My original blog topic was vaguely just on the debate on the validity of the existence of God, but I have actually focused all my blogs so far on Christopher Hitchens’ (a notable anti-theist) perspectives, findings, conclusions, and debates.

This most recent summer, Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer (he has smoked most of his life).  Because of his presence in atheist culture, Hitchens’ illness has sparked much controversy.  Many followers of various faiths see his disease as God’s way of punishing him for his career built on blasphemizing God.  He is after all, the author who wrote “god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.”   One particular interesting facet of this belief is the common idea that god chose to give Hitchens cancer of the esophagus (the tube in the throat leading from the back of the mouth or pharynx down to the stomach) as a way of targeting where or what he used to speak out against religion.  I thought this was interesting because with the exception of burping, the esophagus plays no role in speech.  Parallel to the esophagus is the trachea, the windpipe leading down from the pharynx to the lungs.  The pharynx separates at a point called the epiglottis, which is a flap that covers either the trachea while swallowing or the esophagus while speaking.  The vocal cords are located at the top of the trachea.  My point here is to put forth an example of how the believers disregard fact (the science and anatomy behind their claims) to try and create a truth in their own minds in favor of their beliefs.  This is, in Hitchens’ opinion, the focal point in the religious argument at which the logical fallacy is made.

By that, I mean Hitchens says that the reason why avid believers create false conclusions is because they base those conclusions on false premises.  Assuming that the bible (or any religious scripture) is full of false premises, any belief in any faith is basically a foundation of values which someone thousands of years ago wrote that everyone should follow or go to Hell forever.

So, because Hitchens does not believe in god, he will allegedly go to Hell after he dies.  This article is Hitchens’ own perspective of how so many people are “praying for him.”  When bringing up the idea of his full recovery, Hitchens wondered if that would be seen by the religious followers “praying for him” as those prayers being answered.  In his own words, “That would somehow be irritating.”

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/10/hitchens-201010