Time spent arguing with the faithful is, oddly enough, almost never wasted.
Interpretation
Engaging in discussions with strong believers can be valuable, even if the debate seems unproductive.
Christopher Hitchens suggests that while debates with those who have unwavering beliefs may seem fruitless, they often lead to enlightening exchanges. These discussions not only challenge our own perspectives but can also prompt deeper understanding and reflection on fundamental ideas, thereby enriching the discourse on faith and belief systems.
In practice
During a lecture on the importance of dialogue, one could use this quote to emphasize the value of discussing beliefs.
In a public dialogue with Salman in London he [Edward Said] had once described the Palestinian plight as one where his people, expelled and dispossessed by Jewish victors, were in the unique historical position of being 'the victims of the victims': there was something quasi-Christian, I thought, in the apparent humility of that statement.
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Never ask while you are doing it if what you are doing is fun. Don't introduce even your most reliably witty acquaintance as someone who will set the table on a roar.
[E]xceptional claims demand exceptional evidence.
The worst days are when you feel foggy in the head - chemo-brain they call it. It's awful because you feel boring. As well as bored. And stupid. And resigned.
Let me tell you something: for hundreds of thousands of years, this kind of discussion would have been impossible to have, or those like us would have been having it at the risk of our lives. Religion now comes to us in this smiley-face, ingratiating way β because itβs had to give so much more ground and because we know so much more. But youβve got no right to forget the way it behaved when it was strong, and when it really did believe that it had God on its side.
One of our defects as a nation is a tendency to use what have been called "weasel words."
How beggarly appear arguments before a defiant deed!
Those religions that are oppressive to women are also against democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression.
Strange, isn't it, that no chemical will give a human being the iridescence that illusions have given them? Give me your hat.
I will defend the absolute value of Mozart over Miley Cyrus, of course I will, but we should be wary of false dichotomies. You do not have to choose between one or the other. You can have both. The human cultural jungle should be as varied and plural as the Amazonian rainforest. We are all richer for biodiversity. We may decide that a puma is worth more to us than a caterpillar, but surely we can agree that the habitat is all the better for being able to sustain each.
God's finger touched him, and he slept.
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