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God Is Not Great

How Religion Poisons Everything

By Christopher Hitchens

(94)

| Hardcover | 9780771041426

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Book Description

Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as “one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time” takes on his biggest subject yet–the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world.

In the tradition of Bertrand Russell’sContinue

Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as “one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time” takes on his biggest subject yet–the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world.

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.

Critics

  • In the name of the Father

    God Is Not Great: The Case Against Religion by Christopher Hitchens 307pp, Atlantic Books, £16.99 First Dennett, then Dawkins and now Hitchens: and of these three recent diatribes against religion, Christopher Hitchens's is the fiercest. For him reli ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

  • The gospel according to Hitch

    God Is Not Great: The Case Against Religion by Christopher Hitchens Atlantic Books £17.99, pp320 For such a rabid God-hater, Christopher Hitchens has a very pious background. If not a binge-worshipper, he was a serial congregant, grazing on a buffet ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

10 Reviews

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  • 2 people find this helpful

    Hitchens has no fear in bluntly defending the view of the non-believer in the face of religious fanatics. His points are clear and draw on historical fact. I have a lot of respect for this guy.

    Near the end of the book he provides great insight into brave free thinkers such as Lucretius, Thomas J ... (continue)

    Hitchens has no fear in bluntly defending the view of the non-believer in the face of religious fanatics. His points are clear and draw on historical fact. I have a lot of respect for this guy.

    Near the end of the book he provides great insight into brave free thinkers such as Lucretius, Thomas Jefferson, David Hume, and Charles Darwin. He also clears the record as throughout history, religious figures have tried to distort what non-believers have said or fabricate outright lies about their opinions in order to make them appear as supporters of religion. The most prominent figure of all in this respect would be Albert Einstein. His quotes have been repeatedly misinterpreted and at least one quote attributed to Einstein was never even uttered by him. However, that lie survived for half a century and continues to propagate today as strongly as ever through religious apologists on Internet messageboards. Here is Einstein's own repsonse to this quote being attributed to him:

    "It was of course a lie what you read about my religious convictions; a lie which has been systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and have never denied this, but expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious, it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." - Albert Einstein

    Here is a quote by Einstein in which he expresses his conviction that ethics is strictly a human concern; a sentiment echoed in Sam Harris' view of ethics being the field concerned with human happiness.

    "I do not believe in the immortality of the individual and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern, with no superhuman authority behind it." - Albert Einstein

    Hitchens advocates unfettered free dicussion and inquiry. How could anyone hope to taint that ideal in order to shoot it down for their own selfish purposes?

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    audioreader said on Nov 28, 2008 | Add your feedback

  • Thoroughly investigated book

    I was pleasantly surprised by this book and by the depth of Hitchens' research. Very well written and well structured, it spans through centuries of events, facts and tales without losing the point.
    This book really shook me and made me rethink my own approach towards religions in general.

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    fabiodebe said on Sep 3, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Religion poisons everything. This is the incipit of the book and what H. wants to demonstrate in a sort of factual report bringing several historical and factual examples.
    Even if I also am a non-believer and I agree on the truth of what he says I think that even if the book is constructed like an ... (continue)

    Religion poisons everything. This is the incipit of the book and what H. wants to demonstrate in a sort of factual report bringing several historical and factual examples.
    Even if I also am a non-believer and I agree on the truth of what he says I think that even if the book is constructed like an academic essay is full of bias somehow.
    Listing all the negative aspects of all religions and underlying only these aspects is somehow like watching just one face of the moon.
    I think that in this way this book lacks of tolerance, and thus of respect towards believers who are really good people.
    It should have been emphasized that unfortunately religions are misused by the craziest ones (he himself use as an example North Korean‘s dictatorship as a similitude) and for economic and political purposes. But at the end it is just a list of well documented negative facts
    I agree with the conclusion that “we need a new enlightenment..”, but certainly you cannot have hope if you are so negative.
    PS. The audio book is read by the author who is not a professional reader indeed. It was really a painful experience as he read too fast with a bad intonation for such a subject, and so I had to listen several times each chapter.

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    Barbara ABP said on Jun 8, 2011 about the Audio CD edition | Add your feedback

  • God is not Great

    What I really liked of Hitchens's criticism to religions is the fact that everything he writes is based on his (what seems to be) extensive knowledge of history, philosophy, religions, and different cultures. What I didn't really like was the his writing style. He certainly is a very good writer, bu ... (continue)

    What I really liked of Hitchens's criticism to religions is the fact that everything he writes is based on his (what seems to be) extensive knowledge of history, philosophy, religions, and different cultures. What I didn't really like was the his writing style. He certainly is a very good writer, but sometimes just too much sophisticated...I found it often difficult to relate specific facts with the point he was trying to make. Also chapter titles seemed to me in many instances just arbitrary...I couldn't really find a match with the actual contents of the chapter.

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    Cati said on May 13, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • "God Is Not Great" is a critic to the different systems that try to explain the entity of "God" as an almighty self. It poses the same dichotomy of all times: either Almighty God doesn't exist or if He exists, he is not almighty. I liked it because it is clear and doesn't try to convince you of anyt ... (continue)

    "God Is Not Great" is a critic to the different systems that try to explain the entity of "God" as an almighty self. It poses the same dichotomy of all times: either Almighty God doesn't exist or if He exists, he is not almighty. I liked it because it is clear and doesn't try to convince you of anything. It just poses the question, the arguments, the examples, and leaves the question open for us to decide.

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    ariadna73 said on Jun 15, 2010 about the Audio CD edition | Add your feedback

  • Angry literate man

    I am reading this to build my knowledge of how to intellectually argue religious lunatics. I've left it to the side for while though, subconsciously trying to repress the fact that these people exist, and brainwash kids.
    Hitchens is very well read, and great with the english language! Maybe greatest ... (continue)

    I am reading this to build my knowledge of how to intellectually argue religious lunatics. I've left it to the side for while though, subconsciously trying to repress the fact that these people exist, and brainwash kids.
    Hitchens is very well read, and great with the english language! Maybe greatest in live discussions.

    Is this helpful?

    Charlotte Sometimes said on Feb 13, 2010 | Add your feedback

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