Twelve Apostates - Christopher Hitchens

One of the most common things I see said to my atheist friends by their Christian friends & family is attempts, via various tactics, to shut them up.  They don't like it when we speak up about religion.  They especially do not like it when we do so effectively.

No one did it more effectively than the late Christopher Hitchens.

In initially planning for this list, I was not going to include any of the Four Horsemen.  But when I switched it to be personal to me, leaving Hitchens out ceased to be an option.  He pointed out the absurdity of what religions expect us to believe with unmatched eloquence.  He condemned religion, with veracity and without apology, for the evils it contains and attempts to force upon us.

He did this so well, the act of him doing it was given a name.  Hitchslap.

Christians tried relentlessly to shut Hitchens up.  He, as he would put it, was having none of that.  They also attempted to outwit him.  They failed miserably every time.  Even as he was dying of cancer, he refused to stop until the cancer forced him to.

As much as I admire James Randi, the atheist debater I most wish to emulate is Hitch.  I share his disdain for religion.  And while, I'm not likely to ever attain his level of eloquence (not many will), I don't plan to let that stop me.

Twelve Apostates - George Carlin

George Carlin was the first celebrity I ever knew was atheist.  He was among the first few I knew, other than myself, who were atheist at all.  Possibly the very first one at all.

To this day, he's still done better than just about anyone at giving religion the criticism it is due.  I think he should have been included in the group labeled "New Atheists" and should have been considered one of the Four Horseman (not to say any of the four given that distinction were undeserving, of course).   His words against religion did precede theirs, after all.

I had heard of Carlin before, but only marginally.  I first learned of his stance on religion when I saw his now famous bit about religion being the best at bullshit.

In that rant, he compared god worship to sun worship and praying to a god to praying to Joe Pesci.  He made fun of the concept of Hell and how it's supposed to be a punishment from an all-loving god.  He made fun of churches' need for money.

He said everything I already felt but had never expressed and had never heard anyone else express.  Until then, I thought I was the only one.  Seeing this rant of Carlin's changed my life.  That was the day I learned I wasn't alone.  I'm a fan of stand-up comedy, and George Carlin was among the best of all time.  But it was this bit from him for which I will be eternally gratefully.

Well, at least as close to eternal as a mortal can get.