Christopher Hitchens And Christianity

     One of my personal heroes and inspirations, Christopher Hitchens, passed away after a long fight with cancer on Thursday.  I can not put into words exactly how much this man has meant to me.  His book, "God is not great (how religion poisons everything)" changed my life.   I had been a christian for as long as I could remember, but within the last few years, I became somewhat disgruntled with organized religion in general, so much so that I tentatively became a deist.  Like the restless soul I am, though, I kept searching, trying to find a spirituality I could call my own.
     I read "God is not Great" and Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" one right after the other, and between the two of them I moved even further from the theist I had been, past the deist I had become, to become even closer and closer to an agnostic or perhaps even an atheist.   Dawkins reached me through well-thought out arguments, scientific fact, and cool, clear-headed logic.  Hitch got to me almost through sheer passion alone.  He BELIEVED deeply every word he said, took no prisoners, did not suffer fools gladly, and I responded to him on a deep, instinctual level.  I admire and respect Dawkins, but that old curmudgeon, Hitch, earned a place in my heart.
     His death, coupled with an incident I experienced this week, has brought to the forefront all my discomfort with religion that I often have had to bury for the sake of an uneasy truce with the church I have attended for 12 years and the people there I care about (the friends I have made are the only reason I have not left). 
     In brief, we had a movie night at the church on Friday.  In the past, such things were simply "fellowships"; you came, enjoyed the movie and hung out with friends at church.   We changed preachers a few years back, though, and things are different now.  THIS movie night was used as primarily a fundraiser for the church's school.  It cost two dollars a ticket to even get in (the movie was one you can watch on tv a million times at this time of year for free)and then every piece of food that you wanted to eat was a dollar.  Most of the food was food that the church had gotten donated for free to feed the needy (the church members of course had to pay for it).   Linda and our friends, the Wells, cooked everything else.  They spent quite a bit of their own money to make it, and yet, THEY still had to pay to eat at the movie too!
     I might be able to ignore all this stuff-after all, the church does need money to keep their shcool running-but...most of the students do pay tuition for their books and all.  I venture to guess that most of the money raised goes toward paying the teacher's salaries.  THIS is where it gets tricky.  ALL of the teachers but ONE are part of our preacher's FAMILY.   It just seems a bit too cozy for me.   He has five children and he has managed to find a way to put FOUR of them AND his wife on staff.  so, in other words, he, his wife, and four of his grown children all get paychecks from his church members.  They are almost the ONLY ones though.  Several other people have helped out teaching at the school as well from time to time, including Linda, and THEY don't get payed.
     Am I just too cynical about preachers and their motives, or has this guy conned his way into a cushy job and brought practically his entire family along with him for the free ride?  The movie night was conducted not as a church fellowship, but as a well-oiled business venture.  They had tables set up in the front; you payed as soon as you walked in, were given a ticket which you handed to someone who stamped your hand to prove you had payed, and then they made sure everyone payed for every bite of food they ate (I saw THEM eating too, though-wonder if THEY payed).   God, if it all IS just a money making scam for the preacher and his family, you couldn't think of much of a better one.  Hitch would yell bloody murder, and he might be right.