The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice

Rating:
Summary: Bound to Enrage and/or Enlighten
Review: Like Hitchens' other books, this one is a feat of intellectual integration, coming at the topic from a direction few might think to take. It has probably set a lot of blood to boiling. Not being one of the "Teresa cult," and taking a jaundiced view of her flaunting of "humility," I found it enlightening, though sad. One does want to believe that it is the poor, and not their "helpers'" self-promoting sanctity, to which one is contributing. To find that the former are admittedly a mere vehicle for the latter is depressing--as is the information that it is not the orders' poverty that deprives its "beneficiaries" of antibiotics or relief from pain.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, biased, phobic analysis
Review: "The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice," is handicapped by Christopher Hitchens' anti-Catholic views. Those who agree with Mr. Hitchen's point of view, of course, will find my review offensive, but they are the prime audience for his book. He preaches, to use an ironic phrase, to the choir.

While analysis of Mother Teresa is important so as to separate the truth from myth, Hitchen's objectivity skews his assessment. This is unfortunate because he is skilled and bright and an otherwuse terrific writer.

I hardly would expect a decent writer to bow down to Mother Teresa, but likewise, a decent writer can balance his views with that of objectivity. Hitchens is not a reporter or socio-religious analyst, but a writer who might be better off pontificating in a coffeehouse.

Displaying a minimal knowledge of the motivations of a Christian, Hitchens seems to have been naive that the most committed believer (of any faith, but Roman Catholic Christianity in this case) desires to share that faith that some might have that faith.

Charging Mother Teresa with Christian evangelistic motives is like being surprised that Babe Ruth had the desire of hitting homeruns or that Michael Jordan intended to take the ball from you and shoot it. Come on, Hitchens, do a little research on Christianity!

I do not recommend "The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice," as it is inflamed with Hitchens' own phobic attitudes about faith.

Anthony Trendl

Rating:
Summary: Pessemist
Review: Christopher Hitchens is getting at an interesting point, but I don't like the way he puts absoluteley everything against Mother Teresa. She did several wonderful things, although like everyone else,she made mistakes. As the priest of our church says "look to the future, not the past.

Rating:
Summary: Triple Entendre
Review: In swift and sly prose, Hitchens relates his personal observations of Mother Teresa's clinics in Calcutta. He tells one story of a nursery full of starving, sick babies crying in insufficient cribs, which M. Teresa describes as the way "we fight abortion." He writes of men dying of AIDS, denied pain medicine, because according to M. Teresa, their suffering will assure them of ultimate salvation. Paitients too weak to object are baptized in their final hours.

I have now doubt that all of this is true, and at first glance it is surprising, but it shouldn't be. M. Teresa is a Roman Catholic nun and Mother Superior; in fact, founder of an order. She is not merely Christian in a vague way, but a zealot for Catholicism. I knew this-- in fact I even knew that at one point, all she allowed her nuns was an impoverished diet of rice, and insufficient calories of that, because she thought they should the same thing as the people they served. This was not necessary, as her order had plenty of money. She began feeding her nuns a living diet only after the Pope ordered her to do so.

I suppose as a Catholic nun and zealot, she's did a fine job, but I don't think most Americans, especially non-Catholic Americans, knew this. Every year, millions of dollars are donated to her order, most of which sits in banks, while patients in her hospitals suffer from insufficient care. Some of this money comes from non-Catholic Americans who know next to nothing about M. Teresa and her actual mission. All people know is some vague idea that there's a lot of hunger and inadequate medical care in Calcutta, and M. Teresa order is doing something out there to help.

Christopher Hitchens lets people know exactly what she did; anyone who reads this book will never blindly donate money on the assumption that since there's poverty in Calcutta, any money sent to charity workers there must be doing some good.

More than exposing her clinics, Hitchens shows the disingenuous way M. Teresa has presented herself to the world. There is here in the book reprinted a very quaintly written letter on behalf of Charles Keating(!) reprinted here, yet plenty examples of her savvy that belie the innocent charm of her letter.

Hitchens does not hide his distaste for his subject, and while it is easy to accuse him of less than objectivity, he does stick to the facts; he just reports them with biting, venomous words. If you are a fan of M. Teresa, this book will offend you. If you seek the truth about her, you must read this book. If you have always harbored doubts about her, but never had any real evidence, this book will be a great relief, as your gut feeling is confirmed.

Rating:
Summary: A nun's true story
Review: I had always suspected that the little nun of Calcutta had plenty to be ashamed of. After all it must take a real cynic to preach against contraception, promote a monotheistic (well almost)faith in a 'do ut des' fashion in a country such as India. and why tollerate suffering when she had the financial and political backing to build a top - notch medical facility instead of a waiting room for death. I also encourage this book to those who are diffident of religion, particularly in this time of fundamentalist challenges - and not only from dreaded Islam.
A worthwile, eye-opening and cathartic read. Enjoy and think.

Rating:
Summary: Hitchens is to be applauded for his boldness, stupidity
Review: Hitchens is not afraid to expose our most beloved figures for the lying, trecherous devil-worshippers they are. Many will be reluctant to accept Hitchens allegations of Teresa's involvement in international terrorism, child sex-slave trafficking, heroin smuggling, political assassinations, etc.. And although he presents no valid basis for any of his allegations, he is to be applauded for his blind, die-hard cycnicism and willingness to open himself up to a serious butt-whipping.
I can't wait for his next book, "The Real Gandhi: Sadistic Pimp of Gujurath."

Rating:
Summary: The box of Pandora is open
Review: Hitchens is willing to go places no one else will. Here he examines the real life and actions of a modern day icon. He raises real concerns and questions about Mother Theresa's actions and alliances. I would have given the book a 5 but, to be honest, some of it seemed extreme in its criticism. I would definitely recommend reading this book to at least create awareness of the possible hypocrisies that do exist with this extraordinary woman's life.

Rating:
Summary: A sad polemic scraping for dirt
Review: If this is the worst that can be said about Mother Theresa:

- That she, as an openly religious person, felt that tending to the spiritual needs of the poor was also important (anyone not realising this when donating to a religious order is stupid - I dont remember her ever pretending to seperate her beliefs from her work).

and

- That out of the thousands, if not millions, of people who donated money to help her create hospitals, clinics and churches some of them may not have been as honest in their business dealings as they portrayed themselves to be.

...then perhaps she does deserve the fast track to sainthood.

Regarding her relationship to dictators, on becoming an international figure she drew a lot of attention from all social and political stations. She was known for not turning people away. This is a good thing and only an armchair liberal who never actually tried to do any real good in the real world would object - demanding hands unsullied by touching those who may be doing evil.

This is not the same as endorcing evil. I do not see where she endorsed evil. Christ ate with the tax collectors and prostitutes, but this does not mean he endorsed what they were doing. He tried to speak to their humanity - not a bad thing to do to someone who hold the lives of millions of his citzens in his hands.

The author's poor understanding of theology or of Mother Theresa's statements and beliefs, I dont think even has to be mentioned as his arrogant judgemental tone speaks clearly of the shallow intellectual depths at play here.

If you want to read a book desperately trying to find a way to prove that any religious person trying to help people is ultimately an evil blight on the world then this book will give you comfort.

If you stop and think a little deeper though about what little the author has really come up with and the breath of scope of what this woman did, it may just make you admire her.

I also note, as mentioned in another review, that there is no Arm Chair want to be intellectual Hospice for the Poor next door to any of Mother Theresa's around the world. I find her work much more serious than this author's.

Rating:
Summary: ......
Review: Find a woman who is as old as the venerable Mother Theresa, and look through the long life. If you'd like to find evidence of wrongdoing, certainly something this woman has done may qualify. Is she a greedy Catholic whose only desire is Sainthood? You must be kidding! Everyone one makes mistakes, but on God's scales, her's is nearly vertical.

Rating:
Summary: Left's contempt for humanity
Review: Anyone who wants a decent insight into the left's complete contempt for humanity would do well to read this book as well as the following reviews. Mother Theresa was not a Nation reader. If she were, she might have known that the proper etiquette for an enlightened, socially conscious-secularist would be to disregard the sufferings of any actual people and instead go to the local Starbucks or grad school seminar (or Amazon review sheet) and pontificate to the other documentary film-makers what she could do for the poor. Perhaps she could have gotten a degree in social work or health management and written articles to the Nation about the wonders of universal healthcare and population control. Perhaps she could have joined her local board of skeptics and freed people from the silly illusions of life actually having some sort of purpose. Obviously, she didn't. What she did was to gather dying people into her own arms and carry them into her home. She cared for real people with real blood and stench, real life and death. This makes her a natural enemy to the left who love humans in the abstract but maintain nothing but contempt for real people(who has ever seen a socialist leper colony or an atheist home for the disabled?) I suspect that whenever Hitchens finally falls off his barstool and joins his buddy Kissinger in the great beyond, he might see things a bit differently. I pray as much.