(Photo Credit: The Gospel Coalition)
It probably seems strange that a book about avowed atheist Christopher Hitchens is now in the "Top 5 Books I've Ever Read" List. I found this book remarkable, inspiring, and faith-strengthening. Let me tell you why.
One of the ways I work to redeem the time is by listening to podcasts, sermons, lectures, and debates when I am involved in some mundane task such as mowing the lawn or - in the worst case scenario - painting. In recent months, I've been listening to a good number of debates between atheists and Christians. When you search YouTube for "Debate Does God Exist", Christopher Hitchens often appears at the top of the list, and for good reason. Hitchens' book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything was a New York Times best-seller, and reached #2 on Amazon, falling behind only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Hitchens also wrote a wide variety of other essays, articles, and books such as The Portable Atheist, Mortality, and his autobiography Hitch-22, addressing topics as broad as politics. literature, and American history. Hitchens was sometimes known as one of the "4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse", along with Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Daniel Dennett. These men represent a new version of atheism, an aggressive version that is not merely content with taking a stance, but they are instead atheists who are actively working at converting others to their atheistic worldview.
To say it lightly, Christopher Hitchens had strong opinions, and not just on God, but on - it seems - almost everything. Hitchens was actively involved in debate while in college, and then throughout his career he made a point to take a strong stance against all things God-honoring and
Christ-centered.
The Faith of Christopher Hitchens by necessity offers the reader some background on Hitchens (his childhood, his relationship with his parents, his political involvement) but the main focus is on a friendship that Hitchens struck up with Larry Alex Taunton, an evangelical Christian writer and thinker. Taunton is also the founder and executive director of Fixed Point Foundation, an organization that aims to "defend and proclaim the Gospel in the secular marketplace, and to equip others to do the same." Through organizing debates, Taunton and Hitchens struck up a friendship that lasted all the way up to Hitchens' passing in 2011.
If you look at the cover of the book, the sub-title reads "The Restless Soul of the World's Most Notorious Atheist", and as you read this engaging and beautifully written book, you sense the unsettling nature of Hitchens' friendship with Taunton. Taunton is intelligent, measured, kind, and a genuinely nice person - and Hitchens had a hard time figuring out what to do with this. Taunton and Hitchens struck up a true friendship, one where Hitchens defended Taunton from some of Hitchens' own groupies, and when news of cancer came, Taunton was one of the first people to whom Hitchens reached out.
So why did I love this book so much? Here are 3 reasons.
1. In a world where so many seem to be oblivious and disinterested in God, this book shows the truth that God has indeed set eternity into the hearts of all mankind (Ecclesiastes 3:11). If Hitchens - despite his public persona and atheistic bravado - was truly a restless soul looking for "a higher love" (his own words), then I take great comfort in knowing that God is certainly working in the lives of those who appear to have no interest in God. There are days and even weeks when I walk around wondering if anyone I see out-and-about (at the gas station, at Target, at the grocery store) is thinking about God. This book lays out the truth that so often the external shell of callousness or aloofness toward the things of God actually hides a longing that exists in all people, even if it remains in large part hidden from the public eye.
2. This book affirms the truth that true love and friendship, combined with a clear and bold declaration of the Gospel, are powerful, Spirit-used tools. Taunton was bold and loving, direct and consistent, and perhaps most of all sacrificial in his love toward Hitchens. Though it would have been much easier to keep the discussion academic, Taunton took time to share his life with Hitchens, and this made a significant impact. At one point, Taunton shares with Hitchens that he (Taunton) and his wife have adopted a child. This throws Hitchens for a loop - he cannot grasp the selflessness of such an act. You can imagine the shock when Hitchens learns that this child is also HIV-positive. This makes no sense to Hitchens, but he knows there is something beautiful about this kind of love.
If you run toward brash preaching of the Bible, this book will temper you. If you run away from speaking about God and instead think that 'a kind life is enough', this book will press you.
3. This book reminds us that there is a power in the Word of God. While Hitchens is dying of cancer, he and Taunton take two trips - one down south to Taunton's home and then later on, they travel out west for a debate and some sight seeing. In various forms and at various time on these trips, Hitchens and Taunton read and discuss portions of the Bible, the Gospels in particular. Hitchens, as much as he speaks in harsh terms, cannot run from the image of Jesus he reads in the Bible. It is clear that the Gospels are impacting him, and while he may never admit it publicly, the questions he asks and the answers he gives to Taunton show a Jacob-like experience is ensuing.
I recommend this book for these three reasons and many more. When I completed this book, I felt sad because I wanted to know more of the two main characters and where they had been in their journey of friendship. That sadness - to me - is the sign of a well-written work.
