Videos: Atheism vs. Christianity

Christopher Hitchens vs. Doug Wilson - May 22, 2021

Remnant Review

Christopher Hitchens was a highly skilled self-promoter.

Hitchens cemented his position as atheism's baddest boy when he wrote a hit piece on Mother Teresa, The Missionary Position (1995). It got so much publicity that there is a Wikipedia entry on it.

In 2007, he became known as a member of "the four horsemen of the new atheism," along with Richard Hawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris. They produced a video of a two-hour discussion in 2007: The Four Horsemen. That was a play on words of the four horsemen mentioned in Revelation 6, who were forms of God's judgment. The video is here. The title indicates that they saw themselves as judges of God.

In 2008, he sought publicity for his recently published book, God Is Not Great. He made a challenge to debate any Christian on the existence of God. Doug Wilson, founder of New St. Andrews College in Idaho, took up the challenge.

A documentary producer decided to record the debates.

This series of debates was written up on NPR here.

Last fall, journalist, literary critic and proud atheist Christopher Hitchens went on a debating tour with Pastor Douglas Wilson. The topic: "Is Christianity good for the world?"

The argument started with the release of Hitchens' book, God Is Not Great. Instead of a regular publicity tour, Hitchens wanted to debate the thesis of his book with anyone willing to take on the challenge. Wilson answered the call.

They filmed their debates, and then edited them for a new documentary called Collision.

There were three debates: New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

The first debate took place at King's College in New York City. The moderator was Marvin Olasky, an ex-Communist -- yes, a "card-carrying" Communist -- who became one of the major intellectual figures in the modern evangelical movement, the author of over two dozen books.

The second debate took place at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Westminster is Calvinist, as is Wilson.

It was summarized on December 9, 2008, by the moderator. That summary is here.

The third debate is not online. Here is a promotional video.