I saw in the news this morning that Christopher Hitchens has died at the age of 62. Hitchens was a columnist, author, and pundit famous for his wit, his intelligence, and his often controversial views.

I know him bast as an outspoken critic of religion. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism were his main targets but he viewed all religion as wrong-headed and evil, as can be seen inthe subtitle of his book, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.

I've got mixed feelings about Mr. Hitchens. On the one hand I think his criticism of religion was mean-spirited and unfair, his understanding of the Bible superficial at best, and his suppositions about Christian theology often wildly innacurate. He was fond of making blanket condemnations such as this from God is Not Great where he says that religion is...

"violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism, tribalism, and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children."

Despite this, I have to must acknowledge that Hitchens often pointed to real problems that need to be dealt with. He raised important issues that need to be discussed honestly and seriously. While I often disagree--and strongly--with his conclusions, I think his questions are important and am grateful to him for raising them.

Goodbye, Christopher Hitchens. I'm not sure what to offer in farewell because I'm sure you'd scorn my blessing and be offended by my prayers. I guess I'll just thank you for making me think about uncomfortable things. I didn't end up where you'd have wanted me to, but I am better for having struggled with the questions.