Counterpoints: John Loftus and Frank Turek on the Death of Christopher Hitchens

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John Loftus: "Many Christians are thinking he’s burning in hell. Some others may even say this. But it is a disgrace to humanity to even think this abhorrent thought about such a brilliantly good man...this statement burns me up to no end. It is more repulsive than any thought I can conceive...may his memory live on. He has changed the world for the better." [1]

Frank Turek: "There is no one with whom I disagreed more who I admired so much. I don’t see how anyone who knew Christopher Hitchens could think that a man with such admirable qualities and talents was nothing more than a collection of chemicals– the product of unexplained random processes. Christopher’s intellect, wit, courage, and passion are evidence to me of a Divine Being– a Divine Being who loves human freedom so much that He would even allow the gifts He bestows to be used against Him." [2]

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

A Note Readers:

Although I disagreed with many of Hitchens' views, I did admire his willingness to take on all comers and his story telling abilities. The goal of this post is simply to contrast the views of a Christian and an atheist on the death of a well-known individual. No disrespect toward Mr. Hitchens or his family is intended.

Resources:

1. http://freethoughtblogs.com/loftus/2011/12/16/christopher-hitchens-is-now-burning-in-hell/
2. http://www.crossexamined.org/blog/?p=258

Comments

BK said…
I certainly side with the latter comment rather than the former. The problem with Loftus' view is that he thinks that Hitchens was "a good man". Of course, by comparison to others, he may have been pretty good -- very good, even. But God's standards are not a relative view of good. It is an absolute view of good. And Hitchens, admirable and smart and affable as he may have been, like the rest of us fell way short of God's standard of good.
January 3, 2012 at 11:34 PM
Chase said…
Great comment BK!

I add that an atheist cannot even claim someone or something to be good. The atheist's standard of good is based on human experience. Human experience changes, and in the atheistic worldview, it will ultimately end. This renders the atheist's standard of good meaningless.
January 5, 2012 at 6:56 PM
Anonymous said…
John Loftus is a freakish conspiracy theorist "The Nazis are EVERYWHERE!!" I'm not sure why his opinion is supposed to mean anyhthing. And I'm not sure why Hitchens, who called Billy Graham "profoundly evil", deserves a level of respect he rarely gave to other people, but Turek's high road is inspiring. Hitchens WAS brilliant, and that needs to be acknowledged.
May 13, 2012 at 2:33 AM
Chad said…
Hello Anonymous,

I selected this quotation from John Loftus because I thought it provided a good contrast to Turek's view.

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment!

Godspeed
May 15, 2012 at 8:09 PM
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