The Rage Against God with Peter Hitchens

Title: The Rage Against God Subtitle: Christianity, Atheism and The Moral Foundations of The WestGuest: Peter Hitchens For more than two centuries the West has steadily moved away from Christianity, yet many of the moral assumptions that shape our societies still depend upon it. What happens if those foundations disappear?In this conversation I sit down with British journalist, author and columnist Peter Hitchens to discuss his influential book The Rage Against God and the deeper questions that sit beneath today's debates about faith, atheism and modern society.Rather than revisiting the well-known disagreements between Peter and his late brother Christopher Hitchens, we explore the ideas at the heart of Peter's work: his journey from atheism to Christianity, the relationship between morality and religious belief, whether Western civilisation can sustain its values after abandoning Christianity, and what he learned while witnessing the collapse of the Soviet Union firsthand.We also discuss the New Atheist movement, Richard Dawkins, Jordan Peterson, the decline of religious institutions, the importance of intellectual honesty, the role of suffering in shaping character, Rogier van der Weyden's The Last Judgement, and why Peter believes Christianity remains one of the strongest restraints against political and ideological power.Whether you agree with Peter or not, this conversation offers a thoughtful challenge to many of the assumptions that underpin contemporary debates about religion, culture, freedom and the future of the West.Topics include:• Peter Hitchens' journey from atheism to Christianity• The moral foundations of Western civilisation• Christopher Hitchens and the New Atheists• Richard Dawkins and secularism• Life inside the collapsing Soviet Union• Why Christianity shaped modern ideas of law and human dignity• Faith, reason and intellectual honesty• Jordan Peterson and the return of biblical ideas• Tradition, transcendence and the future of the WestNotable links and conversation references:Peter Hitchens on X (Twitter) - https://x.com/ClarkeMicah C-Span ‘The Abolition of Britain: From Lady Chatterley to Tony Blair’ debate - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM7K1wql-Qs&tC-Span Events in the News Episode (February 14, 1994) - https://www.c-span.org/video/?54546-1/events-news The Spectator - https://www.spectator.co.uk/writer/peter-hitchens/ Mail on Sunday - https://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/ Buy The Rage Against God - https://www.eden.co.uk/christian-books/understanding-the-faith/apologetics/rage-against-god/ John Wesley’s Concept of Faith as a Conscious State - https://place.asburyseminary.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2588&context=asburyjournal Story of Pavlik Morozov - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pavlik-Morozov If you enjoy long-form conversations exploring philosophy, history, religion, politics and culture, consider subscribing to The New Orchard.