The renowned atheist, author and philosopher Christopher Hitchens affirmed to the American Atheists conference over the Easter weekend, that even though he had lost his voice to esophageal cancer, his atheistic beliefs were stronger than ever.
Hitchens wrote a letter to the conference, where he encouraged fellow unbelievers to remain united and to carry on the “secular revolution.”
“Our weapons are the ironic mind against the literal; the open mind against the credulous; the courageous pursuit of truth against the fearful and abject forces who would set limits to investigation (and who stupidly claim that we already have all the truth we need),” wrote Hitchens.
The atheist, made famous by his book “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything,”and by the debates he engaged in with well-known Christian leaders, honestly shared that he was in a “long argument” with the “specter of death” in which no one has ever won. Yet, Hitchens assured the conference, as the idea of death becomes more familiar, so the “pleading for salvation, redemption and supernatural deliverance” becomes “more hollow and artificial”.
Hitchens said he placed his trust in medical science and the support of friends and family rather than the “false consolations of religion.”
Hitchens is presently undergoing experimental cancer treatment for his stage 4 esophageal cancer. One of the doctors that helped design the treatment is none other than the evangelical scientist Francis Collins. Collins is a previous debating opponent of Hitchens, but now they are firm friends.
Hitchens has previously warmly praised Collins, saying they enjoy a “wonderful relationship” despite their religious differences.
Hitchens concluded the letter by encouraging his fellow atheists to continue resisting “this sinister nonsense,” and to defend and uphold the separation of church and state. Hitchens finished with the words "Don’t keep the faith.”