Ann Althouse highlights a quote from Martin Amis's latest book:"Since it is no longer permissible to disparage any single faith or creed, let us start disparaging all of them." and says that this "explains the recent atheism fad, doesn't it?."

The quote is from Amis's essay, The voice of the lonely crowd, [The Guardian, June 1, 2002] and she may have a point there—I suspect many writers wishing to hit out at violent Muslim fundamentalism feel a need to bash Christians as well, because obviously just disapproving of Muslims would be...racist.

In a related note, Kathy Shaidle says "As we continue to pray for [Christopher]Hitchens' reception into the Catholic Church (and you just know that's coming...)" we can delight in his attacks on the modern day preachers who consider themselves the heirs of Martin Luther King.

Stranger things have happened than Christopher Hitchens finding God, (I remember Chesterton's Father Brown had a similar case) but not much stranger.