Description
Peter Hitchens lost faith as a teenager. But eventually finding atheism barren, he came by a logical process to his current affiliation to an unmodernised belief in Christianity. Hitchens describes his return from the far political left. Familiar with British left-wing politics, it was travelling in the Communist bloc that first undermined and replaced his leftism, a process virtually completed when he became a newspaper's resident Moscow correspondent in 1990, just before the collapse of the Communist Party. He became convinced of certain propositions. That modern western social democratic politics is a form of false religion in which people try to substitute a social conscience for an individual one. That utopianism is actively dangerous. That liberty and law are attainable human objectives which are also the good by-products of Christian faith. Faith is the best antidote to utopianism, dismissing the dangerous idea of earthly perfection, discouraging people from acting as if they were God, encouraging people to act in the belief that there is a God and an ordered, purposeful universe, governed by an unalterable law.
In a fascinating account, Peter Hitchens describes his autobiographical and spiritual journey from atheism to faith in God through the power of reasoning.
About the Author
Peter Hitchens is a British journalist, author and broadcaster. He witnessed most of the final scenes of the Cold War, and was a resident correspondent in the Soviet capital and in Washington, DC. He frequently revisits both Russia and the USA. He currently writes for the Mail on Sunday, where he is a columnist and occasional foreign correspondent, reporting most recently from Iran, North Korea, Burma, The Congo and China. He won the journalism category in the 2010 George Orwell Prize for this correspondence.
Reviews
The book will be especially satisfying for those who share the author's feelings without being able to express them with such deftness, vigour and occasional epigram. Even those unconvinced or... only almost persuaded will never find it dull. * Contemporary Review *
[The Rage Against God] offers insights on the current secular disregard for freedom of belief of expression. * Jersey Evening Post *
The Rage Against God is eminently readable book that not only delivers the case against atheism, but delivers it with style * Christianity *
The two best-written books were Christopher Hitchens's memoirs Hitch 22 and his brother Peter's The Rage Against God. Even though the authors set the benchmark for sibling rivalry, their books prove there is something special about them. Both are restless romantics, enemies of cosy consensus, original minds - and products of an education system that wanted all children to be cultured and questioning. Peter's book reads as if Cardinal Newman were reflecting on life after battle-scarred years as a foreign correspondent, while Christopher's book, if it were a thoroughbred horse, would be by George Orwell out of Kingsley Amis. I can think of no better pair of books for Christmas reflection. -- Michael Gove * Mail on Sunday *
Hitchens [..] blames the rampant liberalism of his generation; he was a teenager in the 1960s. They feared the constraints of their parents' lifestyle - post-war rationing coupled to the limitations of life in the suburbs. -- Mark Vernon * The Guardian *
A response to [Hitchens'] brother's and Richard Dawkins' 'rage' against those who can be so stupid to believe in God and so irresponsible as to attempt to encourage others. * The Methodist Recorder *
This book is not meant to be a rebuttal of the contemporary atheist polemicists. It has the more modest aim of influencing atheists to hesitate over their choice. * The Irish Catholic *
A deeply affecting story of a journey to faith, interwoven with moral and spiritual history of the 20th century. * The Church Times *
Top class stuff! * The Good Bookstall website *
This book is a rattling good read...As we face the General Election, this is perhaps the most important reason for reading it. * Standpoint *
Agreed mortality lives on borrowed time...As Peter Hitchens observes, God offers authoritative moral laws, and judgement upon those who knowingly break them. -- Christopher Howse, * Telegraph *
A thorough going expose of how godless utopianism- above all in the Soviet Union- has given a uniquely powerful licence to tyranny. -- Charles Moore * The Daily Telegraph, *
The Rage Against God is a magnificent, sustained cry against the aggressive secularism taking control of our weakened culture. -- Quentin Letts * The Spectator *
[A] short, elegant book. ... How can one not enjoy a book that informs the reader that Kim Il Sung was not only the "Great Leader" who created the prison state of North Korea, but also a protestant - and an accomplished church organist? * The Independent *
A calmly argued rebuff to several polemic authors...[and] a personal paean of sadness for the Britain of [Hitchens'] youth. * Ones to Watch, The Bookseller *
A believer's riposte to the book by his atheist brother, Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great. -- Simon Hoggart * The Guardian *
An absolutely must-read book...Peter Hitchens's forthcoming The Rage Against God. * Catholic Herald *
Book Information
ISBN 9781472970534
Author Peter Hitchens
Format Paperback
Page Count 184
Imprint Bloomsbury Continuum
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 236g
In a fascinating account, Peter Hitchens describes his autobiographical and spiritual journey from atheism to faith in God through the power of reasoning.
About the Author
Peter Hitchens is a British journalist, author and broadcaster. He witnessed most of the final scenes of the Cold War, and was a resident correspondent in the Soviet capital and in Washington, DC. He frequently revisits both Russia and the USA. He currently writes for the Mail on Sunday, where he is a columnist and occasional foreign correspondent, reporting most recently from Iran, North Korea, Burma, The Congo and China. He won the journalism category in the 2010 George Orwell Prize for this correspondence.
Reviews
The book will be especially satisfying for those who share the author's feelings without being able to express them with such deftness, vigour and occasional epigram. Even those unconvinced or... only almost persuaded will never find it dull. * Contemporary Review *
[The Rage Against God] offers insights on the current secular disregard for freedom of belief of expression. * Jersey Evening Post *
The Rage Against God is eminently readable book that not only delivers the case against atheism, but delivers it with style * Christianity *
The two best-written books were Christopher Hitchens's memoirs Hitch 22 and his brother Peter's The Rage Against God. Even though the authors set the benchmark for sibling rivalry, their books prove there is something special about them. Both are restless romantics, enemies of cosy consensus, original minds - and products of an education system that wanted all children to be cultured and questioning. Peter's book reads as if Cardinal Newman were reflecting on life after battle-scarred years as a foreign correspondent, while Christopher's book, if it were a thoroughbred horse, would be by George Orwell out of Kingsley Amis. I can think of no better pair of books for Christmas reflection. -- Michael Gove * Mail on Sunday *
Hitchens [..] blames the rampant liberalism of his generation; he was a teenager in the 1960s. They feared the constraints of their parents' lifestyle - post-war rationing coupled to the limitations of life in the suburbs. -- Mark Vernon * The Guardian *
A response to [Hitchens'] brother's and Richard Dawkins' 'rage' against those who can be so stupid to believe in God and so irresponsible as to attempt to encourage others. * The Methodist Recorder *
This book is not meant to be a rebuttal of the contemporary atheist polemicists. It has the more modest aim of influencing atheists to hesitate over their choice. * The Irish Catholic *
A deeply affecting story of a journey to faith, interwoven with moral and spiritual history of the 20th century. * The Church Times *
Top class stuff! * The Good Bookstall website *
This book is a rattling good read...As we face the General Election, this is perhaps the most important reason for reading it. * Standpoint *
Agreed mortality lives on borrowed time...As Peter Hitchens observes, God offers authoritative moral laws, and judgement upon those who knowingly break them. -- Christopher Howse, * Telegraph *
A thorough going expose of how godless utopianism- above all in the Soviet Union- has given a uniquely powerful licence to tyranny. -- Charles Moore * The Daily Telegraph, *
The Rage Against God is a magnificent, sustained cry against the aggressive secularism taking control of our weakened culture. -- Quentin Letts * The Spectator *
[A] short, elegant book. ... How can one not enjoy a book that informs the reader that Kim Il Sung was not only the "Great Leader" who created the prison state of North Korea, but also a protestant - and an accomplished church organist? * The Independent *
A calmly argued rebuff to several polemic authors...[and] a personal paean of sadness for the Britain of [Hitchens'] youth. * Ones to Watch, The Bookseller *
A believer's riposte to the book by his atheist brother, Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great. -- Simon Hoggart * The Guardian *
An absolutely must-read book...Peter Hitchens's forthcoming The Rage Against God. * Catholic Herald *
Book Information
ISBN 9781472970534
Author Peter Hitchens
Format Paperback
Page Count 184
Imprint Bloomsbury Continuum
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 236g
