book review: God is Not Great

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Christopher Hitchins.

A first for me! I listened to this whole book on audio, read in its entirety by the author. This old dog is still learning new tricks!! I am old-fashioned enough to prefer printed pages, but it was interesting to hear the book, especially since it was read by the author and presumably included his own emphases and inflections.

Christopher Hitchins uses a life-time of experience and research to outline in great detail all the horrors done in the name of religion and God. His delightfully articulated knowledge leaves little room for disagreement. I found myself fascinated again and again at the ways he put things together and made sense out of vast sweeps of time and place. (I would never want to be drawn into an argument with this man! It would be a losing proposition.)

And Hitchins is indiscriminate; he is lambasting not only Christianity. While tending to focus on the three great monotheistic religions, he also has words for the pantheistic ones.

And yet, while agreeing with him thoroughly throughout the book, I am not in the least inclined to abandon my involvment in church. I know all this horrible history, and am still part of it. Despite its chequered past, church holds meaning for me and countless millions around the world. From the book I would expect Hitchins to think me imbecilic for such an illogical conclusion!

But, thank you Christopher Hitchins for this enlightening book.