@ Otto Bismarke: First of all, you are not a conservative, as you imply. Second of all, your trite, little parable is complete fiction. Lastly, your poor command of English and your cheap, tawdry insult to Tea Party demonstrators reveal you as a left-wing troll. You are too cowardly and ignorant to make a substantive argument, so you take cheap shots, instead. Crawl back under your government-subsidized rock.

So, in other words Alicia, if you aren’t a Democrat pushing for amnesty and entitlements, you aren’t for immigrants? And that makes you an inauthentic Cuban-American? Huh? What an idiot.

Well said, Minnie!

I take issue with your characterization of Alicia Menendez, sir! She is NOT pretty. (Unless vampire teeth turn you on, that is.)

Thank you!

Lon, I will accept that, from you. Your assessment is, in fact, more accurate than my own. In my initial outrage, I overstated my case. What I should have said is that the most moral people I know are atheists. I should not have implied that all atheists are moral, or all theists are not. Thank you for your level-headed contribution to the thread.

Well written, George. Don't waste your keyboard efforts with logic in here, though.

MY arrogance?? You believe there is no morality, except in your Judeo-Christian culture, and I am the arrogant one? That's rich! You can bet my idea of morality is at odds with your imaginary god's idea. The only amoral people I have ever known were religious. What's more, the worst are of varying religions, and yet they somehow all believe that theirs are the only, true, righteous ones. Christopher Hitchens is not waiting for Michael Gerson's acceptance or endorsement into his imaginary afterworld, and I am certainly not waiting for yours. Go pray to your "Creator of the Universe" for your own wretched, fetid soul, and leave me alone, hypocrite.

As the atheist son of the most moral man I have ever known, I am stunned that you could write such an article. The entire premise is that Christopher Hitchens is the rarest of all anomalies - a moral atheist. You have obviously led a cloistered life! In fact, atheists are, when viewed without religious blinders, the most moral of all people you will meet. We have no higher power to whom to confess our sins, or of whom to ask forgiveness. When we commit a wrong, we have only ourselves to blame, and we are the least likely to "forgive us our trespasses." I could give you a million examples from my upbringing, but this one comes to mind first: I once returned home from a date (with my wife of now 29 years), and bragged to my father...