Christopher Hitchens Comes to "UU CHURCH" in Raleigh! DU ALERT!

[KoKo]

Why is our "Purple State" so BLESSED to have BOTH Hitchens (with his book about GOD) and Gingrich
Devotees may counter that these are questions of faith and that miracles operate outside natural laws. Hitchens responds that these phenomena are related to us through scared texts -- especially the Bible and the Quran -- that are riddled with absurd contradictions. The four Gospels of the New Testament "disagree wildly about the Sermon on the Mount, the anointing of Jesus, the treachery of Judas, and Peter's haunting 'denial,' " Hitchens writes. "Most astonishingly, they cannot converge on a common account of the Crucifixion or Resurrection."

Choosing to believe

Hitchens acknowledges that many churchgoers draw sustenance from their faith despite its troubled past and textual lapses. They pick the aspects of religion that work for them while discarding its harder and more irrational elements. To Hitchens' thinking, such people don't take their faith seriously enough, for they deny its plainly stated tenets.

Worse, they support a sinister institution that's open to misuse. As the history of Christianity and Islam make clear, he asserts, a worldview that trumpets faith over reason "provides a standing invitation for the wicked and the clever to exploit their brothers and sisters, and thus is one of humanity's great vulnerabilities."

For English faith is a path to truth; Christianity pushes us toward reality. He acknowledges the contradictions in Scripture but ascribes them to the fact that the Bible "is a divinely inspired yet fully human text." Still, he maintains, "we see that it is fully God's word -- it is what he wants to say to us."

Through those words, English says, his faith answers three questions: "Where do we come from? We come from God. What are we supposed to be doing now? Loving one another, loving God. Where do we go in the final end? To God."

English says the power and truth of those answers have helped sustain faith against constant assaults. He notes that anti-religious tracts are hardly new; Hitchens supports his arguments with quotes from ancient Greek and Roman skeptics as well as Voltaire, Edward Gibbon, John Stuart Mill and Bertrand Russell.


http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion

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CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS APPEARANCE IN RALEIGH!

Thursday, May 17, 2007
Newt Gingrich discusses "Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th" sponsored by John Locke Foundation. Time: Noon; Cost: $50. Event will be held at Sisters' Garden and Catering Company, 2400 E. Millbrook Road, Raleigh, NC 27604. For more information visit http://johnlocke.org/events/ or contact Mitch Kokai at 919-828-3876 or [e-mail]. Additional Information: Just as they did in their blockbuster "alternate history" novel, Gettysburg, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and historian co-author Bill Forstchen have created an exciting "alternate history" novel, based on the "what if" question of Pearl Harbor. Join Newt Gingrich as he discusses his newest book, "Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th."


http://www.wakerepublicanwomen.org/