Of esophageal cancer, with which he was diagnosed in 2010. Vanity Fair's In Memoriam. More links on that page to Hitchens' work.
A 2007 piece in which Hitchens commemorates the death of an American soldier in Iraq.
Christopher Hitchens, RIP
by Bill Luse
Comments (10)
The piece on the American soldier was actually rather interesting. I don't carry much admiration for Hitchens, but he could write well. I won't say rest in peace because I rather doubt he's resting peacefully at the moment...
The Elephant
Posted by The Masked Elephant | December 16, 2011 5:37 PM
All the more reason to pray that he "rest in peace"!
Posted by Jeff Culbreath | December 16, 2011 5:41 PM
Certainly I'm in favor of prayer. I meant using the phrase as an imperative, like "Have fun storming the castle." But maybe it's actually intended to be more like "May the force be with you." Still seems a bit odd to direct it to the person though. In this context anyway.
The Elephant
Posted by The Masked Elephant | December 16, 2011 6:29 PM
ME, the phrase is widely misused in the vernacular as directed to the person, but it derives from a traditional prayer to God for the soul of the departed: "Anima eius et animae omnium fidelium defunctorum per Dei misericordiam requiescant in pace."
Posted by Jeff Culbreath | December 16, 2011 7:11 PM
I say "misused" in a friendly way, as I myself have used it this way and don't object to the practice.
Posted by Jeff Culbreath | December 16, 2011 7:13 PM
Ahem ... I just realized you were referring to the title of the entry in your comment. Sorry! I think the present vernacular use of RIP as a "may the force be with you" send-off derives from its presence as a prayer fragment on Catholic tombstones. Think of it as the kind of prayer whereas one hopes the departed is aware of the prayer, so as to know he is loved and/or missed.
Posted by Jeff Culbreath | December 16, 2011 7:26 PM
I am between the lines of agnosticism and Christianity but one thing I've always admired about the Eastern Orthodox Church compared with Protestants is their ability and willingness to pray for the dead. I don't mention Catholics because I don't know where they stand here although I suppose they'd probably be okay with it. I don't see any reason why salvation could not occur postmortem. Hitchens would definitely need such a thing right now.
Posted by Ron | December 16, 2011 10:37 PM
We don't know what Christopher Hitchens would definitely need right now. There is no 'now' for him anymore. We ought to pray for him as an act of charity - even if we hope that he asked God for mercy before he died, and can rest in peace.
Christopher Hitchens was a talented journalist but not a profound thinker whose books will live long. Perhaps he was considered by many to be a 'hero of our time'.
Posted by Alex | December 17, 2011 4:22 AM
Indeed, Alex, because God is not in time, God may well take our prayers after Hitchens' death and on their strength choose to gift Hitchens with the grace of faith and repentance before his death.
Since God cannot possibly be less generous than his creatures, if some of his creatures pray for their (worldly) enemies to do good for them, can God do less good than to grant their prayers (or do something still better)? It is a pious belief that God will indeed grace our enemies with the good we beg of God for them.
Posted by Tony | December 17, 2011 10:34 AM
Reading a recent book review by Terry Eagleton I see he deigned to forgive Hitchens for criticizing Islam.
Understandable for we are only at war with that 1500 year old gift from the desert, and who cannot find tolerance in the modern heart. This is the sort of nonsense that Hitchens did deplore. If the term sui generis has any meaning or place it is ascribale to Hitchens. He could be a crank at times, he was always an individual thinker, brilliant, his writing surperb, his learning intimidating, and he could hold his booze. People say of others, "he will be missed", a cliche true perhaps in it's limitations, so true of Hitchens.
Posted by johnt | December 17, 2011 4:35 PM