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Books : God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 200 EAN: 9780446579803 ISBN: 0446579807 Label: Twelve Books, Hachette Book Group Manufacturer: Twelve Books, Hachette Book Group Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 307 Publication Date: May 01, 2007 Publisher: Twelve Books, Hachette Book Group Studio: Twelve Books, Hachette Book Group Sales Rank: 1037
Product Description: In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris's recent bestseller, The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope's awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - For those who want to know "Is there really a god?"
Let me first say up front (appologetically) that this is not a review of the book. After reading many of the reviews about this and related books, I thought it was important for people to hear from at least one person who has special experience (to the extreme) on both sides of the fence regarding the subject of science and reason on the one hand and faith, religion and God on the other. I can understand why the author of this book can become bitter about religion because of some bad experiences he has had in the past with religious people. But to conclude there is no God because of people's abuse of religion is a grave mistake.
I grew up with an extremely religious mother. I wanted to know the truth about the origins of life so I studied science and evolution. I am a devout evolutionist. My mother and I have had some bitter words over this subject. But it is because of my mother that, in 1983, I got on my knees and made a promise to God that I would wait for 20 years for the one He would have me marry. Two nights later I had this incredible dream with a thousand details in it that was God showing me an over-view of what was going to happen during the rest of my life. In the dream I encountered four women and married the fourth. In real life, I encountered those four women and I married the fourth out of my faith that God would not offer me anything but the best choice for me. I have to admit that I had no physical attraction for my wife but I married her out of faith in God. Amazingly, it has really worked out beyond my own reasoning and juddgement and it can only be God (or some great force that is what we call God) that gave me this divine knowledge. Let me continue on because the dream is still happening. I have a business partner that was in the dream and there are many more things that have happened and still have to happen yet in my life that are all in the dream. Let me also fast forward and say that in the end of the dream my wife and I are surrounded by a brilliant white light and we are taken up into heaven where the last scene in the dream takes place.
I do not believe that the Bible is the "Word of God" but is the "word of man concerning God". The expression "Word of God" is a traditional (and unfortunate) one that too many people take literally. But there are many truths in the Bible that are indeed divine wisdom. One of these is "you must first come nigh to God before He will come nigh to you." That one hits the nail on the head because I truely believe that I would not have had that awesome ... Read More
Rating: - Bitter, but Fascinating
All of religion's smut, dirt, shortcomings, and fallacies are exposed, and in the most concise manner. This book is very informative and thorough, but I do wish the talented Mr. Hitchens hadn't sounded so bitter and enraged whilst writing this brillant piece of work (though he was more composed than Sam Harris). Highly recommend this piece for the Agnostic and entry level Atheist.
Rating: - reads more like 'WHY I DONT LIKE RELIGION'
It goes on for 300 pages.Some of the oldest philosophies are HINDU/BUDDIST.He offers 8 pages of text ovet 9 pages of the book and while he may have a publishing deal/best seller[s] HE DOESNT GET THOSE 2 RELIGIONS!
He also doesnt seem to know much of the real history of the dreaded UNITED NATIONS.
Atheism is a belief system.It might have better to offer than this.
HE ATTEMPTS TO TAKE 6000? YEARS OF HINDUISM AND REDUCE IT TO 'OSHO'...the druggie with rajnesshpurim in oregon and the 100? rolls royces.
Rating: - A 101 for the beginner atheist
After reading Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion last year, I wanted to give a few other atheist manifestos a read - not really with the intent of learning anything particularly new, but just out of interest in the different views. Dawkins' was heavily scientific, to be expected from a scientist, so I assumed - rightly - that Hitchens' would lean more towards the historical and philosophical. Although there's nothing new or particularly inspiring here, he does have a way with words and uses his sharp wit to deliver a rain of relatively gentle blows upon the shoulders of the worst aspects of religion.
As mentioned there wasn't really anything ground-breaking for the well-informed atheist, but it's a decent read for anyone newly interested in the discourse on religion and its significance in today's world, and provides a little 101 on some of religion's more illustrious moments in history. He does make some very salient, always-worth-repeating points about the fact that true morality and good deeds come from the heart and have nothing whatsoever to do with any religion, and vice versa.
I got a little bored with the conversation on fascism and communism, but again I think that's because it's old, oft-treaded ground already. Hitchens does not mince words when it comes to calling out certain world leaders and icons, past and present, for their participation in and proliferation of some of religion's more irresponsible consequences. Even those who are traditionally left out of other atheists' rants are not spared here, including the Dalai Lama, St. Francis, Mother Theresa and Gandhi, in a list of those who have manipulated masses of people in ways that, in Hitchens' view, did almost as much harm as good. In his conclusion, he states unequivocally that in today's educated, enlightened world religion truly has no further justification for itself, and that indeed, in some of its more fanatical manifestations is actually an enemy to be fought by the intelligent, rational and genuinely ethical. He repeats a famous quote by Spanish painter Francisco de Goya to illustrate the need to think first, then believe: "The sleep of reason breeds monsters," ("El sueno de la razon produce monstrous.") - always a worthy point, if rarely taken.
Rating: - Disappointed with Delivery
As an Atheist familiar also with the works of Harris and Dawkins, I found Hitchens attempt to be quite disappointing in comparison. The primary problem was not content but in his organization and delivery. He writes they way you would expect a journalist... the longer book format doesn't work for him. I reread some of Dawkins' just to make sure my memory wasn't faulty, and it was clear that Dawkins' style is much better organized and coherent. Hitchens seems to jump all over the place. I also didn't like that the endnotes were not marked in the text. I like his magazine work... He should stick to it.
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