Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 1 of a section titled, "Good Works and Heroic Virtues" is preceded by three quotes. The first, from Confucius, says that wisdom involves keeping one's distance from the gods and spirits while showing them reverence. The second, from the novelist Joseph Conrad, suggests there is no real religion without a little fetishism. The third quote, from the novelist Salman Rushdie, asserts that the universe is disinterested in us, and there are no guiding stars. Chapter 1 opens with an attempt to show that rather than being essentially humane, Mother Teresa's work is aimed at creating propaganda for the Church. Hitchens describes a 1994 visit to the nun in Calcutta by Dr. Robin Fox, then-editor of the respected medical journal, The Lancet. In a subsequent article for the journal, Dr. Fox decries the lack of basic medical treatment and supplies for people at the...