God is not Great

Title: God is not Great – How Religion Poisons Everything

Author: Christopher Hitchens

Publisher: Atlantic Books, 2007 (First)

ISBN: 9781843548102

Pages: 307

Our world is riven with conflicts of various kinds. But if we look deeply into the root cause of the present and past conflicts what is blindingly obvious is that almost all of them are inspired by religion, or caused by dispute over the faiths of the two opposing parties. Modern terror is bred solely by religious fanaticism. Even with this blemish on their cheeks, religions assume the role of a protector or a refuge of the last resort on the authority of holy books which are assumed to be of divine writ. It requires a person of immense courage, borne out of conviction from truth that he had found in nature, to come up against this charade of religion and unveil the true face of the world's religions. Christopher Hitchens does this onerous task in this book. What we usually see is western authors going after Christianity alone or Islam up to a limit. This has created a sheen on eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism as something without error in their practice and theory. Hitchens scraps this notion to the dustbin. No religion is safe from his sharp and pointed barbs. What amaze readers is the minute knowledge Hitchens possesses in Christian Scriptures. With his witty investigation that drills deep into religious yore, he burrows out the truth into plain daylight. As part of its mission to undermine blind faith of all kinds, it criticizes human godheads like Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa as well.

Hitchens identifies an innate trait of religions that does not allow a believer to rest until the whole world bows the knee. This, in fact, poisons everything. When two such religions meet, crusades and jihad follow. The origin of religion itself is not sourced from any higher emotions of mankind, but upon tribal suspicions and hatred. It then multiplies the base instincts many fold with the result that members of each group talk of the other in precisely the terms of the bigot. Quite contrary to its claims of divine origins, it is too clear that religion is manufactured in tribal minds. Ethics and morality are independent of faith and cannot be derived from it. Religion is not just amoral but in fact immoral. The book lists out a long line of examples.

Religion not only controls interpersonal interactions, it tries to mould the individual around a strict interpretation of its dogma. It regulates the diet of its followers – pork is taboo for Jews and Muslims, beef for Hindus. Hitchens identifies an interesting possible reason for the proscription of pork. He claims that pig meat is similar to human flesh and a dying pig’s squeal disturbingly resembles that of man. The simultaneous attraction and repulsion derived from an anthropomorphic root: the look of the pig, the dying yells of the pig, the taste of the pig and the evident intelligence of the pig were too uncomfortably reminiscent of the human. The logic here seems a bit too farfetched.

The three great monotheisms teach people to think abjectly of them, as miserable and guilty sinners prostrate before an angry and jealous God. Individuality is given short shrift and complete surrender to a supreme being is demanded of the believers. This crude capitulation of one’s inner being is touted as a model for others to emulate in what can only be termed brainwashing. In spite of this, people wish to credit good things as miraculous and to charge bad things to another account. An example is the case of numerous species of plants and animals that have become extinct upon the sweet will of a benevolent God. Investigation of the fossil record and the record of molecular biology show that 98 per cent of all the species which have ever lived on earth have lapsed into extinction. This also flies in the face of claims of intelligent design.

Hitchens makes a threadbare analysis of some concepts contained in the Old and New Testaments. Needless to say, this is most likely to offend many believing Christians while at the same time pleasing non-Christians. His critique on the Koran, Buddhist and Hindu holy texts enrages their adherents, but makes people of other religions happy. Strange are the ways of the faithful! His bold criticism of Islam is especially noteworthy as it came in the wake of the controversy following the publication of a few cartoons satirizing the Prophet in a Danish journal. The author affirms that there has never been an attempt in any age to challenge or even investigate the claims of Islam that has not been met with extremely harsh and swift repression. There has been no reformation in it.

A common argument of the faithful is that people would go morally astray in the absence of religion. The sheer fallacy of this claim is amply demonstrated in this book. Does religion indeed make people behave? A high moral character is not a precondition for great moral accomplishments, which is established by citing the example of Martin Luther King Jr. Slavery was recognised and condoned by religion in its heyday. This huge and terrible industry was blessed by all churches and scholars of Islam. For a long time, this aroused no religious protest. A great deal of campaign by Christian groups was instrumental in banning slavery eventually, but this came at a time when slave trade was finally caught up in the vicious net of diminishing returns and slumped profits. After slavery was abolished once and for all in the US at the end of the civil war, racial prejudices gurgled up again in the form of segregation and discrimination against coloured people. It was not until after the Second World War and the spread of decolonization and human rights that the cry for emancipation was raised again.

Mahatma Gandhi receives a dressing down from Hitchens on his alleged single-handed role in obtaining independence for India. The political situation was ripe for a change after two world wars and what Gandhi did was only pushing at an open door. His policies implied disaster for the country in the long-term. He wanted India to revert to a village-dominated and primitive spiritual society and was quite prepared to make hypocritical use of violence when he thought it might suit him (p.182). Millions of people would have mindlessly starved to death if his advice had been followed. When the imperial Japanese conquered Southeast Asia and the war reached the doorsteps of India, he chose the moment to issue his call for the British to quit India. Among the many bad consequences of the Gandhi/Congress decision to withdraw from negotiations was the opening it gave to Muslim league legislators to stay on in the state ministries which they controlled, and then to enhance their bargaining position when the moment of independence came shortly thereafter.

The final point of contention is the child abuse perpetrated by religion. Apart from the physical violations, which are themselves quite shocking, the indoctrination at a young age is cause for concern. If religious instruction were not allowed until the child had attained the age of reason, we would be living in a very different word. Mutilation of child genitalia in boys and girls run counter to the religious arguments on intelligent design. We should expect an all-powerful God who designed the reproductive organs of creatures to be a little more careful. Now, man has to come forward to correct the mistake after the child was born.

The book suggests that we are in need of a renewed enlightenment which will base itself on the proposition that the proper study of mankind is man and woman. The enlightenment is within the compass of the average person. Hitchens claims that he has been writing this book all his life and intends to keep on writing it. The book is a must have in the emergency kit of an atheist or rationalist. It is an easy read for the general readers too. Considering the wealth of useful data on offer, this book is worth its weight in gold.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 4 Star