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Monday, January 24, 2011

The Last Enemy

I stumbled onto this interview last night while I was channel surfing:


Hitchens looks and sounds like a dying man. Physically and emotionally vulnerable. Faltering. Unsure of himself. A drastic contrast to the strutting rhetoric of god is not Great. There’s clearly an undertone of trepidation in the glare of death, now that he’s got one foot in the grave. Not so easy to be the cocky atheist when you have nth stage cancer. 

From the viewpoint of the average atheist, death doesn’t merely rob you of your future, but of your past as well. It lops off both sides of your life, for the dead can’t experience the future or remember the past. So you lose both at one stroke. (And from a Christian viewpoint, their fate is even worse.)

Infidels have very conflicted views of death. At least, when speaking polemically.

On the one hand, they try to shame Christians as cowards. We invent heaven because we can’t face the finality of death.

On the other hand, they also act as if the way you live and die is still important. As if it’s noble to confront oblivion bravely. As if it matters that you were a philanthropist rather than a robber baron or a serial killer.

But if we should come to terms with the grim finality of death, then it’s cowardly to ameliorate the grim finality of death by pretending that it matters what you did before you die, or whether your deathbed demeanor is unbecoming. So what if you cringe like a frightened puppy? "Better a living dog than a dead lion!" (Eccl 9:4).

It’s also striking to see how self-conscious many people are around someone who is evidently dying. After all, we are all dying. It’s just a matter of time. Sooner or later, death comes to the best of us and the worst of us.

But usually we’re vague on the timing. Some men die without warning. Suddenly. Unexpectedly. Others linger for years on end, in a state of steady, almost imperceptible decline. They could die at anytime, so there’s no telling when the ax will strike.

But something like terminal cancer makes the end-game a bit more predictable. Foreseeable. The inexorable countdown begins. And that, in turn, exposes the hidden insecurity–which is easier to ignore or conceal when the prospect is safely out of sight.

Some unbelievers greet their demise with apparent equanimity because they are so old, so physically and emotionally worn out that it’s hard to muster much feeling about anything at that juncture.

Some maintain a heroic façade out of pride. Or fear of losing face.

Some would like to live much longer if only they had more to live for, but their best years are behind them. There’s not much to look forward too anymore.

33 comments:

  1. "Not so easy to be the cocky atheist when you have nth stage cancer."

    Soooooo...

    Given God's mercy, this atheist should repent of his sins on his death bed and embrace Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He should then have a baptism that's videoed and televised and youtubed.

    On his youtube video he should have a prominent physician pronounce him of sound mind and in no way mentally ill and that his repentance and regeneration to becoming a follower of Jesus Christ was not delusional or under any duress.

    That is how Hitchens should treat his first and last enemy of atheism and Satan.

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  2. "There’s clearly an undertone of trepidation in the glare of death, now that he’s got one foot in the grave."

    Yes. And yet he seems quite confident in all his convictions. He dislikes Christianity, and he hates Mother Theresa, and Henry Kissinger.



    Hitchens is a brillaint speaker. I love to hear him talk, even though I disagree with him.

    I have a sorrow that he is living in deep unbelief, and his heart is hard against God, the Christian faith, and the truth of Christ.

    I pray God would have mercy on him, and help him to recover from this cancer. More importantly, I pray that our Lord would have mercy on His soul, and our Father would draw him to Christ, and to the truth of Jesus. Amen.

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  3. Yes, for Hitchens, God is almost as bad is Mother Teresa. Or is it the other way around?

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  4. Bottom line for us all, as unbelievers, is that we hate Christ most of all. We may not think we do, but we do. If we hate His people we hate Him.

    Atheists say they don't hate Christ, but they certainly mock and detest His Word, and so they hate Him.

    John said: "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed."

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  5. Let’s say that the consensus is that our species, being the higher primates, Homo Sapiens, has been on the planet for at least 100,000 years, maybe more. Francis Collins says maybe 100,000. Richard Dawkins thinks maybe a quarter-of-a-million. I’ll take 100,000. In order to be a Christian, you have to believe that for 98,000 years, our species suffered and died, most of its children dying in childbirth, most other people having a life expectancy of about 25 years, dying of their teeth. Famine, struggle, bitterness, war, suffering, misery, all of that for 98,000 years. Heaven watches this with complete indifference. And then 2000 years ago, thinks “That’s enough of that. It’s time to intervene,” and the best way to do this would be by condemning someone to a human sacrifice somewhere in the less literate parts of the Middle East. Don’t let us appeal to the Chinese, for example, where people can read and study evidence and have a civilization. Let’s go to the desert and have another revelation there. This is nonsense. It can’t be believed by a thinking person. Christopher Hitchens.

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  6. That quote Atheist-missionary, makes no sense.

    Hitchens quote is absurd really. And doesn't fit.

    What is your point? If you don't mind me asking.

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  7. The point is that the suggestion God would wait 98,000 years of human existence before sending a "saviour" is absurd.

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  8. The presuppositional overpressure made my ears pop.

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  9. Steve,

    I know you’ve been through your own bout with cancer. Would you be so kind as to write a post explaining your thoughts as a Christian while going through it? I’m sure it would be an encouragement to other Christians who find themselves in a similar place.

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  10. "Given God's mercy, this atheist should repent of his sins on his death bed and embrace Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He should then have a baptism that's videoed and televised and youtubed.

    On his youtube video he should have a prominent physician pronounce him of sound mind and in no way mentally ill and that his repentance and regeneration to becoming a follower of Jesus Christ was not delusional or under any duress.

    That is how Hitchens should treat his first and last enemy of atheism and Satan."


    No. Hitchens has too much dignity and confidence to do something that low. In fact, he has, on multiple occasions, issued statements saying that he would never do something of the sort, so that anyone claiming he did is obviously a liar.

    No, what Hitchens should do is go boldly and proudly into death's embrace, and hopefully leave our amazing world a little brighter: not because he's gone, but because he was here, and spread great works and ideas and logic and rationality to anyone that cared enough to lift up their head and actually pay attention.

    Hitchens is, in my most humble of opinions, a great man: greater than probably any here, myself included. He is a champion for free thought, morality, and decency the world over. He is a valuable and important member of society, and will be sorely missed when he does depart.

    You, however, should be ashamed to have the audacity to propose such a situation. You claim to be correct in your opinion: THAT'S FINE! I respect your opinion. What I don't respect is your devotion to forcing this opinion and unprovable belief upon those who, frankly, couldn't care any less about your religion or "personal savior."

    I hope I've actually reached you in this post, and that you won't outright dismiss everything I have to say in a fit of closed-mindedness. I wish you a happy and healthy day.

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  11. The deathbed conversion's a dilemma, though. Which god to embrace?

    Should Hitchens become a follower of Buddha? Perhaps Vishnu, or Ganesha? Obviously most of you here suggest Jesus. But how about Kali?

    So many choices, so tough to pick the one of many which is real, while the others we all know are fairytales...

    Are the billion Hindus wrong? Most of the people on the planet AREN'T Christians, of course...

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  12. I am fairly certain this post will get deleted, but lets see...
    You "christians" are self-righteous, and crude in your hate of a man who is dealing with a life-threatening illness. For a people who claim it to be a sin to "pass judgment", you are a "judging" lot. It is a shame that you ridicule a man simply because he has a different point of view, and especially one fighting for his life. I am sure that you would be "praying" for him if he were a "christian". And to want to film and air his death....remember the Romans, their arenas, and their crucifixions? You belittle yourselves, and make me honored to be an Atheist.
    Religion was created by man to put a "face" on what he, at the time, could not explain or understand. We now have science to remove that face, and regardless of how hard that is for the superstitious to face, it is going to happen. And once it has, we can move on to what is truly important... accepting life as it truly is.
    And it is easy to be a "cocky" (the term you actually meant is "right") Atheist no matter what the occasion. Fear and hate are the hard things to cope with, and most of your comments here are full of it. We expected this when we heard of Hitchens' illness, and, indeed, you of "faith" came through in flying colors.
    You should all be above this nonsense.
    May Mr. Hitchens receive the proper medical care to treat his cancer.

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  13. Hitchens is, in my most humble of opinions, a great man: greater than probably any here, myself included. He is a champion for free thought, morality, and decency the world over. He is a valuable and important member of society, and will be sorely missed when he does depart.

    And yet, at death's door, it is all sound and fury, signifying nothing.

    You, however, should be ashamed to have the audacity to propose such a situation. You claim to be correct in your opinion: THAT'S FINE! I respect your opinion. What I don't respect is your devotion to forcing this opinion and unprovable belief upon those who, frankly, couldn't care any less about your religion or "personal savior." I hope I've actually reached you in this post, and that you won't outright dismiss everything I have to say in a fit of closed-mindedness. I wish you a happy and healthy day.

    He said in a fit of closed-mindedness...

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  14. What is it about death that brings out the atheists? There's an awful lot of emoting on the part of those who claim to be the inheritors of the Enlightenment.

    For what it's worth, I wish Mr. Hitchens well and pray for a full recovery.

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  15. The deathbed conversion's a dilemma, though. Which god to embrace?

    The true one, of course.

    Should Hitchens become a follower of Buddha? Perhaps Vishnu, or Ganesha? Obviously most of you here suggest Jesus. But how about Kali?

    Well, to be sure, being on the horns of such a dilemma on one's deathbed is not an ideal place to be. But then again, it's not as though he's not had plenty of opportunity to apply his intellect to this question before now... hardened hearts are not easily overcome.

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  16. Yes, the moral indignation coming from those who claim there are no moral absolutes is quite telling. Death is a sore subject it seems to atheists.

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  17. So many choices, so tough to pick the one of many which is real, while the others we all know are fairytales...

    Are the billion Hindus wrong? Most of the people on the planet AREN'T Christians, of course...


    The opposite also applies: are so few atheists right? By the way, caricatures and silly sobriquets do not constitute arguments.

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  18. "By the way, caricatures and silly sobriquets do not constitute arguments."

    Caricatures? Silly sobriquets? Something of a tangental tip, wouldn't you agree? I don't recall using any...

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  19. Wow. Is this the true facade of Christianity? Mocking and insulting of those who believe differently.

    I, too, am an atheist. For each of you I hope your death is peaceful and pain-free. I hope you are surrounded by the ones you love and are content with your lives. Whatever your beliefs that's what I hope for myself and for you as well.

    I won't be part of a sneering crowd that grins upon imagining tortures for others upon their death but, as I said, I'm an atheist.

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  20. Caricatures? Silly sobriquets? Something of a tangental tip, wouldn't you agree? I don't recall using any...

    Notice how you focus on this part of my comment? It's you who focuses on tangentials, not me.

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  21. Wow. Is this the true facade of Christianity? Mocking and insulting of those who believe differently.

    David,

    What is it about my comment that betrays my Christian witness? I've prayed for Mr. Hitchens' health and recovery and wish he and his family well. I've enjoyed his writings on issues and respect his gifted intellect.

    It should be said that he has not extended the same respect for Christian concepts and persons; recall his incendiary comments on the very day of Rev. Falwell's passing?

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  22. Regarding the Hitchens quote by The Atheist Missionary (TAM):

    1. Some Christians (like myself) lean toward Old Earth Creationism (OEC). So, we no problem that human beings have been around for tens of thousands of years.

    2. The mention of those evils are in keeping with Christian anthropology and hamartiology (doctrine of sin).

    3. Hitchens says, Heaven watches this with complete indifference.
    No Christian would say that. God is not indifferent to sin, or human suffering (some of which is the result of sin).

    4. And then 2000 years ago, thinks “That’s enough of that. It’s time to intervene,...
    The Bible says, that God sent His Son into the world "when the fullness of time had come." (Gal. 4:4). You might not like God's timing, but mercy, by definition isn't obligated.

    5. and the best way to do this would be by condemning someone to a human sacrifice somewhere in the less literate parts of the Middle East...
    Hitchens is assuming that in Christianity it is (or at least should be) God's intention to save absolutely everyone. But if something like Calvinism is true, then it isn't God intention to save all of humanity. That's not to say that God doesn't have any genuine belevolence toward all human beings. Most Calvinists hold to some form of Common Grace. Some would even go so far as to say that there is a sense in which God would be willing to save all, but that God's greater priorities (e.g. the manifestation and clarification of His attributes of justice, sovereignty, and mercy; along with optimal blessings for the elect) results in His choosing to allow some sinners to receive their just punishments.

    6.Let’s go to the desert and have another revelation there. This is nonsense. It can’t be believed by a thinking person.
    That's part of the "foolishness of the message preached" that Paul talks about. See 1Corinthians 1:18 - 2:10. God's foolishness is wiser than men's wisdom.

    to be continued...

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  23. TAM said, The point is that the suggestion God would wait 98,000 years of human existence before sending a "saviour" is absurd.
    Why exactly? That assumes God didn't have a morally sufficient reason or wise plan for Him to wait. God deals with humanity both individually AND corporately. There are lessons that humanity as a whole needs to learn and will learn by the time God intervenes fully by ending human history as we know it at the return of Christ. Also, a tacit assumption is that this life on earth is as important or more important than the afterlife. Another is that all or most of those who died before the incarnation of Christ were eternally lost. Even if it were the case, that wouldn't prove that Christianity is false or that the Christian position were necessarily "absurd". Finally, maybe strict soteriological particularism of the exclusivist/restrictivist kind is false. I definitely reject soteriological pluralism (e.g. Hick) and inclusivism (e.g. Pinnock), but there are brands of particularism that are open to the possibility that some people might be saved apart from an explicit profession of faith while here on earth. Some are agnostic, or pessimistic, or optimistic on the possibility.


    Andrew said...
    "In fact, he has, on multiple occasions, issued statements saying that he would never do something of the sort, so that anyone claiming he did is obviously a liar."

    Actually, Hitchens said that it might happen that he may end up converting to some form of theism near death but that if it does happen, it'll be because he will certainly not be in his right mind.

    Andrew said...
    What I don't respect is your devotion to forcing this opinion and unprovable belief upon those who, frankly, couldn't care any less about your religion or "personal savior."
    Nobody is forcing Hitchens to do anything. The suggestion was that if he actually ended up converting (of his free choice) and if he wanted to publically affirm it, he would be wise to do so in a manner that would dispel any rumor that he wasn't in his right mind.

    to be continued...

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  24. "...[U]nprovable belief..."? That would depend on your criteria of proof. Secular criteria is always arbitrary and contradictory.

    Andrew said...
    I hope I've actually reached you in this post, and that you won't outright dismiss everything I have to say in a fit of closed-mindedness. I wish you a happy and healthy day.
    You seem youself to be close-minded about Christianity if you include yourself among those who "couldn't care any less about [Christianity] or [our] *personal savior.*"

    Nevertheless, as G.K. Chesterton accordingly has said, "Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid." Christianity has intellectual substance, atheism does not.

    Mellisa said...
    The deathbed conversion's a dilemma, though. Which god to embrace?...So many choices, so tough to pick the one of many which is real, while the others we all know are fairytales...


    According to Calvinism human salvation does not ultimately depend on an inductive search for the true God by people who have absolutely no knowledge of God at all. Rather, that all human beings have some knowledge of God through general revelation (even if not exposed to special revelation). And that in our sin we all have snubbed the natural light given to us. Yet, if people truly sought God in humility, honesty/sincerity, and repentance, He would certainly make sure to reveal more of Himself to them for their salvation. Finally, anyone who actually does so, is able to because God first worked on his/her heart to bring him/her to saving faith in Himself.

    The Dreaming Lotus said...
    You "christians" are self-righteous, and crude in your hate of a man who is dealing with a life-threatening illness.
    1. How are we being a.) "crude" and b.) "self-righteous" specifically?
    2. In where in this post does any Christian state or imply that they hate Christopher Hitchens?
    3. On the contrary many Christians pray for Hitchens physical healing and spiritual salvation.

    to be continued...

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  25. The Dreaming Lotus said...
    For a people who claim it to be a sin to "pass judgment", you are a "judging" lot.
    You're alluding to Jesus' teaching that we ought not to judge hypocritically. He also taught us to judge righteously. John 7:24 has Jesus saying, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." That is, based on God's righteousness. IF Christianity (particularly Calvinistic) is true, then its doctrines require that God has omniscient knowledge of human nature (with regard to both regenerate and non-regenerate persons). From our perspective, we're just applying what the Bible says about the basic motivations and thought processes of non-Christians.

    I am sure that you would be "praying" for him if he were a "christian".
    Christians are praying for him. Including myself.

    And to want to film and air his death....remember the Romans, their arenas, and their crucifixions? You belittle yourselves, and make me honored to be an Atheist.
    In the hypothetical, we wouldn't be filming his death, but documenting his conversion with his approval (which sadly would happen to be at a time when he's dying) . That's totally different than Christians who were actively murdered for the sake of amusement in the arenas.

    Religion was created by man to put a "face" on what he, at the time, could not explain or understand....
    This commits the Genetic fallacy. Just because some people may have created some religions (for whatever reasons), doesn't mean that all religions are false and that there are no supernatural entities or God.

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  26. what Hitchens should do is go boldly and proudly into death's embrace, and hopefully leave our amazing world a little brighter

    Why should he?
    Please let me recommend you read this.

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  27. "The point is that the suggestion God would wait 98,000 years of human existence before sending a "saviour" is absurd." -AM

    How does Hitchens know this? Dawkins would say 248,000 years.

    I would say 10,000 years, perhaps.

    The bottom line for us all is the truth; the truth that Jesus Christ died, and rose from the dead, and was seen by 500 people at one time, nto mentio Peter, who writes about it, and John who writes down this truth for us.

    Jesus Christ, since it's a eact that he lived, is the person we have to address.

    I pray Christopher will "come to Christ, as Christ said, and he will find rest for his soul, and his burdens will become light, and his yoke will be easy, becuase Christ will will bring forgiveness and love and peace and joy, like he always wanted, but never knew. He will also know sorrow deeper than he thought sorrow could go.

    Christ rose from the dead, He lives even now, and will never turn away any sinner, any man, any woman, any child, who comes to him.

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  28. MELISSA SAID:

    "The deathbed conversion's a dilemma, though. Which god to embrace? Should Hitchens become a follower of Buddha? Perhaps Vishnu, or Ganesha? Obviously most of you here suggest Jesus. But how about Kali?"

    i) I know you think that's clever, but it's not. It's not as if Christian apologetics hasn't dealt with comparative religion.

    ii) HInduism and Buddhism don't even make comparable claims.

    iii) Hinduism and Buddhism don't claim to be revealed religions.

    iv) Buddhism isn't inherently religious. You can be a Buddhist atheist.

    v) Even insiders like Nirad Chaudhuri and Surendranath Dasgupta don't give the reader any reason to believe that Hinduism is true. Quite the contrary.

    "So many choices, so tough to pick the one of many which is real, while the others we all know are fairytales..."

    Buddha was just a man. He had no special insight into ultimate reality, or our own place in the great scheme of thing.

    "Are the billion Hindus wrong?"

    Yes.

    "Most of the people on the planet AREN'T Christians, of course..."

    i) Most folks aren't atheists. And Christianity is the majority religion.

    ii) Anyway, your objection is duplicitous. You obviously think 2 billion (give or take) Christians are wrong.

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  29. A Perspective of a Cancer Survivor


    As a Pastor and a cancer survivor; may I take a crack at the perspective of a person who has been through cancer and believes that at the end of my earthly life I shall return to the House of the Lord – alternate rendering of the last verse in Psalm 23.

    When I discovered I had cancer in October of 2008, my immediate response was to think of the words of the Apostle Paul – to live is Christ and to die is gain. And Paul's further longing to be present with the Lord but if he is to remain it will be for the blessing of others. See Philippians 1.

    Paul's perspective in Philippians 1 became the controlling perspective for my life throughout the treatments which lasted from November 2008 to February 2010. What I like to call the Transformative Power of the Word mediated to the heart of the believer through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit was at work. Others call it that also.

    And for this I was and am grateful to God.

    Throughout the treatments that brought pain, blood loss (a lot of blood loss) and many sleep less nights there was a joy that I knew did not come from myself.

    And for this I was and am grateful to God.

    What do I make of the charges of lack of caring with regards to Mr. Hitchens? I think in all things we should always hope we are being a witness of the grace of God and the power and presence of Jesus Christ.

    Yet, forceful questions can be asked. And should be asked. If someone despises God and religion all of their life; is it wrong to raise questions about hope, life and how everything sits for a person who despises God?

    Over and above such questions, the cancer gave me a new and life transforming vision of the power of God that sustains us and through the grace givem me in Christ I now rejoice more in each day.

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  30. Christians may be interested to know that it was exactly this sort of thing - making capital out of suffering, as if it is somehow remarkable that a person dieing of cancer should look sick - that started the cracks in my faith and which ultimately led to my atheism.

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  31. So you're an atheist for irrational, emotional reasons. And what good will that do you on your deathbed, or the deathbed of your loved ones?

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  32. "So you're an atheist for irrational, emotional reasons."

    That's not what I said, Steve. I said that my experience of the behaviour of other christians put the cracks in my faith. My becoming an atheist was a long journey. To the extent emotion was part of it, it was attachment to the church, not emotional repudiation.

    "And what good will that do you on your deathbed, or the deathbed of your loved ones?"

    Well, as an atheist, I suppose from my viewpoint I';; be facing the situation(s) realistically. You will no doubt have a different viewpoint.

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  33. DC SAID:

    "That's not what I said, Steve. I said that my experience of the behaviour of other christians put the cracks in my faith."

    Which is emotional rather than rational.

    "My becoming an atheist was a long journey."

    I judge what you said by...what you said. You're free to add subsequent qualifications, but I reserve the right to do the same, if it comes to that.

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