Great Debates About God and Mr. Hitchens

There is a new book by one of my favorite essayists Christopher Hitchens

But there are two debates that are really good at bringing out Hitchens’ fundamental problem with religion and not with God (he states the two are “inseparable”).

The first is a written debate (my favorite form of rhetoric, frankly) in today’s Christianity Today Online (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/mayweb-only/119-12.0.html) which touches, though doesn’t go deeply enough, on the topic of the existence of God. Note one quote from Mr. Hitchens:

“Those who tell this evil story to small children are not damned by me, but have been damned by history and should also be condemned by those who shrink from cruelty to children (a moral essential that underlies all cultures).” (ED: you’ll have to read which story it is : )

But the tag line promises, “Theologian Douglas Wilson and atheist Christopher Hitchens, authors whose books are already part of a larger debate on whether religion is pernicious, agreed to discuss their views on whether Christianity itself has benefited the world. Below is their exchange, the first in a series that will appear on our website over the course of this week.”

The second debate is a traditional one with, of all people, the Rev. Al Sharpton! While I was reading this transcript in today’s New York Times (http://empirezone.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/07/hitchens-sharpton-and-faith/) I was struck at how even and right-on the good Rev. was! I was always under the impression, and continue to be, that he was more of a self-serving windbag, but I have to admit that he does come across pretty good! Read and enjoy…really! Read the entire Sharpton debate and tell me what you think! I’m reminded of Jesus’ admonition, “if they are not against us, they are for us.”