This weeks "thought" is the story of one many's journey from atheism to faith in Jesus. It is the story of Peter Hitchen's - a British journalist whose well-known brother Christopher was sometimes called the "arch-atheist." I found it well-written, helpful, and intriguing, and thought I would pass it on to you as well. So, without any further introduction I offer it to you. Enjoy.
How an Atheist
Journalist became a Christian Believer
"The story of Peter Hitchens' adult
conversion to Christianity traced a very different path to that of his
arch-atheist brother Christopher. Christopher Hitchens, along
with Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Richard Dawkins was
one of the so-called “four horsemen of the New Atheism” that led the charge
against religion around the turn of the century. As a professional
journalist, Christopher Hitchens was possibly the most eloquent of the
four, and his wit and humor accomplished more for the cause than the bluster of
the other three combined.
Christopher Hitchens' popularity was so great
that atheists and Christian apologists alike mourned his passing in
2011, as did his brother, Peter. Peter, also a journalist, was an outspoken
atheist like his brother. Despite their similar professions, views, and
upbringing, the two brothers were always at odds, practically since childhood
Though both were raised in a nominal faith, they began their slide into atheism
in early adulthood.
Peter’s journey toward atheism began when he was
still in boarding school at the age of 15. He chose to make his rebellion
against religion and all of the conventions of his upbringing official by the
ceremonial burning of his Bible – a gift from his parents - in the school
yard. After burning the book, he intentionally began to do the things he
had always been instructed were wrong: using foul language, mocking the weak,
lying, stealing, using drugs and betraying friends and family members.
Peter describes the cultural mindset that he believes led him and his
brother away from organized religion:
“I have passed through the same atheist
revelation that most self-confident British members of my generation - I was
born in 1951 – have experienced. We were sure that we, and our civilization,
had grown out of the nursery myths of God, angels and Heaven. We had modern
medicine, penicillin, jet engines, the Welfare State, the United Nations
and 'science', which explained everything that needed to be explained.”
It was not, however, a tragedy or desperate turn
of events that caused Peter Hitchens to turn back to his childhood faith. As he
grew out of his young rebellion and into his established trade of journalism,
he became modestly successful. He enjoyed a pleasant relationship with his
girlfriend, and was able to pursue his interests and distractions such as
holidays on the continent. His youthful Marxist convictions had been
overturned by his experience as a journalist in Soviet Russia and seeing the
tragedy brought on by the atheistic state. As he settled into his adult
routine, he fell back into attendance of Anglican church from time to time.
This was not out of a sense of religious conviction, but rather out of respect
for British tradition. But as he did so, he began to recognize that the
faithful men of history who had preceded him were no more foolish for their
faith. In fact, their convictions had added to their brilliance as statesmen,
artists, scientists and so on.
Staring at the picture Hitchens felt sudden and
true conviction. It was staring at the picture of one such artist
– Rogier van der Weyden’s Last Judgment – that Hitchens felt sudden
and true conviction. Seeing the naked figures as they fled the fires of hell,
all of his intentional rebellion and misdeeds came back to his mind, and with
them, the realization that his life was a testament to the truth found in the
painting before him: that misdeeds required justice, and that if anyone
required saving from this justice, it was he. It was on the heels of
this sobering incident that Christmas came, and with it, a much more uplifting
experience. For many years, Hitchens had feigned disdain for the Christmas
season, however now he began to truly enjoy the caroling and joy that came along
with the seasonal celebration.
Following this, Hitchens held his wedding in a
church, became baptized, and generally began to participate in church affairs,
even as his confidence in political solutions to world problems began to
dwindle and fade. Becoming a Christian in the world of journalism has no
small amount of stigma attached to it, and given his formerly radical stances,
Hitchens tried to conceal his growing faith from his friends and
colleagues. However, as the years passed, Hitchens began to make
his Christian faith part of his identity as a journalist, and especially as his
brother achieved fame for his atheist stance, to distance himself from his
now-famed sibling. This has ultimately had the effect of carving out a unique
niche for Hitchens who now uses his position as a journalist to campaign for
the various causes his worldview leads him to embrace."
(Hitchens’ story may be found in his book: The
Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith.)
It's a testimony to ponder, for he challenges us
to think through the ultimate issues of life. I often say
atheists are not people who have asked all the questions, or have all the
answers, but people who haven't asked enough questions. That
is, enough, "where, or how, did this come to be?" questions.
Why is there so much order and beauty in the world? What purpose does it
have? Where does that inner sense of justice come from? How is it that
our DNA (biological matter) has information imprinted upon it? Where did
this information come from? How does order come out of chaos? How does design
come about apart from a Designer? How does one explain that something
came from nothing, or that "being" came from
"non-being"? How does one explain miracles or paranormal
activity in a world that is supposedly came about from little more than chemical
reactions over time? And on and on the list could go
... To me atheism requires a far greater leap of faith than belief
in a Creator. That's why so few people (given the world population) jump
onto a bandwagon so poorly constructed.
As many scientists are now acknowledging, the
scientific evidence strongly and ultimately points in the direction of
intelligent design, and thus ultimately to the reality of a Creator. But
for the atheist there's a downside to acknowledging a Creator -- a downside
which has lead many to adopt atheism instead. It's not any profound
"no-God" or "anti-God" evidence. It's not the
supposed "God-particle." It's the fact that people
intuitively know that if there is a Creator (who has placed
the fingerprint of his beauty, wisdom, orderliness, design, power, justice and
the like, on all he has made) it suggests there had to have been a purpose in
creating, and a specific plan for those that were created to inhabit what he
made. A plan that includes how we should live and interact with him and
each other, and treat what has been created and given to us as a gift.
Which means that faith in a Creator ultimately
leads one to believe there must be some sort of ethical expectations;
righteousness and sin issues (do and don't issues); morality and justice
issues. In atheism anything goes, for if life simply evolved from nothing
(an impossibility by the way), then it has no meaning. There is no true basis
for law, justice, right or wrong, or morality issues. Without a Creator there
is no intelligent basis for absolutes. In creationism, however, life
becomes infused with meaning and purpose and divine expectations cannot be
avoided.
What joy, meaning, and value is infused into
life simply by acknowledging a Creator, Pastor Jeff
