It is Pray for Christopher Hitchens Day

Today has been set aside for Christians to pray for the health and soul of outspoken atheist and author Christopher Hitchens, who is dying from cancer of the esophagus. Hitchens himself has said, while he does not discourage kid intentions, not to bother “deaf heaven with your bootless cries.” Unless, as is the kindest way in which Hitchens describes the purpose of religious belief, it makes you feel better.

Consider there are three groups of Christians praying for Hitchens today, assuming there are a significant number who will. First, there are those praying for a horrible demise thanks to his constant crusade against Christianity. Second, there are those praying for a deathbed conversion. Finally, there are those praying for a miraculous recovery. Hitchens is a cynical man, so the hatred in the hearts of the first group and arrogance of the second are going to be irritating. The final group demands far more faith than a practical man like Hitchens can appreciate. I confess sympathy to some degree with his viewpoint on all three groups.

We are all going to take that march into twilight no matter who we are or what we believe. The trip is going to be far longer and comfortable for some, short and brutish for others, or perhaps some combination thereof. I am not entirely certain there is a point for praying for miraculous health or safety on behalf of another for any reason other than showing your own good intentions. There is something to be said for that. Far more to be said for it if done quietly and alone where no one will know.

That Hitchens has had such a long run as a declared enemy of god is a testament to the patience and mercy of God. What I take way from Hitchens’ lie, aside from the occasional nuggets of wisdom eve those so frequently wrong about the important issues can still possess, are those revelations of God’s character. In the end, hitchens willingly chose his path, but inadvertently revealed how good god trult is. One hasto wonder how God fits such things into his ultimate plan.