It doesn't seem like the surprises in 2011 are anywhere near over yet. I realize that some people might say that
Christopher Hitchens death should come as a surprise to anyone. It was very public how sick he was. Given that everyone is going to die doesn't make the death of anyone easy. I was hoping that maybe God would spare his life and heal him but even better if God turned Christopher Hitchens into an evangelist for God instead of against God. None of us knows what Hitchens spiritual state was when he died and trying to guess what it is pointless. Instead I'd rather just think about the fact that his wit and intelligence and eloquence will be missed despite the fact that I didn't agree with everything he said or wrote. One non debatable fact is that he knows for sure whether he was right or wrong. Is there and afterlife or is there not? I think finding out for sure after you die is the wrong way to find out. Instead, it's better to know by knowing God for yourself. There are several great websites that are covering this. Here are a few links that I think you should see if you don't see any of the others.
Christopher Hitchens: 13 April 1949 – 15 Dec 2011 - Apologetics 315
Douglas Wilson wrote an article reflecting on Christopher Hitchens (
link). I think that this particular article is priceless because although the two debated a few times and did not agree on a few fundamental things about life they had a mutual respect and admiration for each other.
A few weeks before Christopher Hitchens was supposed to
debate Dr. James White, the debate was cancels because of Hitchens diagnosis and his need to start treatment immediately. The debate never happened. But on his blog posted a video and his web cast from 12/16/2011 in which he discusses Hitchen's death and a wide variety of subjects. Get the
link here.
So how should
Christians respond to the death of Christopher Hitchens? I think a good example is the one set by his brother Peter.
Peter Hitchens is a Christian and he wrote an article about seeing his brother for the last time and how much he meant to him and who Christopher was as a person. It's beautifully written and I can't recommend it enough.
Read it here.
