (born in Portsmouth, England, April 13, 1949) is an author, journalist and literary critic. Currently living in Washington, D.C., he has been a columnist at Vanity Fair, The Nation, Slate and Free Inquiry; additionally, he is an occasional contributor to other publications and has appeared regularly in the Wall Street Journal. His brother is Peter Hitchens.

"Hitchens is known for his iconoclasm, anti-clericalism, atheism, antitheism, anti-fascism and anti-monarchism."

Articles, Video, Audio by Christopher Hitchens