Christopher Hitchens on "What I have learned from debating religious people around the world":
"[Pastor Doug] Wilson isn't one of those evasive Christians who mumble apologetically about how some of the Bible stories are really just "metaphors." He is willing to maintain very staunchly that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and that his sacrifice redeems our state of sin, which in turn is the outcome of our rebellion against God. He doesn't waffle when asked why God allows so much evil and suffering—of course he "allows" it since it is the inescapable state of rebellious sinners. I much prefer this sincerity to the vague and Python-esque witterings of the interfaith and ecumenical groups who barely respect their own traditions and who look upon faith as just another word for community organizing. (Incidentally, just when is President Barack Obama going to decide which church he attends?)"
Read the whole thing here.
Thanks for this posting. I watched Mr. Hitchens and Pastor Wilson this morning on the Don Imus Show. I think Mr. Hitchens is a brilliant man..I often vehemently disagree with him but he always makes me think. I never fear examing my faith. I always come away refreshed and inspired. Not a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Hitchens is one of those rare atheists who can approach the debate without believing a priori that his opponent is a sniveling idiot. He does make a good point that most of the Christians he has debated must stick to a narrow script. However, if he believes, as he states, that he knows exactly what they are going to say, then he hasn't debated any well-informed Catholics. There are dozens of apologists (Father John Corapi, Pat Madrid, and Karl Keating to name a few) who could easily bring points of Catholic thought to the table that Hitchens has likely never heard, much less considered.
ReplyDeleteThey say that big surprises come in small packages, and that’s the plain truth, in my view. In this case the package was an article on Slate..
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this.
heh heh heh
ReplyDeletewhy would he stop flitting around on AFO in order to attend a church?? I mean, after all....he's the great one right??