(Or a few wise words from Hitchens on idolatry).

I’ve had this blog only a short while, and while much of the feedback has been positive (thank you!), and has kept me going, there has also been a strong, negative wing making comments in the vein of:

• He attacked Mother Theresa, and this is who you’re honoring?
• He supported the Iraq War! What’s wrong with you!?
• He liked Bush.  How could you like him?
• He’s disrespectful toward religion [Really??? I hadn’t noticed].  He’s the radical one, not the religious people.  He’s a fundamentalist atheist. He’s as  bad as the people he attacks.
• And this guy is your idol?

Some of these statements are true, and some are not, but this misses the point.  My personal interest in Hitchens has to do with him having been a brilliant writer with a superb mind, who advocated reason and logic over faith, was skeptical of self-appointed gurus, had no tolerance for totalitarianism in any form, including and especially, religion, and made his opinions known with eloquence, style and wit. (At least I have not yet been condemned for producing run-on sentences).

I don’t need to, nor do I, agree with everything he said, or have him as an idol (Have respect and great admiration for him, yes). None of us need to necessarily idolize those we admire. That’s precisely the point of thinking independently and using reason over faith.

Hitchens himself opined on idolatry on several occasions.  In this clip, he argues that idols get elevated to unrealistically high statuses, where they are expected to be perfect, which, of course, is impossible.  He uses the good example of Martin Luther King Jr., who like every human, had flaws, but accomplished great things.

So take that  unprovoked haters!