RIP Christopher Hitchens

It saddens then humiliates and finally angers me when I read of the gloating and hate filled messages posted about the death of Christopher Hitchens by many so-called 'christians'. Although I think that Hitchen's perspective on Christianity was wrong I can quite understand how such man would arrive at a negative conclusion given the drivel that he has had to suffer as an honest unbeliever and particularly as a cancer sufferer.

I too was been declared 'terminally ill' by the medical profession. Given six months to live...now six years later I have no reluctance in declaring my miraculous deliverance as being from the healing hands of Jesus Christ, in fact even the unbelieving doctor acknowledged something 'peculiar' in the disappearance of a tumour he had felt with his own hands and which bore no relation to the medical procedures that they had proscribed. I was the recipient of strong prayers by many powerful spiritual figures, I was also offered numerous ridiculously superstitious mumbo jumbo 'healing' ointments, recipes, methods and advice, some from well meaning but stupid Christians. I use the word stupid lovingly because I think that these are people who have suffered throughout their Christian 'walk' from a lack of 'meaty' intellectual food and are thus syncretized with the world around them.

I judge not however, because even though I have been blessed with really great teachers preachers and mentors, Istill recognise that some of the beliefs I hold are flawed and some are perhaps quite erroneous, thus I pursue life-long enlightenment.

Life experience has taught me that many Christians are amongst the most unforgiving, malevolent, stupid, violent, uncaring, selfish and moronic people on earth, and I include in myself many of the 'qualities' as listed here. This does not exclude them from the Kingdom however...such is the mystery of salvation...I believe that it is God's will for us all to be better than we were and to work towards an improved life here on earth, more like Jesus if you will. Are we kinder, more patient, less selfish, more generous, and generally better than we were yesterday?
This is the yardstick we need measure ourselves with.

But!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For goodness sake let us not suffer the unadulterated bovine faeces that some regurgitate as 'christian doctrine' (lower case deliberate) without rebuttal. 

For example it is not OK to gloat over the suffering of another human being no matter how much he or she deserves it, scripturally I can point to numerous passages that contradict such a position. Most who adopt this condemnatory stance are probably not Christian and conceivably might even be demonic in origin or at the very least, ignorant.

I believe in Heaven and Hell and I believe that those who choose not to accept the sacrifice of Jesus on their behalf are doomed to eternity without Him which in my book constitutes Hell, aside from the 'sufferings' described in the bible. I have made so many mistakes in my life yet I truly shudder at only one, and that is when I consider how close I came to making that one without retraction, the one with eternal consequences. That knowledge...of passing through the door of immortality and finding that you have made the biggest mistake of your life and that there is no way back, no way of correcting that mistake or of ameliorating the consequences of that choice...that would be enough to send me over the edge into instant madness I am sure.

Therefore let us pray that all who cross that final frontier do so ensconced in amazing Grace and for those who don't, pray for mercy.

PS I thought that Christopher Hitchens communicated eruditely about many issues and with a refreshing honesty. In pertinent ways his life was a testament to truth and courage and he adopted stances that I believe pleased his maker far more than some of the options too many Christians and 'Christian' leaders employ.
PPS 22.12.2011
This piece on Hitchens vs Havel by Michael Cook has given me some food for thought. Perhaps Hitchens' final body of work will not stand the test of time! Perhaps it will. Nevertheless Michael makes some telling points:
read them @.....http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/just_one_hitch_with_all_those_eulogies