Gotta disagree there, Jon. I think comments like Mobile's do mean something -- just probably not what he intended. That's because it says infinitely more about the commenter than it does about Hawking or any other atheist.
I am repeatedly amazed at how often the most vocal Christians exhibit the most incredibly un-Christian behaviors, simply because someone else believes differently from them.
WWJS indeed.
Btw - it isn't JUST atheists.
I watched a number of Christians suddenly come out of the woodwork to express their dismay over specifics of Billy Graham's doctrine before his body was even cold. They'd done plenty of that in his life; they can do it in three months. WHY come out now with that objection? There's times I think it's driven by a spirit of self-importance. "Hey, Billy Graham was well-known and I'm not......so if I post this nasty post about him on the Internet, maybe folks will listen to me and not him."
I just personally think the condescending "well now (George Carlin/Christopher Hitchens/Stephen Hawking/Whoever) knows he was wrong and is burning in Hell" is incredibly.....well, it's a really arrogant and more important UNLOVING way to approach things. Let's just assume that Christianity IS the sole truth it claims to be.......what kind of person would take any kind of JOY in someone suffering for eternity?
I know it can get heated on this board at times, and I can be as guilty as anyone. And yeah, it's normal to think about "Okay, is there anything after death" out there at specific times. It'd be a little different if someone expressed SADNESS if they hold to that view. James White, a Protestant apologist, had set up to debate Hitchens back in 2010 I believe. The very moment he learned of Hitchens's cancer, he immediately contacted him to withdraw from the debate because Hitch had more important things on his plate. He also - while yes, holding to the Christless eternity of Hitchens - had a LOT good to say about him and even said basically what I'm saying here about the whole snide thing.
After all - it literally IS but for the grace of God or is supposed to be.
(And yes, I think post-death conversion stories are disgusting myself).