Christopher Hitchens slams Jerry Falwell

[smelter]

Atheist Christopher Hitchens on CNNs Anderson Cooper 360 eviserates Rev. Jerry Falwell. This is brutal, even for him.

 

[Archmage]

Funny. He didn't say anything with which I disagreed.

 

[smelter]

Funny. He didn't say anything with which I disagreed.

Nor me! I've said many times on this forum that he was a charlatan snake-oil salesman .... his death does not change my opinion!

 

[jetsonboy]

You know what, Mr. Hitchens is 100% right and just told the truth as it really is. Sorry if he seems too inflammatory to anyone's sense of propriety, but he is goddam right in every statement he made (except for stating that Mr. Fallwell is a toad, which he really wasn't)!

 

[troyboy]

What is so brutal? Please Fallwell said much worse things about gays, jews and so on.

 

[rareboy]

Christopher Hitchens may be a blunt instrument at times but Falwell's legacy was the filthiest of distortions; the politicization of God.

If Falwell had been in Germany during the Third Reich, I have no doubt what his contribution would have been.

Falwell was to religion what American Idol is to the development of musical taste in America. Let us praise our own personal god, or just the delicious finality of chemistry and physics for his cancellation.

 

[smelter]

There was nothing wrong with this video.

Boi, this is a tough room! The 'brutal' comment was my attempt at playing devils advocate. Mazda apologize or do I get one Moe Chance to get it Right?

 

[White Eagle]

Amen!! to GA
I usually don't listen much to what atheists say, but this man is completely right on. I have never heard of him either.
I especially like the part that Falwell couldn't read any long book.

 

[Negasta]

...except for stating that Mr. Fallwell is a toad, which he really wasn't...

Yes, that would be an insult to toads.

Mr. Hitchens is as has been said here blunt instrument, but the sharp instruments have made little headway in the fight against unreason. Sometimes a whack with a club is far more effective than a stabbing with a knife.

I can't wait to buy his new book.

 

[OtterJoq]

Gosh...and after all the nice things Falwell said about other people...

 

[Xenos Morphe]

Christopher Hitchens was interviewed on the last episode of HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher". Although the discussion was not about Falwell, I was impressed with what he had to say, even more so now. I've hated Falwell for years! He was such an obvious phoney and a hate-monger. Good riddance!

The Christian symbol of the cross has stood for hatred and ignorance for centuries. Defy the new dark age of blind faith, free your mind. THINK FREE

 

[greydog]

Yeah, I heard that. Even allowing for the vitriolic hatred of Falwell like is present around here, Hitchens' diatribe was disgusting and over the top. Whatever.

Christopher Hitchens is bang on!
I agree with him 100%

 

[star-warrior]

Why does it take a non-American like Christopher Hitchens to publically go on US tv and tell them what their televangelism is like?

I agree wholeheartedly with Hitchens on this issue, although I'm not a fan of his.

 

[Negasta]

Why does it take a non-American like Christopher Hitchens to publically go on US tv and tell them what their televangelism is like?

I agree wholeheartedly with Hitchens on this issue, although I'm not a fan of his.

Hitchens is an American now, he got sworn in less than a month ago and anyway, he's been living in America for many years.

 

[OtterJoq]

So if it was good enough for Falwell it's good enough for Hitchens and the rest of you? If I were you all, I'd want to think that I was better than someone I reviled, such as Falwell. However, it seems like there is no such worry here. I'm just surprised at how many of you seem to be okay with being on par with Falwell. Kind of ironic, but I suppose not surprising.

Some cheese with that whine?

 

[rareboy]

Oh trust me, everyone on this board is better than Falwell. We'd have a lot farther to descend in hell before we reach his level.

 

[White Eagle]

What? Why?

Now may be the time to come public. It may be good for the soul.
I was raised in the Southern Baptist religion. That may give you a hint on how I was instructed in Atheists.
I remember in pre school in San Antonio Tx. It was held in the Baptist Church just 1/2 block from the elementary school.
Madaline Murray then had that interview with Playboy. Stating how the schools rewarded the kids that went to church, vacation bible school, etc. Without care of the other kids who may not be Baptists. She was talking about my school. Of course she was right to remove prayer from school, but the horrible fact that she did not believe in God was unacceptable. I put a mental block on the subject of Atheists.
Then with Atheists blocked there was a Sunday school teacher who taught 13-14 yo boys of the Immaculate Conception. He was gone the next Sunday. You just don't teach teenagers how Mary got fucked by an Angel. (He did not use that term, it was a fair explanation.)
Or the Baptist preacher who got my Mother and Father in front of the congregation and said they were devil worshipers because Mama was an Eastern Star and Daddy was a Mason.
Ok there goes the mental block on Baptist church and the block on Atheists. I came to hate the Baptist religion but not the Atheists. I just didn't hear anything they had to say.
Hate may be extreme since they were not anything like Phelps or his incestuous tribe. But there it is. I'm rambling so I'll end it with this.
I am glad Falwell is gone and I'm sure he has gone to hell along with those people in my childhood that tried to teach me the same hatred of Phelps and Falwell. I also will start to listen to people like Hitchens since I agree with all he had to say.
And on top of it all, I came out Gay, and proud.

 

[star-warrior]

I think the fact people can voice their dislike of Falwell is a good thing. He may be dead, but his words have been taken to heart by his congregation, and they will carry on where he left off. Hitchens makes plain why he thinks the man was a hypocrite. Calling him names, well, sticks and stones. I think "descending to his level" as a the morality meter is neither here nor there. The problem is how to reverse Falwell's fake religion.

 

[chance1]

u should have seen hitchens on with fred flintstone/barney rubble combo sean hannity (looks of fred/height of barney)

awesome

hitchens skewered falwell and hannity tried to tell him how cruel he was to defame a dead guy - cause it hurts his family

hitchens was like "u invite me on the show and ask me my opinion and u got it"

very funny stuff

 

[Centexfarmer]

Does anyone know why, if you're going fishing, why you want to invite two Southern Baptists to go with you?

Because if you take only one he'll drink all of your beer.




Do you know why Southern Baptists don't make love standing up?

They don't want anyone to think that they're dancing.




An Atheist died and find himself at the pearly gates.

St. Peter said we have a special place in heaven for people like you, and as they passed by the representatives of the various faiths of the world, they came upon a large wall.

The Athiest asked, "What's behind that wall?"

St. Peter said, "Not so loud, that's where we keep the Southern Baptists, and they think that they're the only people here."







Bravo to Hitchens for not sugar-coating what so many of us familiar with Falwells twisted version of Christianity actually has the temerity to say!