Hitchens Christopher - The faith of Christopher Hitchens : the restless soul of the worlds most notorious atheist

PRAISE FOR LARRY TAUNTON

The Faith of Christopher Hitchens is so good that words fail me. It is that triple rarity: an astonishing tour de force of both heart and mind, and a bona fide page-turner. If it doesnt keep you up late, you are already sleeping. Who dreamt anyone would ever get to see this side of the cartoon enfante terrible? Tauntons unprecedented access to the real Hitchens is a gift from the heavensliterally and literarilyto anyone wanting to know who he really was, that man behind the withering, glowering mien and fulminating blunderbuss voice. This indefatigably clear-eyed window into the soul of the great Hitch may break your heart with love for its subject, as it did mine, or it may make you wish to rent yourself in twain with rage, Rumpelstilskin-style. Either way, its quite a book. A triumph.

Eric Metaxas, New York Times bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio host

If you really want to get to know someone intimately, go on a multi-day cross-country road trip, share fine food and expensive spirits, and have open and honest conversations about the most important issues in life. And then engage them in public debate before thousands of people on those very topics. In this engrossing narrative about his friendship with the atheist activist Christopher Hitchens, the evangelical Christian Larry Taunton shows us a side of the man very few of us knew. Apparent contradictions dissolve before Tauntons penetrating insight into the psychology of a man fiercely loyal to his friends and passionately devoted to leading a life of integrity. This book should be read by every atheist and theist passionate about the truth, and by anyone who really wants to understand Hitch, one of the greatest minds and literary geniuses of our time.

Michael Shermer, publisher, Skeptic magazine; monthly columnist, Scientific American; presidential fellow, Chapman University; and author, The Moral Arc

A riveting read thats sure to spark the sort of controversy that was common to its central figure the Contrarian. Likely to expose many modern Freethinkers as anything but as it demonstrates that their patron saint of secularism was more open-minded than they care to admit.

Dan DeWitt, dean, Boyce College; author, Christ or Chaos

Every fan of Christopher Hitchens must read this elegant, honest, and beautiful tale of an improbable friendship between an American Christian and an English atheist. If you thought you knew Hitch, you did not. Now, you will.

Paul Reid, coauthor of The Last Lion

People are fascinating. We want to read biographies because we want a look behind the scenes. We want to see if the public and private persona match up. Larrys unique relationship with Christopher Hitchens and his skill in writing, combine for a narrative that does not disappoint. There are surprises on many levels but what shines through is how people of diametrically opposed views can interact, debate, and dialogue about their deepest differences. I highly recommend this book, it is informative and moving; a great read.

Dr. Stuart McAllister, regional director of the Americas, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries

Christopher Hitchens was a force to be reckoned with, whether one was a theist or an atheist. While I never met him, I know firsthand through friendships with those of other worldviews that ultimate issues can be discussed without compromise, yet without animosity, with gentleness and with respect. Larry Taunton traveled this road with Hitchens and reveals a man few knew: brash and confident in public, but in quieter moments wrestling with deep questions about ultimate truth that would not go away. In the end, Larry demonstrates that while arguments and debate have their place in winning the mind and heart, it is love that is the most powerful apologetic for the truth and beauty of the gospel. This book will surprise and challenge youand I hope, open fruitful conversation among atheists and theists alike.

Ravi Zacharias, author and speaker

2016 Larry Alex Taunton

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ISBN 978-0-71802-218-1 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-71808-112-6 (IE)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Taunton, Larry.

Title: The faith of Christopher Hitchens: the restless soul of the worlds most notorious atheist / Larry Alex Taunton.

Description: Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015036567 | ISBN 9780718022174

Subjects: LCSH: Christianity and atheism. | Hitchens, ChristopherReligion. | Taunton, LarryReligion.

Classification: LCC BR128.A8 T38 2016 | DDC 261.2/1dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015036567

16 17 18 19 20 RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my boys, Michael, Christopher, and Zachary, who always believed.

CONTENTS

S hortly after the death of Christopher Hitchens on December 15, 2011, Joel Miller, then my editor at Thomas Nelson, encouraged me to write a book about my relationship with the late atheist. I wasnt interested. I just couldnt see how writing a book like that would be anything but an exercise in self-flagellation. I prefer writing stories that are inspirational and redemptive. Writing The Grace Effect was pure joy for me. That storythe story of my remarkable adopted daughter, Sashais full of redemption. But the arc of Christophers life contained few redemptive elements, so far as I could see. A bare reading of the biographical facts would likely lead any Christian to conclude that he led a life of rebellion and died. The End. Wheres the inspiration in that? And there was an additional consideration: I did not want to betray any confidences the way it seems friends and acquaintances of celebrities so often do.

However, I gradually came to see Christophers life in a different light. Redemption comes in many forms, and in this story, it is for the reader. Most of us have someone like Christopher Hitchens in our lives; someone we love who is so hell-bent on self-destruction that we feel powerless to help them. If his life had a black box, this book is sifting through the wreckage to find it and understand precisely what went wrong. In the final analysis, there is something to be learned about how we, the living, are to process these lost relationships.

As for my latter objection to writing this book, Joel helped me to see that the choice was not between writing a tell-all or a ponderous biography. Could I, instead, focus on my relationship with Christopher? The idea intrigued me. That an avowed atheist and an evangelical Christian were friends was a matter of endless fascination to many people. Indeed, when Christopher told an audience of some 1,200 people that we had studied the Gospel of John together during a cross-country drive, they practically gasped. Among the gathered was Frank Devine, a senior producer for