Is Christianity Good for the World?

Is Christianity Good for the World? A Debate, by Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson

Internet-wise, I was at the right place at the right time. When I was reviewing Doug Wilson's Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning, I stumbled across a blog post at Canon Press offering Doug Wilson's latest for bloggers to review. Even though I was months late, the very kind Frank sent me not one, but three books to review. This is about as close as I will ever come to winning the lottery, and this was much healthier for my soul!

This morning at breakfast, I just finished Is Christianity Good for the World?, a debate between celebrated atheist Christopher Hitchens and the always-pithy Douglas Wilson. Despite the serious subject matter and considerable intellect of the two authors, it's an engaging little book which I finished quickly (especially considering I was usually feeding a toddler while reading it). It began as a series of articles sponsored by magazine Christianity Today and evolved (if I may use that word) into this book.

I love a good debate, and this one was fun. Logical arguments, spotting fallacies and weak reasoning, trumping the opponent... these all make my nerdy heart go a-flutter. This debate all came down to authority, at Wilson's insistence. Hitchens started by railing against totalitarianism and religion, and pitted them against atheism and free will. Wilson responded by saying that unless you glorify God as God and give thanks to Him, argumentation is moot. Wilson kept trying to ask why Hitchens could use words like 'right,' 'wrong,' and 'evil' if morality, as he claimed, was a product of our evolved species. Hitchens argued that his morality was more noble because he was motivated by goodness itself and not fear of an imaginary afterlife. I thought it was interesting that despite Hitchens claiming the moral higher ground, he was consistently disdainful and made Wilson seem even more polite by contrast. Here's an example of his tone:

Deists used to agree with you about a Creator but were not religious in that the assumption of such an entity did not license the further assumption that he or she desired to intervene in human affairs, let alone the assumption that the torture and death of a single individual in a backward part of the Middle East was the solution that we had been awaiting for tens of thousands of years of brutish homo sapiens existence. (p. 52)

In my opinion, Wilson not only proved Hitchens' evasiveness in showing a basis for his standards of right and wrong, but he also showed himself to be funnier and kinder. After much civility, Wilson finally broke down and wrote:

You write like a witty but acerbic tenth-century archbishop with a bad case of the gout. (p. 64)

So, is Christianity good for the world? Hitchens seemed stuck on attacking all religion in general, and Wilson became (necessarily) focused on asking how an atheist had any moral claim to right and wrong, if we're all just 'matter in motion' and continually evolving and besides, who is to say that morality won't evolve to something totally different in the future? Wilson's arguments reminded me of "The Great Debate" between my old pastor, the wonderful Dr. Greg Bahnsen, and Dr. Gordon Stein. I'm paraphrasing from my recollections from high school when we studied this, so I encourage you to check out the video or transcript, but Dr. B trounced the guy by basically saying, "You're using the standard of 'right' and 'wrong' to judge me, but a godless world has no basis for absolutes. You're just borrowing from my own worldview."

Of course I'm a Christian, but I think Wilson showed his position to be more interesting and logically sound than Hitchens'. More than that, however, is Wilson's grace: congeniality towards his opponent, thankfulness to God and Christianity Today for the forum provided, and the grace given in the gospel message at the end of the book. Especially during the upcoming book tour and public debates, I hope this book changes hard hearts by changing stubborn minds. I think that Wilson's argumentation and Hitchen's celebrity will make this debate another one for the history books.

UPDATE: I was really thinking of the Bahnsen vs. Tabash debate, not Bahnsen vs. Stein. That's okay, they're both brilliant.

Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall

Fables: 10001 Nights of Snowfall, by Bill Willingham et. al.

Dark, dark, dark. This was another one of my graphic novel experiments. My honey scoffs whenever I say the words "graphic novel" which I have to admit, really is a way to say "comic books for grown-ups." He prefers to read technical manuals, which I call "comic books for nerds." This graphic novel was definitely R-rated. I guess I should have expected it, but it still took me by surprise. The book was so imaginative and the illustrations are so beautiful, that as long as you are prepared for the subject matter it's worth the read.

Here's the set-up: story-book characters have been chased from their homeland by a mysterious and gruesome enemy called "The Adversary." He and his ogres either can't or won't follow the Fables through a portal into our world that deposits them into New York City. Snow White is sent as an ambassador to a powerful caliph in story-book Arabia to form an alliance against the Adversary. Instead of conducting political negotiations, he marries her that night with the intent to kill her in the morning. Rather than beg for her life, she tells him a story. And another, and another. Soon it's morning and he agrees to let her live for one more day... and more stories.

Each of Snow White's stories are illustrated by a different artist, and the work is amazing. There is quite a range, but the writing (by Bill Willingham, who apparently is a legend) is what really grabbed me. He had an inventive take on the stories we all grew up on, but it made me wonder if anyone reads the Brothers Grimm and fairytales for their own sake anymore. Shrek 1, 2, and 3 strip-mined every story children might know and movies like "Stardust" and "Brothers Grimm" play in those worlds but don't follow the rules. Willingham took it even further. Not only are there the dark elements from the original stories, but then there's the really dark elements from Willingham's post-modern deconstruction of the stories and his 21st-century take on evil.

The imagination in these stories is amazing, and if you enjoy art at all you'll be drawn into the illustrations. I don't think I'll read the rest of the series though. If you have (or will), let me know--I want to know how it ends!

Happy Anniversary, Me!

I was just browsing some old posts, and I realized that I started this blog exactly one year ago. How cool is that? Usually, I don't remember dates until it's too late to do anything, so I'm glad Providence directed me towards introspection tonight.

I started this blog on October 4, 2007, with the hopes of sharing my thoughts with you, gentle reader, and learning a bit more about myself. Hopefully you've liked what you've read. Or at least, you know which books to avoid. Browsing through the categories, I'm surprised by how much fiction I read, and a little embarrassed by the fluffy stuff there. I definitely went through a foodie phase earlier this year. Christianity is a constant category. (Whew!) The titles I've chosen to read are revealing, but what has surprised me the most is how much I've come to enjoy the process of writing my thoughts, and not just giving out recommendations. I hope I am becoming a more discerning reader through the process of blogging. Thanks for reading along with me.

Carry on, Jeeves

Carry on, Jeeves
by P.G. Wodehouse

In a word, hilarious. I think this was Wodehouse's first book in the Bertie Wooster series. It's about a British dandy who acknowledges himself to be a bit of an idiot, and his faithful man Jeeves who always saves the day. This, being an earlier book, doesn't have quite the side-splitting hilarity of later books, but I still laughed uncontrollably.

In a related tangent, based on a discussion of this author with my family this afternoon, I have decided to call my winter home (which incidentally is also where I summer, spring, and fall) "Squirrel-Drop-in-the-Fields", a title befitting its station. If my parents ever get the beach house my mom now longs for, it shall be called "Penguin's End." I laughed until my mascara ran.

It's great to be with family.

Wild Blue

Wild Blue: Stories of Survival from Air and Space
Edited by David Fisher and William Garvey

My mom left this book with me during her last visit, and I returned it to her during my visit this time (yup, I'm still here). It's a collection of short stories by a wide range of authors, and I enjoyed it. My honey had read it in something like three days when it first showed up at our house, but I forgot about it, and then discovered it again when I wasn't feeling well. It's another good morning sickness/super tired mom book. I could read it at the breakfast table while feeding my daughter, and curl up at night with it and read a few pages pages before enjoying precious, precious sleep.

The authors ranged from accomplished aviators/authors like Beryl Markham, Ernie Gann, and Antione de Saint Exupery, to unknowns who simply had amazing stories to tell. The story that I remember most was by William Rankin. He was a career Air Force pilot who had to eject from his FU8 at 47,000 feet above sea level. He survived the explosive ejection in near-space, only to fall into a thunderstorm and be caught in the violent updrafts for 40 minutes. Lightning, hail, waves of water: any of this would be enough to kill a man, but it's even more remarkable after his rapid decompression 10 miles above the earth. Another memorable story was by a British reporter in WWII, covering the RAF's burn unit and patients' rehabilitation. It was on the other end of the spectrum, but just as heroic. I skipped the few fiction pieces, because they sounded false in contrast to pilot's personal stories. In this case, reality was more powerful.

This book is a reminder of what humans can achieve and overcome, even in the face of overwhelming odds. It makes me think that maybe I should stop whining so much about my morning sickness.

Some general housekeeping

Does nobody want a free book? Seriously people, it's not very encouraging to have one's first giveaway ignored. I'll take some blame, though. After a very long post, if you finally made it to the end to read about the giveaway, you probably felt like you had already finished the book. (Sadly, this is me trying to be concise. Long blog posts are a what happens when a quiet person receives a virtual soap box.) Well, in case you missed it, I am giving away my copy of "Banker to the Poor." I am at my parents' house right now, and I was going to bring it with me and and just leave it with them but then I forgot. I blame the babies, both of them. But anyway, now's your (second) chance to receive an inspiring book.

Also, I apologize for the unfinished blog design. I can't leave Blogger's templates alone, but I ran into technical difficulties. I can't help it: I alter my jeans, I make my own vinegar, and I can't use a stock web design. I'll eventually fix it, but you'll have to be patient with me.

Miss Match, Rematch, Match Point

Miss Match, Rematch, and Match Point, by Erynn Mangum

Well, this post is a little embarrassing. But what good is the internet, if you can't make embarrassing admissions about yourself to total strangers? So here it goes: I read some chick lit. Okay, not just any chick lit... Christian chick lit. A combination of two genres not known for literary excellence. And... (sigh)... I enjoyed it.

Here's some background: I've just been feeling terrible lately. I'm so grateful to be pregnant but I've been experiencing morning sickness while my honey has been away for weeks on business trips. I've been trying to finish Dorothy Sayer's essays but lately I'm just not up to it. My friend loaned me a trilogy by Erynn Mangum which couldn't have been more timely. I read them while laying on the couch when my toddler was napping, drinking ginger tea and trying to ignore the piles of laundry and dust bunnies floating across the floor.

It was a little like watching a Christian version of the TV show "Friends," which I hope doesn't sound like an insult, because it's not. Nobody lives like that, but I was absorbed in that world for as long as it lasted. The main character, Laurie, is a 23- year old single Christian who can't stop playing matchmaker and was loosely based on Jane Austen's "Emma." I thought the author would parallel the plot of "Emma" too, but she respected her characters enough to let them have their own stories. There was no heavy-handed evangelism or salvation-through-romantic fulfillment which often pollutes Christian fiction. The characters were all saved and acted as such, and it was a pleasant, although sanitized, world. This isn't Flannery O'Connor, and I was so glad.

Still, if you're picky with your books, don't read this series. Most of the characters' dialogue had the same tone. The author used frequent Jane Austen quotes, Princess Bride references, Cheesecake Factory shout-outs, and lots of chocoholic activity in what seemed like an effort to help the reader identify with the characters more. They were unnecessary--I related to Laurie's inner life and a young single woman far more than all the Jane Austen love (of which there is plenty!). Laurie is happily single and loves her life, but begins to be blindsided by jealousy of all the newlyweds and engaged couples around her. Her nightly devotions speak to what's going on in her life, and are alternately surprising, thought-provoking, encouraging, etc. I think every Christian knows what it's like to have God quietly speaking to you in the midst of confusion, and the author's honesty gave the books authenticity.

It will be interesting to see how this author matures as a writer. According to Anne Lamott in "Bird by Bird," good writing is about telling the truth. , and I hope that Erynn Mangum will improve her craft so she can communicate more clearly in the future. I'll read it.