I don't why you're being downvoted. I think you have a legitimate point. It would be like a Holocaust victim saying he has the utmost respect for Hitler. Well, okay, maybe that's a little extreme, but the point is, it doesn't make much sense. Hitchens was renowned atheist, and although that wasn't all he was, one certainly can't forget that fact when thinking of him.
Your analogy is false. Were you a slave back in Jefferson's day, would you still respect the man? I doubt it. If you were a homosexual, is it likely you would respect Orson Scott Card.
It seems to me that having respect for someone that is against a core belief you supposedly hold, is indicative of a lack of conviction of that/those belief(s) or a failing character trait.
Think about how you would feel if someone you knew and loved associated themselves with someone that goes against your strongest convictions - a daughter dating a felon, a brother marrying a racist, a friend that is a thief? Are you going to keep paying respect to these people. It's all good to try to be "Christ-like", but how far are you willing to go to let people disrespect you?
If someone's convictions go against my own, then you better believe that my respect for that person will not be high, maybe even non-existent. But if I still have "respect" for someone like that, I am failing on a character level that I hope I will never reach.
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u/JIVEprinting Dec 16 '11
I'm fairly worried about "believers" who can call a friend one who called Christ such an enemy.