God is not Great [マスマーケット]

本作品は2007年に上梓された「問題作」であり、Abrahamic Religions=キリスト・ユダヤ・イスラム教の三大宗教の神は偉大ではないと強く主張する強烈な作品である。
英国生まれで２０数年前からに米国に居を構えるジャーナリスト・評論家であり、歯に衣着せぬ表現で宗教の理不尽と論理破綻、倫理的矛盾等を批判することで有名。著作活動の他に、テレビやラジオの討論でも1人異光を放つ存在である。

ヒッチェンズはリチャード・ドーキンズ（生物学者）、サム・ハリス（人類学者）、ダニエル・デネット（哲学者）と共に最も著名でな無神論者と捉えられている。この４者はそれぞれのスタイルで科学的・論理的根拠を礎に強く宗教の克服を提唱する点で共通している。
ヒッチェンズはイラク・アフガン・イスラエル・ベルファスト・ボンベイ、ベオグラード等多数の紛争地でのジャーナリズム経験と宗教が理由で引き起こされた殺戮・虐殺・分断等を目の当たりにしてきた経験を持ち、政治的・歴史的事実を元に宗教を糾弾する。

また、新旧聖書、コーラン他の聖典の知識はそこらの神父やムッラーでは太刀打ちできないレベルの把握力を持つ。
あまりにも辛辣な批判をするため、敬遠する人々は多いが、その批判は事実と圧倒的な知識量に裏打ちされているため、強固な説得力を持つ。討論で論理破綻に追い込まれ、口をつぐんだ有神論者は数知れない。

一例だけ拙訳であるが氏の発言を載せたい。アブラハムが神に対し実の子を殺して捧げた逸話に関して
「神が服従の証として、実子を殺して生贄として捧げる事を強要するならば、私は"F**K YOU!"と答えてやる。」

無宗教が根付いている日本では、宗教批判が欧米でこれほど物議を醸す事に馴染みがない者が多いと思われるが、ヒッチェンズの明快かつ憤怒溢れる表現と説明に、宗教問題がいかに重要な事柄であるか、痛感できる一書だと思う。

間違いなく良書。ちなみに世界では数百万部のベストセラーとなっている事実は、宗教問題への関心の高さを裏付けてもいる。
日本語訳で出版されていない事に少し驚いた。

Having finished reading this book the first thing I would point out to a potential reader is that the subtitle provides a better description than the main title. Hitchens goes to great length to point out the many and varied crimes of institutionalized religion. This is something that not even the most devout Catholic would deny. The crusades, the inquisitions, burning people alive and other horrible and immoral acts fill the history of religion like a syringe filled with poison. Hitchens' main point, and also something that I thing most people of any religion would agree with, is that these acts shouldn't be forgotten or forgiven simply because they were done in the name of any particular religion. Immoral acts are immoral no matter who does them.

Indeed in the varied reviews that people have given of this book, critical reviews nearly always forget to even mention these crimes and immoral acts. They might get caught up with something as pedantic as the wording of a scriptural quote. To me this seems like a rather pathetic argument. It's much like a murderer in court saying "Look, forget about him saying I killed all those people - he said I wore brown shoes when I was clearly wearing black!". It picks at minute details to distract from the larger ones.

That's not to say that reasonable religious readers will agree with this book wholeheartedly. Hitchens makes no attempts to hide the fact that he does not believe in God, and feels there is absolutely no compelling reason to do so. He even goes on to point out that if you were to practice your religion and beliefs in the comfort of your own home, he wouldn't have the slightest problem with it. He does, however, object to the god described in the old testament as an immoral monster.

Overall there is a lot to take from this book, regardless of your personal views on the matter. Its focus is perhaps less controversial than The God Delusion in that the crimes detailed are a matter of historical record and considered horrific mistakes even by the most conservative of church-goers. If I had to make only one complaint about this book it would be that I didn't always feel that the examples given fell exactly in the subject of the particular chapter where they were placed. The examples were compelling and important to know about, but sometimes I feel they would have been better used at different points in the book to support some other argument.

I would recommend this book to anybody regardless of their beliefs if only so that they can be aware of the wrong that can be done in the name of religion and do their best to avoid it ever happening again.

Months before his death to cancer, Christopher Hitchens in an interview with Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman reiterated his contention that religion will not be a last minute part of his ailing life. No death-bed conversions for Hitch, and it's pretty certain he kept his word.

Christopher Hitchens was one of the most able and brilliant writers to tackle any subject, be it politics or religion. Here, in this fine book published in 2009, he cuts to the point about religion and its damning influences. More importantly, he posits two main ideas: the first is pretty much self-explanatory in the title; and the second is that in no way does religion make one a better or moral person. While citing examples of religious figures throughout history to fairly contend they were capable of good, if not great, things (Martin Luther King is a shining example, although Hitch assures us he had his flaws in drink and women; not so kind is he to Mother Theresa, Ghandi or even the untouchable Dalai Lama, all of whom may have done charitable deeds in their time, but certainly fall well short of perfect), Hitchens balances these observations with examples of Atheism doing good, and the three great monotheistic religions doing plenty of horrid stuff all in the name of faith.

The Catholic Church gets a particular grilling, thanks to its history of Inquisitions and dalliances with the Nazis. But so does Judaism, which in some of its more extreme manifestations is still mired in truly dark ages; Islam gets its equal dose, not least because of how it's been used to drive young men to fly air planes into buildings, but also for its often backward ways--or its outright theft of scripture from the Bible! Furthermore, Hitchens takes on cults of personality as pretty much religion by rote: North Korea is a good example, in which we find that its late leader Kim Jong Il was not in fact leader of his country any more than his portly son of a successor; the father Kim is still considered the actual leader even in death, while his successors merely run the party! Even Eastern faiths come under fire. Let's just say Hitch is fair in his critique!

What is most engrossing is the exhaustive footwork Hitchens put into this book. He provides plenty of examples of scriptural and historical facts to present his case, and in the end the reader is both mesmerized and thankful that Christopher Hitchens did all of the work! The detail is amazing, as he provides example after example of damning evidence to prove his argument. And prove it he does. For its sheer volume and detail alone, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything is impossible to put down.

Of course another feature of Hitchens is his way with the English language. Possibly nobody comes close at least from the last century in terms of his way with words, or his cutting humour. It's the sort of skill, coupled with the extensive detail, that begs the reader to have another go. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything is that good.

Like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens was a towering intellect and excellent spokesperson for the atheist movement. It is sad Hitch is gone, but he leaves behind his brilliant work. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything is a must-read for any struggling atheist who feels alone or afraid to come out. It's an empowering read.