H 85°, L 66° | Tomorrow: 
H 85°, L 69°As outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens took the stage at the Monona Terrace Saturday afternoon, a crowd of more than 500 greeted the author with a standing ovation and uproarious laughter at each barb at religion. Few were left standing, however, once Hitchens turned to rebuke the audience, mostly members of the agnostic organization Freedom From Religion Foundation, for not "coming out as atheists" and "taking on jihad" in the Middle East. At the 30th annual FFRC conference, the author of "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” concluded with remarks he predicted "will slightly piss you off," saying world suffering will not end until everyone stands up against the evils and war promoted by Islam. FFRF Co-President Dan Barker met Hitchens on stage to present him with the "Emperor Has No Clothes Award," which recognizes public figures who "are not afraid to just tell it like it is," according to Barker. Responding to a question from an audience member on what he said was the futility of killing Muslims in Iraq to end extremism, Hitchens parodied: "’How does killing them lessen their numbers?' You must have meant something more intelligent. … We worry too much in America about our ‘right' to be in Iraq. "Make them worry. Make them run scared. … I'm going to fight these people and every other theocrat all the way. All the way. You should be ashamed sneering at the people guarding you as you sleep." For most of his speech, however, Hitchens' target was Christianity, opening with jokes about the decaying body of deceased Christian Coalition leader Jerry Falwell. "Religion abolishes our obligation to live in truth. … It caters to our worst sadomasochism," Hitchens said. "We'd be better off without it, even if it preached morality, which it doesn't." He went on to ask if it is "moral" to tell children their sins are forgiven, "because of a human sacrifice they had no say in?" Debts of morality can be repaid, he said, but not erased. The author made arguments against intelligent design theory, saying advances in the last 20 years have made science "totally incompatible with religion." He also told the crowd that heaven would be comparable to North Korea, as they both embody a totalitarianism of eternal gratitude. Hitchens pointed to the "horrific pointlessness and misery" of having to thank a leader for everything when the leader was never asked for in the first place — which he said is intrinsic to both the concept of heaven and in North Korea. "At least you can fucking die and get out of North Korea," Hitchens added. Meanwhile, there were others outside the building preaching against the author's message. Members of the Christian group 5 Loaves & 2 Fish passed out an "Open Letter to Those Who Deny God" to FFRF members as they entered the building. According to the group, erasing the influence of God in government and public life will not cure society of its evils, but rather the opposite. "We want people to at least consider the possibility of God because they're denying God," said Roney Sorensen, one of the group's members who helped write the leaflet. "We believe that they're lost souls right now; we want to win them for God. We don't view them as the enemy or the foe; we view them as fellow human beings who right now are spiritually lost." During his speech, Hitchens argued that atheists must fight to end religion. "You can't be a good person and a God person," Hitchens said. "[Religion] is bound to lead to bad behavior. It always has and it always will." Among the many evils done in the name of religion, Hitchens said he learned while in Iran that prison guards rape women prior to execution, because it is against their faith to execute a female virgin. "Only with God can people give themselves permission to do these things," Hitchens said. — Tim Williams contributed to this report.
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Hitchens rails on religion Saturday
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20 Comments | Leave a comment
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IP hash: a0c8ae34
God bless Christopher Hitchens! Religion is a neurological defect, as Bill Maher correctly says.
Religion is the greatest totalitarian threat to humanity ever. Not to mention that it’s MAN’S greatest ego fulfillment. I’m so sick of men and their fragile egos.
Here’s to Christopher and other brave people who have the guts to stand up to religious mind control. Oh yeah, and f**k Islam especially:)
IP hash: b288e509
That’s a little prejudiced. Fuck all religions equally.
IP hash: 0f62d9fc
Ah, yes. Mother Teresa — what a b!tch!
Jimmy Carter — world class a$$h0le!
The millions of people of faith in this country alone who spend their lives fighting poverty, racism, illiteracy, civil rights violations, and other evils — jerks, every last one of them!
And all those atheists who have been mass murderers — Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao — class acts all the way.
Hitchens is an idiot.
IP hash: 51943b5f
clearly, hitchens was an abused child.
IP hash: c435c783
Sorry folks, communism IS a religion
It has its prophets (Marx, Engels, Lenin, Che, etc.), holy book that may not be questioned (Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital)
The only dif is that it is a religion of the here and now, promising paradise in this world. And it fails miserably on that
Silly religion! Fleece the followers with UNVERIFIABLE rewards
If you want you can classify religion as an ideology of people who want to be taken advantage of because they feel bad
IP hash: 76a8c185
Jimmy Carter — world class a$$h0le!<<
In your attempt at sarcasm, you have swerved into the truth (especially re: Carter).
IP hash: 97570a95
10:33 - let’s not forget Hitler, Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and Torquemada. All of them were insane religious zealots.
I think you’ve conveniently forgotten Pete Stark and a lot of philosophers of the Enlightenment!
IP hash: 52443056
“In your attempt at sarcasm, you have swerved into the truth (especially re: Carter).”
Would you prefer that poster talk about George Bush, or do you think he’s an asshole too?
IP hash: a1431f70
Yeah, Christianity is really great too…
Genocide of millions began with Columbus, Cortes and Pizarro in the 15th-16th centuries. Spanish Inquisition. Witch trials. Crusades. Hitler. Franco. Pinochet.
What people like Mother Teresa have done is of their own choosing and character, not because of their religion.
IP hash: bec42ec9
Umm, Mother Teresa was an atheist, by her own admission. This was in the news a few weeks ago.
IP hash: dd679e41
A temporary doubt of ones faith is normal and does not mean she became an atheist.
IP hash: dd679e41
“Yeah, Christianity is really great too…
Genocide of millions began with Columbus, Cortes and Pizarro in the 15th-16th centuries. Spanish Inquisition. Witch trials. Crusades. Hitler. Franco. Pinochet.”
How convenient of you to leave out the secular tyrants who have killed more than all the examples you provided combined.
IP hash: add922d9
5:27 - provide us a list.
IP hash: 5f7b8ca2
“5:27 - provide us a list.”
Lenin. Stalin. Mao. Pol Pot. The guy at 10:33 a.m. gave you a list. Why don’t you learn to read?
IP hash: 0a6ba372
Jerry Falwell was never affiliated in any way with the Christian Coalition. How can you tell if Christopher Hitchens hasn’t got his facts straight? Well, are his lips moving?
IP hash: 56f6563c
Saddam Hussein as a religious zealot. Wrong, dumbass. He was a member of the Ba’ath party…. SECULAR. Not particularly religious. In his case, killing off Kurds is a racial and internal politics thing, not religious.
IP hash: 1c15da02
That’s ok. Science in the next 20 years will prove it’s complete compatibility with God.
For someone who is so deadset against religion, this guy seems an awful lot like a bigot.
IP hash: 7d9a5e63
From 5:27:
You present an argument that falls under two paradigms - you basically exonerate anyone who did bad things as having been under the influence of religion, but anyone doing good things as something “of their own choosing”.
We all do things because of our own choosing. We have the power to be in control of our own actions and constantly placing blame on other people for our actions is a reactionary, not proactive, way to live.
Men and women do good things and bad things. Hitler was not a man of faith. He used religion, among other things, to garner the support of a people. Is this “religion’s” fault? No - it’s the responsibility of Hitler and his collaborators. Don’t forget that there were many men and women of faith who did a lot to fight against Hitler.
Many did so out of a conviction they had chosen because of their faith (ex. see matters related to Hans & Sophie Scholl, of the White Rose movement - Die Weisse Rose). They were two normal college kids who spoke out against injustices towards Jewish people, the German people, and the human race in general. Because the actions they were seeing take place were trampling human dignity in the mud . And what happened to them? A mockery of a trial and a swift execution. They were examples of men and women of faith. Not Hitler.
IP hash: eaf0ff2b
More atrocities have been committed by religious groups because they have been around longer. I would not be surprised for some atheist groups to eventually become terrorist organizations. Of course you have to define terrorism. I have said my piece.
IP hash: 1e7e8410
“God bless Christopher Hitchens! Religion is a neurological defect, as Bill Maher correctly says” Now this is a very intelligent response, asking “God” who both Hitchens and Maher and the poster who wrote this obviously don’t believe in. Kinda put your foot in your own mouth there didn’t you?