The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice
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- Create Date：2021-08-08 08:51:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Christopher Hitchens
- ISBN：1838952241
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Summary
Among his many books， perhaps none have sparked more outrage than The Missionary Position， Christopher Hitchens's meticulous study of the life and deeds of Mother Teresa。
A Nobel Peace Prize recipient beatified by the Catholic Church in 2003， Mother Teresa of Calcutta was celebrated by heads of state and adored by millions for her work on behalf of the poor。 In his measured critique， Hitchens asks only that Mother Teresa's reputation be judged by her actions-not the other way around。
With characteristic elan and rhetorical dexterity， Hitchens eviscerates the fawning cult of Teresa， recasting the Albanian missionary as a spurious， despotic， and megalomaniacal operative of the wealthy who long opposed measures to end poverty， and fraternized， for financial gain， with tyrants and white-collar criminals throughout the world。
A Nobel Peace Prize recipient beatified by the Catholic Church in 2003， Mother Teresa of Calcutta was celebrated by heads of state and adored by millions for her work on behalf of the poor。 In his measured critique， Hitchens asks only that Mother Teresa's reputation be judged by her actions-not the other way around。
With characteristic elan and rhetorical dexterity， Hitchens eviscerates the fawning cult of Teresa， recasting the Albanian missionary as a spurious， despotic， and megalomaniacal operative of the wealthy who long opposed measures to end poverty， and fraternized， for financial gain， with tyrants and white-collar criminals throughout the world。
Reviews
Miriam Jafroudi
，
Everything I expected it to be。 Hitchens had a talent to say things that you have been thinking about for a long time， but that you have not been able to put into words。
Kylie
，
Excellent writing， as one would expect from Hitchens。 I would have liked a little more background about some of the countries/situations Hitchens discussed。I read this in between listening to episodes of The Turning podcast， which is about sisters who left the Missionaries of Charity。 It's an excellent podcast and I recommend giving it a listen before or after reading The Missionary Position。 Excellent writing， as one would expect from Hitchens。 I would have liked a little more background about some of the countries/situations Hitchens discussed。I read this in between listening to episodes of The Turning podcast， which is about sisters who left the Missionaries of Charity。 It's an excellent podcast and I recommend giving it a listen before or after reading The Missionary Position。 。。。more
A Bushra
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First rate journalism and superb prose， I would add a comment about how witty and bitingly satirical （nay， funny） the writing is。 Still， grim reality in many ways。
Garima Ahuja
，
Hitchens did a fascinating job pointing out the irony of Teresa's good works。 The book rightly questions a person's long held beliefs in Teresa's personality。 All the case studies give unbiased evidence that Teresa has voluntarily supported several malicious acts。 Hitchens did a fascinating job pointing out the irony of Teresa's good works。 The book rightly questions a person's long held beliefs in Teresa's personality。 All the case studies give unbiased evidence that Teresa has voluntarily supported several malicious acts。 。。。more
Ellis
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Quite an easy read， I don't have any problems with this book and i think that it is interesting to debunk the myth that mother teresa was a saintly no wrong doing figure， however i think it is in some aspects unfair。 I don't regret reading it and got some good facts but unfortunately it isn't quite good enough for 4 stars。 Quite an easy read， I don't have any problems with this book and i think that it is interesting to debunk the myth that mother teresa was a saintly no wrong doing figure， however i think it is in some aspects unfair。 I don't regret reading it and got some good facts but unfortunately it isn't quite good enough for 4 stars。 。。。more
Mahe
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Hitchens clinically dismantles the facade of service that was built around 'mother' Teresa。Some of the instances he describes give you chills as you read so much so that you'd keep wondering how could someone who's so cruel， heartless and corrupt to the core get away with all those ways for so long。 Hitchens clinically dismantles the facade of service that was built around 'mother' Teresa。Some of the instances he describes give you chills as you read so much so that you'd keep wondering how could someone who's so cruel， heartless and corrupt to the core get away with all those ways for so long。 。。。more
Mike Futcher
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In attacking the legacy of Mother Teresa， Christopher Hitchens' aim in this polemic is true。 It is not so much that she loved the poor but that she fetishized poverty， replacing humility with abjectness and spirituality with anti-materialism。 Her missions refused – on dogmatic principles – to deliver proper medical care to the poor and needy who visited， and the places stayed that way for decades， even after the flood of donations that resulted from her fame。 （And Hitchens asks: Where did all th In attacking the legacy of Mother Teresa， Christopher Hitchens' aim in this polemic is true。 It is not so much that she loved the poor but that she fetishized poverty， replacing humility with abjectness and spirituality with anti-materialism。 Her missions refused – on dogmatic principles – to deliver proper medical care to the poor and needy who visited， and the places stayed that way for decades， even after the flood of donations that resulted from her fame。 （And Hitchens asks: Where did all that money go？） It was a conscious decision to enhance the suffering of the poor， the better to experience 'the glory of God'。 Needless to say， Hitchens is not a fan of this needless cruelty。He also points out that it is hypocritical， for whenever 'Mother' herself became ill， she checked into the finest clinics that （other people's donated） money could buy。 "There is no conceit equal to false modesty，" Hitchens says on page 91， and in the nauseatingly pious Teresa， doing more harm than good， he has the archetype of the foolish religionite he so despised。You can understand why Hitchens' takedown caused a bit of a stir back when it was published， but you may also wonder whether it is worth reading this book nowadays， given that Mother Teresa is long gone。 Well， Hitchens also throws a few punches towards her champions。 Politicians and vested-interest-types got a lot of mileage out of their donations to her missions， with the armour provided by their association with her proving very useful indeed （not least to the dictators she also graced with her patronage）。 Hitchens reserves his best powder for Teresa herself， but these champions in media， politics and elsewhere also get theirs。 Their purchased indulgences， and eagerness to use the suffering of the poor as an opportunity to demonstrate their goodness， are what we would nowadays call 'virtue-signalling'。However， the book is not comprehensive。 It is disappointingly short; a sort of cursory overview of what Mother Teresa really was， as opposed to what the media made her out to be。 Hitchens introduces each of the points but never goes into great depth about any of them， and before you know it the chapter has moved on and soon the book has ended。 The Missionary Position has the right strategy – "judging Mother Teresa's reputation by her actions and words rather than her actions and words by her reputation" （pg。 103） – but does not go on the campaign。 It is a fine war map， but with the individual battles left unfought。 。。。more
Kathleen Spratt
，
Christopher Hitchens？ NOT a fan of Mother Theresa and he's not afraid to tell you exactly why。 You may be thinking， "Well， he's an atheist， what do you expect？" But Hitchens digs into the roots of exactly what she has done to harm the world， and pulls those roots out to expose them to daylight。 In short， she may not be the saint you think she is。。。。 but quite the opposite。 Read it and found out why。 Christopher Hitchens？ NOT a fan of Mother Theresa and he's not afraid to tell you exactly why。 You may be thinking， "Well， he's an atheist， what do you expect？" But Hitchens digs into the roots of exactly what she has done to harm the world， and pulls those roots out to expose them to daylight。 In short， she may not be the saint you think she is。。。。 but quite the opposite。 Read it and found out why。 。。。more
Hannah
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Far more measured than I’d predicted going in。 Honestly could have done with a bit more substance。
Jb
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For any would be contrarian out there， take your queue from Hitchen :） Hard to top something like “Mother Theresa is a crook”， and yet here we are。 Convincing， eloquent and maddening。
Andrea
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You learn something new every day。 While I'd certainly heard the rumblings that Mother Teresa was not all she's cracked up to be， I wasn't aware of the extent。 Though I'm not anti-religion as Hitchens is， I do appreciate the exposure of hypocrisy。 You learn something new every day。 While I'd certainly heard the rumblings that Mother Teresa was not all she's cracked up to be， I wasn't aware of the extent。 Though I'm not anti-religion as Hitchens is， I do appreciate the exposure of hypocrisy。 。。。more
Andrew
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Always valuable to read differing facts and perspectives on the people held up as paragons。 Simply described using facts and real information。
Laurie Thompson
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I knew the woman was vile， but thank you Christopher Hitchens for laying it all out， blow by hypocritical blow。 As always， hucksters will be hucksters; the tragedy is how many people buy it。
K。T。
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This book reads very fragmented and disorganized which certainly distracts from Hitchens’ point being made but for a book title referencing “theory and practice” it is also very short and sparse on anything resembling theory or firsthand accounts of Mother Theresa in practice。 This half-baked pamphlet is not a profound or engaging examination of the other story of Mother Theresa。 The accounts （again from other people） were shocking; MT saying AIDS is “just retribution for improper sexual conduct This book reads very fragmented and disorganized which certainly distracts from Hitchens’ point being made but for a book title referencing “theory and practice” it is also very short and sparse on anything resembling theory or firsthand accounts of Mother Theresa in practice。 This half-baked pamphlet is not a profound or engaging examination of the other story of Mother Theresa。 The accounts （again from other people） were shocking; MT saying AIDS is “just retribution for improper sexual conduct” （52） and of Hindus and Muslims being surreptitiously baptized but this book reads like the first draft of an undergrad’s capstone paper。 And criticizing a “devout” Catholic nun for not advocating for abortion/birth control is a non-starter。 。。。more
Bahulya Rishi
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A very readable book - short and precise。 Not much for a conclusive proof but certainly some circumstantial evidences which Hitchens somewhat exaggerate with his 'God' （heh） given quality of persuasive writing。 Surely， makes an Indian more skeptical of her intentions （which we should be all the time for everyone）。 A very readable book - short and precise。 Not much for a conclusive proof but certainly some circumstantial evidences which Hitchens somewhat exaggerate with his 'God' （heh） given quality of persuasive writing。 Surely， makes an Indian more skeptical of her intentions （which we should be all the time for everyone）。 。。。more
Ravi Rangachari
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Mother Teresa: A colossal fraudA brilliant and highly analytical piece of work that exposes the true and largely unknown side of the collosal fraudster who goes by the name of Mother Teresa
Alistair
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ContentsForeword ixAcknowledgements xixIntroduction - 3A Miracle - 17Good Works and Heroic Virtues - 35Ubiquity - 77Afterword - 101
Nihal Lele
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Mother Teresa was a great woman， who helped poor people and spread the teachings of Jesus Christ。 But in the words of Christopher Hitchens， she was not truly a great person。 In this book， he talks about the various things that support his point of view。 I think it was well written， but he might have been too harsh on Christianity and religion。 Also， all his points are negative throughout the book。
A J
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Classic HitchensI love books which allow you to see the truth to things， as a person interested in facts and evidence， its good to see how the world really works。 I didn't know anything about Mother Teresa， I like most people had just heard the name as a force for good。 However as Hitchens explains this was part of a media storm which completely sensationalised what was going on。 The problem is Hitchens style， I've always found him very hard to read which ultimately makes this small book a slog。 Classic HitchensI love books which allow you to see the truth to things， as a person interested in facts and evidence， its good to see how the world really works。 I didn't know anything about Mother Teresa， I like most people had just heard the name as a force for good。 However as Hitchens explains this was part of a media storm which completely sensationalised what was going on。 The problem is Hitchens style， I've always found him very hard to read which ultimately makes this small book a slog。 。。。more
Hiroko
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In Japan， Mother Teresa is assessed as a high-integrity person who had nothing to be blamed， so it’s quite surprising what I could learn from this book。 How deceitful of the media is， as well as Mother Teresa had been。
Eithan
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An eye opener about what a radical fundamentalist Teresa was。 Her mission wasn't helping anyone， it was not letting people get abortions and getting as many people as she could to become christians- whether they wanted it or not An eye opener about what a radical fundamentalist Teresa was。 Her mission wasn't helping anyone， it was not letting people get abortions and getting as many people as she could to become christians- whether they wanted it or not 。。。more
Bobin Johnson
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Beautifully articulated
Ilana
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Definitely need to write a review for this very important book。 Read it please。
Kendall Concini
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#readingchallenge2021 （my extra books！）Pros & Cons- The Pros: there were interesting insights into the disparities of Mother Teresa’s actions & reputation; with notable highlights shedding lights on the ‘misguided’ ways in services were provided to ‘help’ but instead hindered。The Cons: The author really approached the narrative， sort of like a witch hunt， presenting her as an unknown evil almost， with schemes & agendas， but the argument wasn’t necessarily detailed to the context。 He gave great e #readingchallenge2021 （my extra books！）Pros & Cons- The Pros: there were interesting insights into the disparities of Mother Teresa’s actions & reputation; with notable highlights shedding lights on the ‘misguided’ ways in services were provided to ‘help’ but instead hindered。The Cons: The author really approached the narrative， sort of like a witch hunt， presenting her as an unknown evil almost， with schemes & agendas， but the argument wasn’t necessarily detailed to the context。 He gave great examples of ways in which her help was ‘shockingly unhelpful’， but it was if he made mountains out of molehills- There was no balance， there was no backstory- he started right at the controversial parts， but hadn’t set up a comprehensive overview of what she spent decades doing- it was too narrow in scope-there was too large of a legacy to be such a small book on such specific instances; there needed to be more- he needed to be willing to look at her overall legacy and splice together the good & the bad， allowing the reader to make judgements， not just spoon feed them his take on it all。 。。。more
Helia
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Mother Teresa won the Noble Prize for peace among many others。 She did not spend the money of prizes or what money others donated to her foundation to improve the poor's state of living。 I think the people Hitchens calls credulent and mediocre wanted some way to clear their conscience， so they donated their money， projected their own short-lived kind-heartedness onto her and moved on with their lives。 I can't help but compare her to a two-faced popular girl in high school。 She claims many things Mother Teresa won the Noble Prize for peace among many others。 She did not spend the money of prizes or what money others donated to her foundation to improve the poor's state of living。 I think the people Hitchens calls credulent and mediocre wanted some way to clear their conscience， so they donated their money， projected their own short-lived kind-heartedness onto her and moved on with their lives。 I can't help but compare her to a two-faced popular girl in high school。 She claims many things， is firm in her belief， passionately defends what she believes in。 But she is a hypocrite， and that fact is largely ignored by all her admirers。 What's more， this woman became well-known on a global scale and was elevated to sainthood。 That makes it a bit worse。 。。。more
Ian D
，
Μεγαλοβδομάδα έχουμε κι εγείρεται το εξής δίλημμα: Τι να κάνεις για να μυρίσουν γιορτές， από τη στιγμή που είμαστε σε εγκλεισμό και δεν παίζουν οι παραδοσιακές κραιπάλες με νηστίσιμη εσάνς κατάνυξης; Να δεις Ιησού από τη Ναζαρέτ σε επανάληψη; Ξέρω τι γίνεται。Να ακούσεις Πέτρο Γαϊτάνο; Δεν είμαι φαν。Στην Υγειά Μας με καλεσμένη τη Γλυκερία; Δεν το γλυτώνουμε。Ή μήπως να διαβάσεις αγαπημένο Christopher Hitchens να αποδομεί την αμφιλεγόμενη φιγούρα της Μητέρας Τερέζας; We have a winner！ Θέλει και ρώτ Μεγαλοβδομάδα έχουμε κι εγείρεται το εξής δίλημμα: Τι να κάνεις για να μυρίσουν γιορτές， από τη στιγμή που είμαστε σε εγκλεισμό και δεν παίζουν οι παραδοσιακές κραιπάλες με νηστίσιμη εσάνς κατάνυξης; Να δεις Ιησού από τη Ναζαρέτ σε επανάληψη; Ξέρω τι γίνεται。Να ακούσεις Πέτρο Γαϊτάνο; Δεν είμαι φαν。Στην Υγειά Μας με καλεσμένη τη Γλυκερία; Δεν το γλυτώνουμε。Ή μήπως να διαβάσεις αγαπημένο Christopher Hitchens να αποδομεί την αμφιλεγόμενη φιγούρα της Μητέρας Τερέζας; We have a winner！ Θέλει και ρώτημα;Δε μας λέει τίποτα καινούριο （θρησκευτικός φανατισμός， υπεξαίρεση χρημάτων， ύποπτες συνεργασίες με δικτάτορες και απατεώνες， οι θέσεις της ως προς την αντισύλληψη， το AIDS， την έκτρωση， κτλ） όμως το κάνει καλύτερα απ' τον καθένα。 Και για να παραφράσω τα λόγια του Joey Tribbiani， φαίνεται πως η Μητέρα Τερέζα τελικά δεν υπήρξε καθόλου καλή μητέρα。 Αλλά είχε marketing που θα ζήλευε και η Apple。 。。。more
Tanja Berg
，
This is a very short book about how Mother Teresa really wasn't so saintly after all。 It's not a mean book， it's completely based on fact。 Mother Teresa visited despots， dictators and received large sums of money that she apparently did not spend on the poor - but that would have been enough to set up a very modern hospital in Calcutta。 Her centers for dying including not giving enough pain killers and not saving children and youngsters from curable diseases。 Plus being vehemently against birth This is a very short book about how Mother Teresa really wasn't so saintly after all。 It's not a mean book， it's completely based on fact。 Mother Teresa visited despots， dictators and received large sums of money that she apparently did not spend on the poor - but that would have been enough to set up a very modern hospital in Calcutta。 Her centers for dying including not giving enough pain killers and not saving children and youngsters from curable diseases。 Plus being vehemently against birth control， even though reducing the number of children in poor families increases the well being of the entire family。 No， she wasn't so saintly after all。 。。。more
Jozef
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Toch nog eens de moeite om te lezen hoe iemand die door de helft van de wereld als een heilige wordt aangezien eigenlijk een schijnheilige is。In de stijl van Hitchens。 Scherp， maar gefundeerd en met een indrukwekkende taalacrobatie。Dat laatste maakt het boek wel lastiger om lezen voor iemand die niet native Engelstalig is。 Dat gevoel had ik ook met "God is not Great"。 Toch nog eens de moeite om te lezen hoe iemand die door de helft van de wereld als een heilige wordt aangezien eigenlijk een schijnheilige is。In de stijl van Hitchens。 Scherp， maar gefundeerd en met een indrukwekkende taalacrobatie。Dat laatste maakt het boek wel lastiger om lezen voor iemand die niet native Engelstalig is。 Dat gevoel had ik ook met "God is not Great"。 。。。more
~Jo~
，
Hitchens does a grand job of taking down the woman that has been worshipped for her apparent saint-like qualities for time， by in particular， the Catholic Church， and obviously， not forgetting， the press。 It is without a doubt， that over the years， she built up a huge amount of fame， and within this short book， Hitchens， with his marvellous wit， asks the questions which many others didn't dare to ask。As the title itself consists of a sexual position， Hitchens uses humour beginning from the front Hitchens does a grand job of taking down the woman that has been worshipped for her apparent saint-like qualities for time， by in particular， the Catholic Church， and obviously， not forgetting， the press。 It is without a doubt， that over the years， she built up a huge amount of fame， and within this short book， Hitchens， with his marvellous wit， asks the questions which many others didn't dare to ask。As the title itself consists of a sexual position， Hitchens uses humour beginning from the front cover， but have no fear， this is only the start to uncovering who Mother Teresa really was。 Many questions are raised， such as these;How can one person publicly claim to have a very personal relationship with Jesus？ Why was she obsessed with saving "souls" and not actual people？ She advertised her campaign against anti-contraception， and actually， the children in her overcrowded sanctuaries were the result of that campaign。 Why did she refuse the use of antibiotics or painkillers， therefore increasing suffering and even death， where it was entirely unnecessary？ While she worked with the poor， she didn't actually do anything to improve their situation， such as sanitation。 Where did all of those funds go？ It is clear that Mother Teresa was hell-bent on converting as many people as she possibly could to Catholicism， and during that， ensuring that people joined her on her ridiculous campaign against abortion and contraception。 Hitchens includes many examples of documentation in here， so people who were on the fence about her， probably won't be after this， unless of course， blind faith is involved。 This was， in short， an interesting and humorous book， and quite honestly， whether you rate Hitchens or not， truth be told， he certainly was good at what he did。 。。。more
Emily Necciai Mayeski
，