Christopher Hitchens, who is usually brilliant but sometimes not, finds that his new book, “god is not Great,” has reached Number 5 at Amazon (indicating the market for NeoAtheism has not been exhausted by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett).
Hitchens says he favors reason over religion, but
[W]hat does Hitchens mean by religion? Under the same umbrella he groups Mother Teresa, voodoo, the pope, "fear-ridden peasants of antiquity," Muslim suicide bombers, animists, "arid monotheism," the archbishop of Canterbury, séances, Thomas Aquinas, an evangelical huckster "dressed in a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit," Muhammad, the "tawdry myths of Bethlehem," the "vapid and annoying holiday known as ‘Hanukah,’" Mormons, "hysterical Jewish congregations," the "sordid" theology of Pascal, Martin Luther King, rednecks, "cobbled-together ancient Jewish books" (i.e., the Bible), WWII-era Japanese emperor worship, and male circumcision (which Hitchens describes as "mutilation of a powerless infant with the aim of ruining its future sex life"). . . . * * *
And it’s true that [Hitchens’ criticisms] concern “religious” people. But here we come to the really relevant point about this book’s irrelevance. The overwhelming majority of people who have lived and who live now are “religious” in some way. Add to that the obvious fact (pointed to so nicely in the early chapters of Genesis) that, given enough time, human beings will screw up everything. “Religion” isn’t the problem. This book could have just as easily been titled People Are Stupid. Hitchens knows this, and he has the decency to acknowledge the mind-bending atrocities committed by atheist governments such as existed in Stalin’s Soviet Union and Pol Pot’s
Cambodia. There’s a reason why people need salvation. Hitchens calls for a new Enlightenment. But I notice that the Western Civilization textbook chapter following the one on the first Enlightenment often focuses on the French Revolution, which in part devolved into one of the world’s notable anti-religion bloodbaths.
Christopher Hitchens is wrong. Intellect by itself cannot save us. As this interesting but mostly irrational tome shows, it can’t even save him.
Hitchens was at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last weekend, speaking on a panel entitled “Culture and Religion.” After the formal panel presentation, here was the first question from the audience and the first part of his answer:
Question: Mr. Hitchens, how come it took the most religious country in the western world to rescue your pretty secular country,
Britain, from two World Wars, and to be the bulwark against Communism, and now to lead the fight against Islam?
Hitchens: Very good question. I mean it. . . . In my country of birth — by the way let me say this for the first time, I’ve been waiting to say it for weeks: “my fellow Americans” (applause); I took my oath at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington on the thirteenth of April, which is his birthday and mine — and I remind you that he’s the author of the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom, which is the basis for the First Amendment to the Constitution, which makes America a secular country, not a religious one. (Applause). . . .
Well, wrong. It is a secular government, not a secular country. The First Amendment protects religious beliefs and rituals throughout civil society, and insures they are genuine by making them the offerings of a free people rather than a coerced one. It does not prevent the government from honoring religion, or recognizing the role of prayer, or even calling for it.
Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer in the
[S]ince the days of our founding, our nation has been called to prayer. That’s exactly what our first President did, George Washington. “It’s the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and to humbly implore his protection and favor.” It’s interesting that the first President said those words.
For two centuries, Americans have answered this call to prayer. We’re a prayerful nation. I believe that makes us a strong nation. Each day, millions of our citizens approach our Maker. We pray as congregations in churches and in synagogues, and mosques, and in temples. We welcome people of all faiths into the
United States of America. We pray as families, around the dinner table, and before we go to sleep. We pray alone in silence and solitude, withdrawing from the world to focus on the eternal, spending time in personal recollection with our Creator.
We pray for many reasons. First, we pray to give thanks for the blessings the Almighty has bestowed upon us. We pray to give thanks. We give thanks for our freedom. We give thanks for the brave men and women who risk their lives to defend it. We give thanks for our families who love and support us. We give thanks for our plenty. We give thanks for our nation.
Second, we pray for the strength to follow God’s will in our lives, and for forgiveness when we fail to do so. Through prayer, each of us is reminded that we are fallen creatures in need of mercy, and in seeking the mercy and compassion of a loving God, we grow in mercy and compassion ourselves.
We feel the tug at our souls to reach out to the poor, the elderly, the stranger in distress. And by answering this call to care for our brothers and sisters in need, our hearts grow larger and we enter into a deeper relationship with God.
Third, we pray to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in our lives and our complete dependence on Him. This is probably the toughest prayer of all, particularly for those of us in politics. In the humility of prayer we recognize the limits of human strength and human wisdom. We seek the strength and wisdom that comes from above. We ask for the grace to align our hearts with His, echoing the words of Scripture, “Not my will, but thine be done.” We ask the Almighty to remain near to us and guide us in all we do, and when He is near we are ready for all that may come to us.
Finally, we pray to offer petitions, because our Father in heaven knows our cares and our needs. We trust in the promise of a loving God: Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and ye shall find. Inspired by this confidence we pray that the Almighty will pour out His blessings on those we love. We ask His healing for those who suffer from illness, for those who struggle in life. We ask His comfort for the victims of tragedy, and that the injured may be healed and the fallen may find comfort in the arms of their Creator. We implore His protection for those who protect us here at home and in far away lands. We pray for the day when His peace will reign in every nation and in every land until the ends of the earth.
The greatest gift we can offer anyone is the gift of our prayers, because our prayers have power beyond our imagining. The English poet Tennyson wrote, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” Prayer has the power to change lives and to change the course of history. So on this National Day of Prayer, let us seek the Almighty with confidence and trust, because our Eternal Father inclines his ear to the voice of his children, and answers our needs with love.
May God bless
America.
You can watch the entire, often moving, 32-minute ceremony by going here and clicking on “video.” You should not miss what occurs starting at 3:52 of the video (extending to 5:18) — you’ll have to listen carefully to appreciate what you’re watching.
Cadet Chaplain Eun-Jae Yu, of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, delivers the 2007 Prayer for the Nation to President George W. Bush and guests during an observance Thursday, May 3, 2007, of National Prayer Day. (White House photo by Eric Draper).