Religion of every kind involves the promise that the misery and futility of existence can be overcome or even transfigured. One might suppose that the possession of such a magnificent formula, combined with the tremendous assurance of a benevolent God, would make a person happy. But such appears not to be the case.: unease and insecurity and rage seem to keep up with blissful certainty, and even to outpace it.
Christopher HitchensAvoid stock expressions (like the plague, as William Safire used to say) and repetitions. Don't say that as a boy your grandmother used to read to you, unless at that stage of her life she really was a boy, in which case you have probably thrown away a better intro. If something is worth hearing or listening to, it's very probably worth reading. So, this above all: Find your own voice.
Christopher HitchensThe fragility of love is what is most at stake hereโhumanity's most crucial three-word avowal is often uttered only to find itself suddenly embarrassing or orphaned or isolated or ill-timedโbut strangely enough it can work better as a literal or reassuring statement than a transcendent or numinous or ecstatic one.
Christopher HitchensThe trade-off between freedom and security, so often proposed so seductively, very often leads to the loss of both.
Christopher Hitchens