hitchens vs. wilson @ christianitytoday.com

Christopher Hitchens is the author of the recent publication, "God is not Great", an atheist author trashing all organized religion, especially Christianity. In my mind, there is no need to give credence to this sort of writing, as it is uniformed and just goes to show the validity of Romans 1:18-ff. But then again, dialog of opposing viewpoints can serve some good, if to at least foster the faith of the believers. Christianity Today's website is now publishing a series of letters written between Hitchens and Douglas Wilson, an author and pastor from Moscow, Idaho. This is fascinating, and I recommend that you read the whole thing (so far only one letter and its response has been published). Go here to read.

For the chronologically- or attention-impaired, here's a quote from each:

Hitchens

I cannot, of course, prove that there is no supervising deity who invigilates my every moment and who will pursue me even after I am dead. (I can only be happy that there is no evidence for such a ghastly idea, which would resemble a celestial North Korea in which liberty was not just impossible but inconceivable.) But nor has any theologian ever demonstrated the contrary. This would perhaps make the believer and the doubter equal—except that the believer claims to know, not just that God exists, but that his most detailed wishes are not merely knowable but actually known. Since religion drew its first breath when the species lived in utter ignorance and considerable fear, I hope I may be forgiven for declining to believe that another human being can tell me what to do, in the most intimate details of my life and mind, and to further dictate these terms as if acting as proxy for a supernatural entity. This tyrannical idea is very much older than Christianity, of course, but I do sometimes think that Christians have less excuse for believing, let alone wishing, that such a horrible thing could be true. Perhaps your response will make me reconsider?

Wilson

In your concluding paragraph you make a great deal out of your individualism and your right to be left alone with the "most intimate details of [your] life and mind." Given your atheism, what account are you able to give that would require us to respect the individual? How does this individualism of yours flow from the premises of atheism? Why should anyone in the outside world respect the details of your thought life any more than they respect the internal churnings of any other given chemical reaction? That's all our thoughts are, isn't that right? Or, if there is a distinction, could you show how the premises of your atheism might produce such a distinction?

2 New Videos I've Made

As Sarah and I are nearing completion of the first stages of redoing the kitchen and bathroom, we're putting together a sequel to "Painting a Room in 1.5 Minutes", but this time we have a larger cast, bigger budgets, and more angles to shoot!

But in the meantime, I've put together 2 videos in the past few weeks of other things, and I thought you might enjoy them:

1. CPSki 2007 - I went in February with our High School Youth Group to ski in North Carolina.



2. Erskine Seminary Coffee Machine Video - This is an instructional video I put together for our long-awaited new coffee machine (I can feel your enthusiasm)



So what'd you think?

new album from Patty Griffin

This past Saturday, Sarah and I spent the afternoon in Ashville, NC. We really enjoyed shopping and enjoying coffee and dinner. I've been trying to track down the latest from Patty Griffin, "Children Running Through," for a few weeks, unsuccessfully slogging through the shops of South Carolina. We left town that night viewing the lunar eclipse over the mountain tops, listening to another masterpiece from Patty.

This is her 5th studio release. With each successive release, she has improved her sound and fine-tuned her voice and songwriting craft. I first got into her music after her first two albums were already out, and I was floored by both of them. The passion in her voice and words cannot be ignored. When her 3rd album, "1,000 Kisses," came out, I was moved. I was at a major point of transition in my life, graduating from college and taking my first professional job. That album became the background of a major change in my lifestyle and perspective. Her next album, "Impossible Dream," was released during my first year in Seattle, a few months before Sarah and I were married. Once again, a major point of transition was wallpapered by the longing vocalizations of Patty, the backup singer to my thoughts and struggles.

So now, she's released another album. After a few listens, I can say that it is at least as good as every one of her previous releases; actually, it seems that she has successfully married the sound and feel of all 4 of her works, creating something wholly new and truly unique. (Who is making music like this out there today? Why aren't more people listening?) It is going to continue to have heavy rotation for at least the next year, maybe more. What I'm left wondering is what major changes will be coming that Patty will likely be accompanying?

Tech Support

I feel like I've had this conversation before. It's practically like deja vú all over again. Update: Fixed link!.... Urgh, double fixed!!


I apologize for all those who have tried to view this and have shaken your fist at me because it didn't work. The first link went down after a few days (thanks Brendan for pointing this out). The second link that I posted lacked the English subtitles. Hopefully the current link will stay live for the rest of you to enjoy!

How to paint a room in 1.5 minutes

Sarah and I recently completed our first house project: painting the bedroom. We documented the process, and I whipped up a nice little video to show everyone. Enjoy!