Note also his glee in the "who will be the dominant white male?" set-up, his candid vanity about such endeavors; the purpose is not really dialogue but a polemic pissing contest. Of course he prefers fundamentalist yoyos; more fun making them look stupid. Knock yourself out, Hitchens.

I am also a non-atheist who finds the "new atheism" refreshing, but usually puddle-deep because it seems to deal with a caricature of spirituality rather than treat it as a serious subject. Yes, most of faith is metaphor. Most of what people say they believe in is metaphorically true, not literally true, and they will dance around this point, maddeningly, forever. So I am very thankful for the likes of Hitchens in calling this out. It needs to be said.

However, there is a deeper truth to these metaphors that address a spiritual reality--the heart of the mystery of existence for which religion and maybe art alone are capapble of addressing satisfactorily. Yes, these are metaphors--but how else to address mysteries?