Query

Query: Is it right for a Christ-follower to admire Christopher Hitchens’ arguments and writing, when we all know he’s a Godless atheist?

Argument: Yes, for the following reasons:

1. Hitchens’ logic and superior writing belie his atheism. I believe his gifts come from God, and when he is at his best (and his book God is not Great, was, as many reviewiers said, not in that category – especially when it came to logic) he not only educates and amuses us, he provides us with creativity and beauty, two things we should always seek after.

2. We as Christ-followers can’t get away from the culture in which we live. We aren’t meant to hide in the woods of Idaho, trying like crazy to not be “contaminated.” Would you stop admiring MLK for his courage and eloquence just because he was a skirt-chaser? Would you never watch the delightful The Importance of Being Earnest because Oscar Wilde was gay? (If you wouldn’t: FYI, the AD Players disagree with you). Humans are just that; human, and prone to mistakes both big and small. But they are also given by God the ability to, as mentioned above, create beauty, and we can and should find beauty in many things, be they sacred or secular.

3. Even if you disagree with the past 2 arguments, why does it matter what his beliefs are? Politics is a pagan pastime; if you want to observe it or, Heaven help us, participate in it, you have to remember it is not some God-given system. Not even in this country, where politicians wrap themselves in the Bible as often as the flag. This is something Mike Huckabee forgot, and thank God he lost; pagan systems are not meant to run on God’s rules. We are designed to, but that’s a different subject altogether.