Christopher Hitchens: 'I'm Dying'

Christopher Hitchens: 'I'm Dying'

www.huffingtonpost.com

Hitchens, an outspoken atheist, said he will never become religious despite his looming mortality. If any such conversion is ever attributed to him, he said, it would be either a lie propagated by the religious community or an effect of the cancer and treatment that made him no longer himself.

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He goes on to say

"The entity making such a remark might be a raving, terrified person whose cancer has spread to the brain. I can't guarantee that such an entity wouldn't make such a ridiculous remark, but no one recognizable as myself would ever make such a remark," he said.

What I find amazingly absurd about Christopher, is that though he doesn't take the "God" phantasm which commonly appears in the psyche of many humans as something real, he does however do this with the phantasm of "self".

The role that the concept of God has played in society has changed as society has changed. From nomadic, tribal, and pre-historic to sedentary, national, and post-modern. And just as religions have had "moods" as society changes, so does the "self". Evidently Christopher believes that his "self" is not under the influence of "Moods" or a host of other environmental factors which determine this. Indeed, the fact that he even believes in a self which has some sort of constants which are not determined on ones environment flies in the face of everything he has stood for.

No Chris won't be found clinging to a concept of God as cancer devours him, but he will be found clinging to the concept of self, that which the illusion of God springs from.. what a sad ironic end to one who has endeavored to pierce the illusions common to humanity.

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reply to post by HunkaHunka


He's saying that drastic alterations to his thought process brought on by the cancer treatment or fear of death may lead him to say things which, in his current rational, "normal" state of mind he might disagree with. No more to it than that, really. How you managed to tie that in with some existential conjecture about his life views is beyond me.

[edit on 14-8-2010 by john_bmth]

Interesting....so is this a foreshadowing that he may indeed say something to the contrary of his non-belief? I think it is.

[edit on 8/14/2010 by The Endtime Warrior]

How could a man of his intellectual caliber not know about alternative cancer treatments? If he's a genius then why isn't he seeking vitamin C injections at the European cancer treatment clinics?
Why does he not meet with Dr Gary Null?
Surely Mr H could get access to that kind of stuff. Cancer is horrific and I empathize with the man, but cancer is treated every single day in many parts of the world.

I used to love his work, but I'm no longer an atheist. I've not had any kind of conversion. I'm just an artist who one day noticed so many patterns in nature and numbers that it altered the way I think.

I believe there is a Great Spirit and that Hitcheons is about to meet it. I also think that his analytical prowess which allows him to write the way he does is actually a burden in this case. It would never occur to him to seek treatments that involve holistic therapy. Atheists usually knock everything that isn't right brain science. But that attitude is literally killing him if it keeps him from looking along the lines I've mentioned. The attitude along with the tumor , and along with Western society's sick and ridiculous treatment known as chemo.

Painful , but interesting story , Op. s&f

reply to post by The Endtime Warrior


he was moking the thought of begging some phantasm for his life. Like millions of delusional people with deteriorating mental states.... some due to reading their bibles to much and thinking to little, some due to cancerous tumors in the brain....

Do you see how your logic paints a matching picture of why i pity you. Is it so hard for you to see why he is mocking the pitifull religious people in this world?

reply to post by Wertdagf


You pity me??? All that from 2 sentences that I type? Wow. I guess context is everything.

I still stand by my original statements.

Yeah, if you know Hitchens, you know he ain't going to succumb (to what he might deem "idiocy") at no time, regardless of the pain, frustration or desperation his situation might bring him. It sucks he's dealing with this ... just like it does for everybody else.

But he sure made an impact in his time. I, for one, consider myself greatly affected, and in a largely beneficial way, by his contributions to thinking and understanding.

I hope he's one that somehow pulls through this.

Originally posted by john_bmth
reply to post by HunkaHunka

 

He's saying that drastic alterations to his thought process brought on by the cancer treatment or fear of death may lead him to say things which, in his current rational, "normal" state of mind he might disagree with. No more to it than that, really. How you managed to tie that in with some existential conjecture about his life views is beyond me.

[edit on 14-8-2010 by john_bmth]

If his fear of death results in his recanting of what he believes in then he truly does not believe in the things he speaks of...it's simple.

"Oh, I might say something "stupid" and or "spiritual" now that I'm dying", is one of the things he means. The lockdown he's had on his own intuitions and spiritual self is coming undone now that he's faced with mortality.
People don't usually rant and rave and then go insane because of their dying of cancer do they? And it's not Alzheimer's we're talking about here either. See what I mean?
It is a truly bizarre statement to make. What it sounds more like to me is that he's questioning what he has said to the world. His condition is making him question, and this strange comment is indicative of it.

He has a spirit and it is coming to the surface , despite the lockdown he has placed upon it with his extreme right brained thinking all these years.

reply to post by dragonsmusic

Hitchens, an outspoken atheist, said he will never become religious despite his looming mortality.

Originally posted by Hadrian
reply to post by dragonsmusic

 

Hitchens, an outspoken atheist, said he will never become religious despite his looming mortality.

Religion and spirituality are two different things, it seems Christopher's mind is already made up despite what the future will hold, ... does that sound logical to you ??

He only seeks to hold on to whatever legacy he has here as an athiest, the last grasps of a dying ego perhaps.

And although I don't expect Mr. Hitchens to become spiritual anytime before his death, spirituality is not just an idea, it is a loose understanding of the very mechanics of the universe itself and ultimately reality, no, he will not meet a bearded man in the sky, .... but the future is going to be very interesting for Christopher indeed.

If true, then the future will be interesting for every individual on the planet. Do you imagine that believers flirt with atheism on their death bed? Typically, atheists arrive at their stance based on a life of observing (or, of course, not observing). If they are at the end of their life and are atheist, there seems to be little reason why one would abandon a lifetime of exploration and the conclusions it has wrought for an emotional and futile gesture of desperation. Most non-believers, hopefully, have long-ago come to terms with the manufactured fear that religion wishes to inject into everyone's lives. Without that fear, there is liberation. So while believers and/or religious people, despite supposed salvation, still cling to fear, I'd like to think that many realists don't have that issue ... they've discarded it long ago.

Oh now you DO believe Christopher don't you? Like EVERYBODY else does when the SHTF!!

reply to post by Hellas


No, he didn't say that.... In any case he will leave behind a great legacy that future generations can look back on and admire how he was fighting to help humanity reach new heights that is not held back by the mutterings of ridiculous superstitious individuals and the idiotic idea of blind faith being a good attribute in a modern, forward thinking society.

Originally posted by Solomons
reply to post by Hellas

 

No, he didn't say that....

In any case he will leave behind a great legacy that future generations can look back on and admire how he was fighting to help humanity reach new heights that is not held back by the mutterings of ridiculous superstitious individuals and the idiotic idea of blind faith being a good attribute in a modern, forward thinking society.

which is just your hope and opinion...

Originally posted by dragonsmusic

Originally posted by john_bmth
reply to post by HunkaHunka

 

He's saying that drastic alterations to his thought process brought on by the cancer treatment or fear of death may lead him to say things which, in his current rational, "normal" state of mind he might disagree with. No more to it than that, really. How you managed to tie that in with some existential conjecture about his life views is beyond me.

[edit on 14-8-2010 by john_bmth]

If his fear of death results in his recanting of what he believes in then he truly does not believe in the things he speaks of...it's simple.

Not at all. One can hold an opinion on a logical & rational level about the (non)existence of a deity but the uncontrollable fear of death (the unknown) may cause you to say things in desperation that you would not say if you were clear of mind. If one of my family were to be critically injured in an accident I may well pray in desperation to a God, but that does not mean I believe in God, it means I'm in an extremely distressed and desperate mental state, nothing more.

reply to post by Hellas


Contrary to popular belief, not all opinions are made equal. Sure everyone can have one, but not everyone can provide logical and rational reasons to expand and substantiate how that opinion was formed...blind faith for example.

Maybe that experience of slipping from one realm into another, or the second we are captured between life and death where neither state fully exist, is, the sane place, where all understanding and enlightenment are made know,

I sound so Egyptian, lol

Originally posted by john_bmth

If his fear of death results in his recanting of what he believes in then he truly does not believe in the things he speaks of...it's simple.

Not at all. One can hold an opinion on a logical & rational level about the (non)existence of a deity but the uncontrollable fear of death (the unknown) may cause you to say things in desperation that you would not say if you were clear of mind. If one of my family were to be critically injured in an accident I may well pray in desperation to a God, but that does not mean I believe in God, it means I'm in an extremely distressed and desperate mental state, nothing more.

That's illogical. You would not be in desperation if you really did not believe in God. You would then regard praying as pointless. You would only be in desperation if you either believed in God or were unsure about His existence.


[edit on 14-8-2010 by micpsi]

[edit on 14-8-2010 by micpsi]

Originally posted by micpsi
That's illogical. You would not be in desperation if you really did not believe in God. You would then regard praying as pointless. You would only be in desperation if you either believed in God or were unsure about His existence.

Distressed and desperate people behave in irrational and illogical ways. How on earth can you link a desperate state of mind with a latent belief in a God? Using your logic, let me turn the statement around: a belief in a God is an act of desperation. This statement is just as valid as yours, in so far as there's no causality.

[edit on 14-8-2010 by john_bmth]

[edit on 14-8-2010 by john_bmth]