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God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

 I

If I believe in God, I'm pretty mad at him today.

Another LBGTQIA+ nightclub shooting. More hate crimes. More death. 

My hearts are with those who have lost, so senselessly. 


Book I Haven't Read Yet: God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens. 

Why I Haven't Read It: I actually started this book around the time it came out in 2007. After growing out of an Evangelical upbringing, I moved FAR away from the idea of the "God of the Bible" being the right entity for me to believe in. 


I mean, a bunch of human dudes wrote down some stories about Jesus and things. They weren't even alive during the time that Jesus lived, but we are supposed to believe that they wrote with 100% accuracy? I've met a lot of men. They don't get things right all the time, particularly after a game of telephone.

Also, I'd just been toying with the idea of Atheism altogether after watching Julia Sweeney's show "Letting Go of God." (It's on You Tube - go watch) and realizing that pretty much all religions are variations on a theme. One of control and fear-mongering, and keeping the masses in line. I don't think I could keep reading this book because of this existential crisis I found myself in around that time. It lasted until, uh, now.

Should You Read It? I think so. Whether you're spiritual, religious, or completely unaffiliated, we all recognize the crisis of conscience in America. Christians seem to be morally policing the rest of us, from everything to books to bans on our bodies, to Gender Affirming care, to... you get that the list goes on.

Christopher Hitchens has served as a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and as a visiting professor of liberal studies at the New School. He's written several books and, according to his bio on the back flap, was named number  on a list of the "Top  Public Intellectuals." This amused him. 

God is Not Great addresses "the most urgent issue of our time - the malignant force of religion in the world." 

Twenty-five years after it's publication, things certainly haven't gotten better; they're worse. 


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