What does the "reformed and recovered Christian fundamentalist" mean?
score:7
This isn't really about Christianity, but let me answer anyway.
First, please note that Christopher Hitchens was an extreme and vociferous opponent of both Christianity and Islam. Learning about Christianity from him is like learning about America by reading Soviet Cold War propaganda.
By "reformed and recovered Christian fundamentalist", Hitchens means that Michael Shermer used to be a "Fundamentalist Christian", but isn't any more. (Hitchens describes many Christians as "Fundamentalist" that most people wouldn't).
"Knowing the price of the ticket" means that these are people who have suffered in some way for speaking about about what they believe (or in this case, don't believe). I.e. they they have experienced the cost of speaking out.
Upvote:3
I have not read the passage in question before, but given what I know about Hitchens, he likely means that Dr. Michael Shermer used to be a Christian fundamentalist, but is no longer. A Christian fundamentalist is someone who argues that Christianity ought to only have a small number of doctrines, such as the inerrancy of the Bible and the Virgin-birth of Christ. The proper term "fundamentalist" however has also diverged to other connotations, and is sometimes used in contexts that are not theologically accurate.
I would also offer in passing that Hitchens is unlikely to be a good introduction to Christianity - he is heavily biased against it, so what he says should generally be taken with a grain of salt. For a much better introduction, I would read CS Lewis's Mere Christianity, or other works by CS Lewis or GK Chesterton.
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