The Rage Against God

[Valin]

Books & Culture:

The other side of the story.
Jonathan Sprowl
3/4/11

Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau: the story of feuding brothers is one of the oldest in the book. Now it's time to add another chapter. In The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith, Peter Hitchens challenges, head-on, the claims of his older brother, Christopher, and like-minded atheists. As the provocative title suggests, Peter shares his brother's cheeky style. His approach is simple. He pulls back the curtain on post-Christian societies of the past and examines the wreckage.

Hitchens begins with an account of his atheist youth in Britain. He describes the church's contribution to the "cult of noble death" that still flourished during his childhood, and how it lost credibility during the postwar era of disillusionment. This backdrop provides a timely reminder of the danger of mixing faith and patriotism. As a result, Britain replaced the elegant poetry of faith with the prosaic myth of certitude and eroded the foundation of its morality in the process. Hitchens sees the same trajectory in present-day America.

(Snip)

So too, he argues, when the new atheists call for a secular society free of the moral entanglements of religion, what they have in mind is "not just an opinion seeking its place in a plural society. It is a dogmatic tyranny in the making." The notion that "those who win are also right," he adds, "is and must be the core of all ad-hoc human-based moral codes." It is false optimism at best that leads atheists to believe that they can remove the heart of a nation's morality and replace it with a platitude like "common decency" without risking a moral collapse.

(Snip)

[pollyannaish]

That sounds really good. I think I may have to add that to my ever optimistic reading list. I've come to admire both Hitchens brothers, but after hearing them debate on the radio (Hewitt, I think) I came away admiring Peter far more than his brother. Peter was able to cut through the intelligent defenses of his brother and allow Chris's vulnerabilities to show. It was quite impressive.

 

I've always been suspicious that Christopher protested too much. I fully expected him to have his own road to Damascus moment. I fear however as he becomes increasingly ill, the moment has past and pride won out in the end. He seems to be clinging even tighter to his positions.

[Valin]

That sounds really good. I think I may have to add that to my ever optimistic reading list. I've come to admire both Hitchens brothers, but after hearing them debate on the radio (Hewitt, I think) I came away admiring Peter far more than his brother. Peter was able to cut through the intelligent defenses of his brother and allow Chris's vulnerabilities to show. It was quite impressive.

 

I've always been suspicious that Christopher protested too much. I fully expected him to have his own road to Damascus moment. I fear however as he becomes increasingly ill, the moment has past and pride won out in the end. He seems to be clinging even tighter to his positions.

 

 

There's This.....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oip8HS2Onw8

 

&

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXC76-LZrwQ

 

I also like and admire Christopher. The fact that he is a militant atheist is something I don't understand. But then I don't understand atheism. I guess I just don't have enough faith to believe all this just happened.

[pollyannaish]

I definitely admire him too Valin! He's a brilliant guy with excellent points...sometimes even against Christianity as it is and has been practiced.

 

But I'm with you on it all just "happening." We are far too fearfully and wonderfully made for that.

[Valin]

I definitely admire him too Valin! He's a brilliant guy with excellent points...sometimes even against Christianity as it is and has been practiced.

 

But I'm with you on it all just "happening." We are far too fearfully and wonderfully made for that.

 

 

“God save me from my friends - I can protect myself from my enemies.”

Claude Louis Hector de Villars

[pollyannaish]

I definitely admire him too Valin! He's a brilliant guy with excellent points...sometimes even against Christianity as it is and has been practiced.

 

But I'm with you on it all just "happening." We are far too fearfully and wonderfully made for that.

 

 

“God save me from my friends - I can protect myself from my enemies.”

Claude Louis Hector de Villars

 

That is absolutely the truth.

[righteousmomma]

I had posted on another forum several months ago a long interview with Peter Hitchens that was in the Daily Mail online:

http://xrl.in/8p6m

 

There were many great quotes that I saved but my favorite at the moment is this one:

 

I have, however, the more modest hope that he might one day arrive at some sort of acceptance that belief in God is not necessarily a character fault, and that religion does not poison everything.

Beyond that, I can only add that those who choose to argue in prose, even if it is very good prose, are unlikely to be receptive to a case which is most effectively couched in poetry.

 

I know exactly what he means. Its like the Genesis Creation account. A beautiful and simple and yet a thoroughly profound "mystery" in poetic word picture from God. Inspired to give us knowledge of Him so that we might enjoy Him Forever. Not meant to be a science lesson. Not meant to be taken in literal meaning of every word of prose.