
He has chosen to confront the biggest questions - about God, life and death - in the most public of ways.Hardcover. Still, Christopher Hitchens' bout with cancer is remarkable in one respect. The psychological makeup of this is roughly the same whether you assume a supernatural dimension or not," he says. "People say, 'Cancer picked the wrong foe in you - you can beat this if anyone can,' lots of that kind of thing, and it has the effect of kind of giving me the blues because I don't want to let people down. As for facing death, he suspects that you have the same emotions, whether or not you believe in God. But I would say that that is over."įor his part, Christopher Hitchens praised his brother's book and laughed at his jokes. I certainly have in the past been angry with him. "And he has been my opponent for most of my life. "I really don't see the point in spoiling a good argument by getting angry with your opponent," Peter Hitchens says. The Hitchens brothers have fought over God - with barely concealed disdain - for years. Of course, Peter says arguments like that overlook all of the good that religion has done. But he is annoyed that some writers hope he'll have a last-minute conversion to Christianity.

Hitchens says he has been overwhelmed by the outpouring. Since Hitchens' cancer diagnosis in June, he has received thousands of letters and e-mails, some from believers asserting that he's getting what he deserves, more from people saying they're praying for his recovery. "If anything, my contempt for the false consolation of religion has increased since I became aware that I probably don't have very long to live," he replies. He's off his food.īut ask Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great, if having cancer has changed his view of religion or God.

He says his head, completely bald from chemotherapy treatments, gets cold. Just how real was apparent at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, where the brothers were having a public conversation about God.Ĭhristopher Hitchens often wears a white straw hat. But now that Christopher Hitchens has been diagnosed with cancer, the theoretical argument has become real. The brothers have publicly argued over faith for years. His brother, Peter, insists that a civilized world must believe in God. Journalist Christopher Hitchens is one of the world's most famous atheists.

The longtime atheist is the author of God Is Not Great. Journalist Christopher Hitchens, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, speaks at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
