I really want to like Christopher Hitchens, but he kind of gives me the creeps. I had more respect for him when I first glanced at this book on my father's bookshelf (a gift from my step-father) as a teenager, before I'd had to see his rather bloated, snide personage one too many times as a guest pundit on CNN. Now, I find myself not trusting him as much as I would like to, because he makes some good points.

Mother Theresa is not above criticism, and I see in this book much foreshadowing of the theme he beats to death in God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, namely, that religion throughout the world (and throughout history) is too often a shield for other evils, which are unattackable due to their being religious in origin.

The structure of the book takes us through a series of snapshots and film clips that Hitchens has assembled to create a portrait of Mother Theresa that is much more complicated that the one presented to the world. He asks good questions, such as what this Nobel Peace Prize recipient has actually done to promote the cause of peace, and makes good points about the real purpose of her work, which is not actually to relieve the poverty or suffering of the poor or sick, but to baptize them (secretly, and without their informed consent, at times). It's an easy read, and the chapter in which he discusses Mother Theresa's letter requesting forgiveness for savings and loan criminal Charles Keating was the high point of the book for me.

Wish hitch was still around.

For any would be contrarian out there, take your queue from Hitchen :) Hard to top something like “Mother Theresa is a crook”, and yet here we are. Convincing, eloquent and maddening.

Hace falta una clase especial de persona para meterse con una viejecita frágil que ha dedicado su vida a los pobres y desfavorecidos a la que le han dado un premio Nobel y que es considerada una santa por prácticamente todo el mundo. Cristopher Hitchens es ese tipo de persona. El libro insta a juzgar a la persona a la luz de los hechos y no los hechos a la luz de la persona. Sin embargo, aunque consigue cuestionar a la religiosa no puede ocultar un tufillo a vendetta y gusto por hacerse notar a través del escándalo. Sus argumentos tiene peso pero también son parciales.

Hitchens is always brilliant. Even when I don't agree with him, he's still brilliant. It saddens me to think that he's no longer alive, because I always thought that had we meet, I would have had the pleasure of talking to someone who was my intellectual superior. It's so rare for me to meet such a person.

Now on to the book. It's kind of short, but very precise, and to the point. It really doesn't need to be longer. I never knew much about Mother Teresa, though her policy on contraceptives and abortion greatly troubled me. I have also seen some footage before of her mission in Calcutta, and I have wondered why it's not in better condition, if she gets so much money. This books revealed it all to me, and as I am usually weary of religious charities, it just proved my suspicions. I recommend the book for everyone, not just as reading something on one subject, but also as a great example of why we should go after the truth of things ourselves, and not trust everything we see on TV. Or at least apply our critical thinking to it.

Who knew?

A good critical analysis.

This was not a long book, less than 100 pages with large type so it was a fairly quick read.

I've read Hitchens on Teresa elsewhere, so nothing here came as a surprise. A quick and well documented examination of assumed vs. true ends and their effect on means, say, of relieving suffering (or not) and other hypocrisies.

I am tempted to post the "inspirational" quotes from her letter to Judge Ito requesting leniency for Keating and her statements against birth control and in favor of overpopulation to FB as if I really found them meaningful, but I shall endeavor to behave. :)

Since reading this, I keep thinking about Mother Teresa’s orphanages and hospices as powerhouses devoted to harnessing and generating human misery like spiritual utility companies. If Christopher Hitchens’s portrait is correct, Teresa would not refute this analogy, but would, rather, explain how she’s harnessing pain for the glory of God and the betterment of his creation. The problem for her benefactors is the extent to which she masked her true mission—or the extent to which they allowed themselves to disregard it in favor of believing that her object was alleviating, rather than glorifying and concentrating, misery. The problem for the rest of us is that her mission was depraved.

Christianity begins with a tortured and dying god. This has given suffering a special place, and the Catholic church has long been suspicious of those who seek it. An acceptance—and veneration—of those who inflict it represents the very worst of the Roman church.

This is a book which must be read with an open mind and criticism as the subject in this book is a sensitive one (faith and Saint). Hitchens opened and closed his book with a thesis in "Judging Mother's Teresa reputation by her actions and words rather than her actions and words by her reputation." This is rather an eye-opening subject as prior to reading this book, I had no idea about the life of Mother Teresa other than she was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and dedicated her life to charity's causes.

Hitchens' analysis began with explanations about the nature of Catholicism and how it was institutionalised and elements of conservatism in it which are not aligned with current situation. A simple example of it is how homosexual acts are condemned, heterosexual acts outside of marriage are condemned, and the sexual act within marriage is condemned too unless it has reproduction as its object. There's a case of extramarital sexual act as the result of mass rape in Bangladesh which resulted in the women got pregnant and had little choice other than getting abortion to the unwanted children. In this matter one should think carefully about the action to take than simply saying "Let the children be born and the orphanage will take care of them."

I like how deep the analysis of Hitchens regarding the life of Mother Teresa and how much contradiction that she had made during her life. However, the tendency of this book is highly against the nature of Catholicism and to Mother Teresa itself. Some people might not be able to accept the "bitter" truth in this book.