Atheism Aside: Peter Hitchens' Journey to Faith - CBN.com

[golftheology]

Proverbs chapter 1 - the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Why not do something bizarre, like open a Bible and read, it cos the entrance of God's word brings light.

[d00df00d]

Interesting that CBN saw fit to say so many things about Christopher without giving him a chance to respond.

Also interesting that they end with the idea that fear was what turned things around for Peter.

I have to imagine they have no idea how this stuff makes them look.

[axl170]

lol, at least Peter Hitchens admitted that the reason he is a Christian is because of abject fear. It's not often that you'll meet monotheists like him who will be honest about the effect of religion's primary tool of psychological coercion. Peter is not even worthy to be a stain on the shirt of his much braver and more convincing big brother.

[sirinferno]

@axl170 at least he's not dying of cancer

[axl170]

@sirinferno Peter wouldn't have the grace or the courage to handle cancer without hoping that an invisible friend will sort things out for him in the end. 

[sirinferno]

@axl170 there's nothing courageous or gracious in what Chrisopher Hitchens is doing; it just sucks to be him knowing death means party time for the worms

[axl170]

@sirinferno Hitchens is confronting non-existence without fairy tale illusions and showing grace at the conclusion to a lifetime of advancing ideas and changing the way people think, which is far more courageous than clinging to the hope that incantation will alter the natural order and create an exception just for one's own case, so one won't have to go through what billions have already endured because one' finds it too scary to die.

[sirinferno]

@axl170 how's he showing grace? and changing the way people think isn't courageous; kim jong il does it, and there's nothing particularly noble as to what he does.

[axl170]

@sirinferno Every system of thought, every advancement in human knowledge and awareness has been the result of active debate, dialectic and challenging conventional wisdom. If it is your belief that any challenge to conventional wisdom and prevailing thought in a given time period is equivalent to Kim Jong Il and his squelching of every dissident opinion in North Korea, then I'm afraid you've lost sight of all moral equivalency and you need a lot more help than someone like me can provide.

[sirinferno]

@axl170 but not every active debate, and challenge to convention wisdom leads to the advancement of human knowledge and awareness. i never said any challenge to conventional wisdom and prevailing thought is equivalent to kim jong il, that's you putting words in my mouth. i said that changing the way people think is not, in itself courageous.

learn to identify arguments correctly before becoming arrogant.

[melzaren]

@axl170 I agree. To admit that an icky painting made him scared to go to hell and that terror "restored his faith"... Well, that doesn't really help his credibility.

[whiteliketar]

@axl170 Oh shut up! fear is a damn good thing. It's the catalyst for many a good precaution in the path of life.

[axl170]

@whiteliketar If one thinks that fear is a damn good, honorable reason for a man to subject oneself to eternal slavery to an absolute and totalitarian authority, then I really can't say any more to persuade you of what is so repulsive about that degree of abject self-abnegation. Pledging allegiance to religion or to any dictatorial authority out of fear does not sound like "goodness" to me, but if you think that is honorable and good, then so is Peter Hitchens' reason for believing in God.

[whiteliketar]

@axl170 right...but fear is only one dynamic among many many other human emotions and you can't deny that fear does lead to better innovations in safety,etc - I believe if we really really think hard on the origins of life and listen to every side - you really have to have a lot more faith to believe in the things atheist put forth. The human body is a machine - much , much more complex than any machine humans can make - I don't even now if the word complex can be sufficient -

[axl170]

@whiteliketar If you hear every argument and study the size and scale of the universe, the hardest thing to believe is not the atheist's lack of credulity, but to believe that the universe was all designed with us in mind, that a sentient being created all this and its colossal and imperfect suburbs just so that we human beings could have eternal life in an everlasting dictatorship in which he will rule over us absolutely..... that is actually the hardest thing to believe.

[whiteliketar]

@axl170 sorry - I grew up in atheist family although mellow by todays standards - It's is the most illogical thing to look about you and see every single thing and completely disregard the fact that everything made in the world has an intelligence behind it and the more sophisticated the thing - the more intelligent and technical the designer.Even vinter who was involved in the genome mapping from the private side and who 'created' and patented his first life form - it was from his intelligence

[axl170]

@whiteliketar If you look about you and imagine that everything is the responsibility of a being who is just like you, and an intelligence that is eerily like your own (which is what is posited by every religion that has a deity), then who is the one with a limited mind and a tendency to simplify everything down to the most minute and modest dimensions?

[sulljoh1]

I certainly don't think Christianity is a stupid notion that only an idiot could follow. It upsets me when my fellow non-believers act that way. It is not helping the cause to be smug.

[Interactivesystems]

@sulljoh1 as a fellow atheist I agree 100%. We must promote tolerance and not arrogance.

[sulljoh1]

@Interactivesystems Much love to you, Interactivesystems. We can be strong advocates of truth and evidence without all the name-calling. I met Dawkins in a social situation and he is a nice guy but one of the things that bugs me about him is how he dismisses religious people as idiots. They are not stupid. Well some of them are, but then some atheists are stupid too. We have the evidence on our side. There is no need for insults and accusations. We can still be nice. Sorry: Rant :-P

[mrspogadaeus]

Praise God! We need to pray for Christopher.