The next chapter of Peter’s book is chilling. He describes the last days of the Soviet Union and the years he lived there, along with his experiences as a journalist in Mogadishu. The take away point from this chapter is found here, and it is a point that the church in the West — evangelicals …
Not Exactly From Pacifist Stock
Peter Hitchens’ next chapter was profound and moving. Entitled “Britain’s Pseudo-Religion and the Cult of Winston Churchill,” he makes the brave move of identifying the carnage of the two great wars of the 20th century as a massive blood sacrifice to false gods. He does this on the basis of the meaning that was assigned …
Tattered Magnificence
Peter’ next chapter is a brief one, and I will be even more brief. It is more explicitly autobiographical, and concerns the tattered magnificence of an England that was clearly visible when Peter was a boy, and which is now almost entirely gone. It is important to note that this chapter is not Peter giving …
A Pointy Hat With Stars and Crescent Moons
In his next chapter, Peter Hitchens writes about the Christian education he received, and the reasons it didn’t “take.” The main reason is that the Christianity, what there was of it, was on autopilot. He learned the same content his fathers had learned, including the missionary journeys of Paul, but what was taught to him …
Wineskins Soaked in Wine Puddles
In his next chapter, Peter Hitchens writes about the threshhold that England crossed during his boyhood. The chapter is about the culture-wide failure of nerve, and is entitled “A Loss of Confidence.” Here he astutely points out that atheism is not so much an individual opinion, honestly derived from the force of inexorable arguments, but …
Too Clever By Half
The first chapter of Peter Hitchens’ book is entitled “The Generation Who Were Too Clever to Believe.” He begins with his own story, how he burned his Bible as a fifteen-year-old in full revolt against everything he had been brought up to believe (p. 17). “At that moment I knew — absolutely knew — that …
A Carnival of Adolescent Petulance
In my ongoing discussions of atheism, I have in this place reviewed Christopher Hitchen’s book, God is Not Great, and now, Lord willing, I will do the same thing with his brother’s new book. That book is entitled The Rage Against God, which will release in early May here in the States. For UK readers, …