Maggie's Farm

Hitchens debated Sharpton recently on the subject of the existence of God. Reading the transcript I would say Loopy Al got the better of Hitch. He must have had a little help from the God that don't exist.
Bruce Wilson from Bolg and Mayblog is having a debate in installments at the Christianity Today site. He is also covering it on his website breaking the book down by topics. Seems to me to be demolishing Hitchens arguments quite handily on the factual level and sympathetically on the personal level. He hopes to convince and convert.
Hitches brother works for a Brit newspaper and is a Christian and conservative.
http://www.dougwils.com/

Correction. I incorrectly said the Bruce Wilson was debating Chris Hitchens in my last post. It's Douglas Wilson. I shouldn't comment so late at night.

I wasn't cheering Sharpton on, in fact I was noncommital. I was just surprised that that a man of Hitchens intellect did not massacre Sharpton.
I don't put much faith in debates as convincers of one side or the other. And I most certainly don't think Christians any better than atheists on any ethical level. That is why I don't attend church even though I'm a believer. I think we are all beggars only some of us know where the crumbs are.
By the way, I just got asked not to post on a Christian site for being too ' pugnacious ' and ' beligerant '.

I guess the best way to convert someone, in some Christians eyes, is to attack them. That doesn't sound very Christian to me.
The Sharpton and Hitchens debate, as you say was not a debate but a show and Sharpton was the better showman. I couldn't think of anyone worse than Sharpton to represent the Diest point of view cept Jesse Jackson.
Ravi Zacharias use to debate from the Christian perspective with great effectiveness and he said that he cannot recall anyone coming to Christ through debating. so he no longer debates publicly. I think debates encourage people to dig in and entrench themselves within their pre-debate positions, whereas it should be an exchange of ideas and principles that help people come to a logical personal conclusion of which side makes the most sense. No theatrics or rhetorical trickery just honest clarification of issues.
I came to Christ thru the patience and love of a friend, who ended up murdered by Farc in Columbia after being kidnapped for a year. He also pointed me to CS Lewis's book Mere Christianity which helped me to see that you did not have to surrender your brain to be a Christian, although I'm sure there are a few that have or maybe they never had one (the Dr. Sanity stalker ).
In any event Christianity should not be judged by the actions of Christians, but on a personal open minded investigation into whether Jesus is who He says He is. True Christianity some say is not a religion. Religion is a belief in a system of concepts. Christianity is the belief in a Person that Person being Jesus.
I would suggest some good books for someone who is honestly seaching: Evidence for a Verdict and More Than a Carpenter by Josh Mac Dowell, Mere Christianity by CS Lewis or anything by Lewis. Anything by Francis Schaeffer and of coarse the Bible. Read the Bible with someone who knows it and ask tough questions.

NJSoldier, I hope you do not think that anything I,ve said pertains to you. I,ve reread your posts and don,t see any maliciousness on your part. I may of missed something but some of the reactions seemed oversensitive and read too much into what you said. I could be wrong.