1. I'm not an atheist, and Christopher Hitchens made perfect sense to me. Organized religion has been the largest cause of slaughter in the history of the world, and has been used as an excuse for horrible oppression.

I don't want to get into a discussion of theology, because it bores me - but what I did was simply take the things I liked from many religions and made my own. What I believe is irrelevant to the comment, how my religion manifests itself is in attempting at all times to be kind and polite, non-selfish but also not a push-over, and try to create as much as possible in art to leave something behind.

BUT, in terms of our national discourse, my religion is only MY religion. I seek no converts, and readily admit I may have the wrong answer, and really never bother to discuss my beliefs. Still, I truly believe in a loving God and life after death.

You see, that is the wonderful thing about secularism. Someone else gets the right to be an atheist, someone likes me gets to skip organized religion and still have faith, and people who absolutely need to follow their faith's version of the script have the right to do that.

BUT, under our Constitution - NONE OF US gets to insert our religious beliefs into our basic secular government. Millions of Americans have different ideas on their faiths or lack thereof - and only a secular government can accomodate us all.

Phil at 8:41AM on Jun 14th 2007

2. I have read the Hitchens book and marvel at the extent this man has made to investigate virtually every practiced religion and their texts and concluded absolutely correct that religion is man made and responsible for horrible crimes against the humanities they are trying to sell to the public. But Hitchens didn't convince me because I believed god was a fake long before he so eloquently proved it.

S. Merritt at 8:54AM on Jun 14th 2007

3. The reality for Christopher Hitchens is that 80% to 90% of mankind believe in GOD. This belief in GOD whether it is part of the evolutionary process of Homo Sapiens, or because GOD actually exists is natural.

To take man’s natural Concept of GOD, a conception of Peace and Love and Goodness, an all Wise, all Loving GOD for all mankind, and turn GOD - by bastardizing his teachings into a murderous GOD of hate, death and destruction, for power and in the case of Islam for the creation of a totalitarian system is one of the greatest sins that can be committed against GOD.

Christopher Hitchens dispute is not with GOD but with the so called men of GOD who have - through the millenniums - for Power, Domination, and Control of society have turned these teachings of Peace and Love and Goodness into teachings of evil.

The fact is that throughout mankind’s history, a minimum of 350 million people have been slaughtered in the worst ways imaginable in the name of and to the greater glory of GOD. If there is a GOD then the people responsible for this carnage deserve to be in Hell.

What Christopher Hitchens needs to do is not only state that he does not believe in GOD but he must challenge the holy beliefs of the other 80%/90% with the following logic. (The aim of such a challenge would be to reform the Holy Books and Teachings.)

GOD AS THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE - THE CREATOR OF ALL LIVING THINGS IS PERFECT.

ALL TEACHINGS OF GOD - AS A PERFECT GOD - MUST BE PERFECT

ANY WRITINGS IN ANY RELIGIOUS TEXT THAT ARE NOT PERFECT ARE NOT THE TEACHINGS OF GOD BUT THE TEACHINGS OF MAN

AS A PERFECT GOD - A GOD OF REASON - GOD IS ALL PEACE AND LOVE AND GOODNESS

ALL MANKIND ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD

ALL CHILDREN OF GOD ARE CREATED EQUAL AND THEIR LIVES ARE SACRED TO GOD

GOD IS NOT AN IRRATIONAL BEING. IF GOD IS IRRATIONAL THEN GOD IS NOT PERFECT AND THEREFORE SINCE GOD CANNOT BE IMPERFECT AN IRRATIONAL GOD IS NOT GOD

All teachings in all religious texts (written or verbal) that are not PERFECT are not the teachings of A PERFECT GOD - A GOD OF REASON but the teachings of man. This means that all teachings recorded in texts, revelations, writings, sayings, fatwas etc of war, murder, killing, death and destruction, violence, hate, suicide bombers, violent jihad, terrorism, torture, maiming, wife beating, inferiority of woman, women as instruments of sexual pleasure in paradise, honor killings, stoning, cutting off limbs, child sex, bigotry, intolerance, slavery, racism, inequality of any human being, that non believers can be murdered as a holy duty, that Muslims who renounce Islam can be killed, that Muslims (or anyone) who challenge the teachings of Islam can be murdered, etc are irrational AND NOT THE PERFECT TEACHINGS OF GOD – A PERFECT GOD - A GOD OF REASON – A GOD OF ALL LOVE AND PEACE.

In the case of Islam - No ALLAH who is ALLAH would ever preach that killing and murdering of any human being in his name will be rewarded by accession to paradise. Suicide is an evil act in every religion. Suicide bombers killing themselves and others in the Name of Allah – this is the Supreme evil act. You cannot climb to heaven on the corpses of the murdered. No ALLAH who is ALLAH would ever create a Paradise full of big breasted sexual nymphs. All such teachings are the commands of evil men and false prophets. If ALLAH commanded that infidels (or any other human being) be killed then he would be irrational and evil and no longer PERFECT - no longer GOD.

If GOD does exist then the following truths are self evident:

1. GOD is anti - war. He never lead an army into battle, changed the weather allowing (his) side to win or any other form of divine intervention etc. For GOD - all war is abhorrent. There is no - "his" side.

2. GOD is a non - religious entity. Religion was invented by man as a vehicle to allow him to comprehend GOD. Because man is imperfect then religion is imperfect.

3. For GOD, there exists no concept of believers or non - believers. There is no one truth. There is no such thing as the one and only true religion. There are many ways to GOD. Even a total non - believer like Christopher Hitchens can ascend to Heaven provided he does not have an evil soul.

4. GOD gave man a Free Will to do Good or Evil, to explore the truth of any question including - his existence.

5. GOD is democratic - he believes that no man should be ruled by dictators.

6. All men are created equal. GOD is not a racist.

7. GOD created women as the equal of men. GOD is not a sexist.

8. GOD has never sent a storm or other calamity of nature to destroy any human being or any human city etc.

9. GOD has never killed or ordered the killing of any human being. If GOD killed only one human being (or any other alien life form throughout the universe who exercises free will) then GOD is a murderer and GOD is no longer GOD.

10. GOD has the power but not the moral right to destroy the Earth. There are many different ways mankind can go to extinction. The end can come through the actions of man such as a nuclear holocaust, or the invention of a disease. Another way is for a comet to smash into the earth. Definitely in 5 billion years, the sun will supernova destroying the earth. If GOD intervenes in these natural or human processes in any way and destroys the Earth because he is pissed off with Homo Sapiens or any other reason then GOD is the greatest mass murderer ever and GOD is no longer GOD.

The greatest danger mankind faces is the smuggling of a nuclear weapon by an Islamic Fundamentalist into a major western city killing millions in the name of and to the greater glory of ALLAH. If the hateful teachings are not removed from Islam this is the disaster that will destroy civilization as we know it. It will dramatically change human history forever.

For anyone to kill one human being let alone millions in the name of and to the greater glory of GOD is an obscenity. The fact that such evil exists is a failure of man not of GOD.
By,
Larry Houle
www.godofreason.com
intermedusa@yahoo.com

personalrep1 at 1:37PM on Jun 14th 2007