Hamilton Saint
13-10-2010, 12:14 AM
British-born author Christopher Hitchens, a fervent atheist, will meet Tony Blair in Toronto on November 26th to debate publicly the question of whether religion is a force for good in the world. Should be very interesting!
Hitchens has written a scathing critique of religion in his book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, which I read about a year ago. It's a compelling read and quite persuasive, although I'd have to concede that there are arguments to be made in favour of the positive things religion can bring to social life.
Should be tantalising if the "just war" issue is raised. Blair's fallback position in his support for the Iraq war seems to be a moral argument - a religious position. And Hitchens was a keen supporter of that war. But clearly from a very different perspective.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/12/blair-hitchens.html
Hitchens has written a scathing critique of religion in his book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, which I read about a year ago. It's a compelling read and quite persuasive, although I'd have to concede that there are arguments to be made in favour of the positive things religion can bring to social life.
Should be tantalising if the "just war" issue is raised. Blair's fallback position in his support for the Iraq war seems to be a moral argument - a religious position. And Hitchens was a keen supporter of that war. But clearly from a very different perspective.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/12/blair-hitchens.html