The Best of Christopher Hitchens and the Famous Hitchslaps

Christopher Hitchens portrait

Who is Christopher Hitchens?

Hitchens, born in 1949, is famous for his powerful dialogues and debate moments, his thought-provoking books, and his social and religious critiques. He's become a fairly controversial figure, due to his confrontational debating style. Yet, he's seen as a highly respected intellectual by most. He held a career as a journalist in the United Kingdom from 1971—1981.

As a relatively famous anti-theist, Hitchens considered all religions false in the same way; he found them authoritative and harmful to society. He describes himself as anti-totalitarian, a democratic socialist, and even a Marxist.

What is a Hitchslap

Urban dictionary tells us that a hitchslap is basically when you concisely annihilate an opponent's argument (around politics and religion). He has tons of videos showing him doing exactly this.

Battle with cancer

Christopher suffered from a sudden pericardial effusion while touring to promote his books. It wasn't much longer that he announced he would undergo treatment for esophageal cancer. Sadly, Christopher Hitchens passed away on December 15, 2011, at age 62.

Best quotes and Hitchslaps

"Gullibility and credulity are considered undesirable qualities in every department of human life... except religion." —
"The gods that we've made are exactly the gods you'd expect to be made by a species that's about half a chromosome away from being chimpanzee." — University of Waterloo (2011)
"Take the risk of thinking for yourself; much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way."

Be sure to check out our Atheism page to learn more.