The Faith of Christopher Hitchens

The Restless Soul of the World's Most Notorious Atheist

By: Larry Alex Taunton

Narrated by: Maurice England

"If everyone in the United States had the same qualities of loyalty and care and concern for others that Larry Taunton had, we'd be living in a much better society than we do." (Christopher Hitchens)

At the time of his death, Christopher Hitchens was the most notorious atheist in the world. And yet, all was not as it seemed. "Nobody is not a divided self, of course," he once told an interviewer, "but I think it's rather strong in my case." Hitchens was a man of many contradictions: a Marxist in youth who longed for acceptance among the social elites; a peacenik who revered the military; a champion of the Left who was nonetheless pro-life, pro-war-on-terror, and, after 9/11, something of a neocon; and while he railed against God onstage, he maintained meaningful - though largely hidden from public view - friendships with evangelical Christians like Francis Collins, Douglas Wilson, and the author Larry Alex Taunton.

In The Faith of Christopher Hitchens, Taunton offers a very personal perspective of one of our most interesting and most misunderstood public figures. Writing with genuine compassion and without compromise, Taunton traces Hitchens' spiritual and intellectual development from his decision as a teenager to reject belief in God to his rise to prominence as one of the so-called "four horsemen" of the new atheism. While Hitchens was, in the minds of many Christians, public enemy number one, away from the lights and the cameras a warm friendship flourished between Hitchens and the author - a friendship that culminated in not one but two lengthy road trips where, after Hitchens' diagnosis of esophageal cancer, they studied the Bible together. The Faith of Christopher Hitchens gives us a candid glimpse into the inner life of this intriguing, sometimes maddening, and unexpectedly vulnerable man.

©2016 Larry Taunton (P)2016 Thomas Nelson Publishers

Critic reviews

"This book should be read by every atheist and theist passionate about the truth." (Michael Shermer, publisher, Skeptic magazine)

that's why I liked him.

I always liked Christopher, which may seem strange to some as I am a homeschooling mom from Alberta, this book explains why.

Great Book!

I couldn't put the book down. If nothing else, it was a great story of the friendship between Christopher Hitchens and author Larry Taunton.

This was not a story about a Christian trying to claim one of the most notorious atheists of our day to have had a Christian conversion, rather it was the story of the internal struggle of Christopher Hitchens who respected men like Taunton for believing and living as Christ taught, and who vehemently opposed the "hucksters", those men who used the Christian faith as a means to gain notoriety and money, but did not believe it.

Read the book! You will catch a glimpse into the public persona of Christopher Hitchens (which was obvious to anybody who had seen Christopher in public or seen him debate), but you will also see a different side to Christopher and his private conversations with Larry.
My hats off to Larry Taunton for writing such a great book!

Read the epilogue

To those who seek to destroy Larry by accusing him of the assumption that hitch had a deathbed conversion need only read the epilogue to draw an alternate conclusion. This book challenged me as a Christian and how I respond and we’re like those I with whom i disagree

A good book for those who loved Hitchens

Respectful, thoughtful, brutally love-filled. The tenderness with which the author speaks of Hitchens validates their friendship.

Excellent read!

This was an excellent read for anyone of any belief. Gives an in depth look at the much more humane and civil Christopher Hitchens than what is portrayed in the public.

exceptional

This book by Larry really tugs at the most important points of our faith. Nothing matters more than the question. Do you believe?

Great. Great. Great.

This book is so well balanced. It presents Christopher Hitchens as an unabashed atheist who nevertheless gave an attentive ear to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as presented by his friend Larry Taunton. Hitchens, insofar as anyone knows, never embraced the Gospel. Instead he went to his death a faithful atheist - at least publicly. One can only hope that in his last moments he called on the name of Jesus for salvation. We shall know in eternity.

A Christian foe turned friend gives respectful insight to Hitchens

Debate enemies become friends in this insightful and respectful insight into the latter years of Christopher Hitchens. Christians may be disappointed to find no melodramatic deathbed conversion but may come away with an appreciation of the “other” Hitch rarely seen on the debate stage, media interviews, or in print. Whether you are a Hitch fan or enemy, this is well worth the listen!

A Comment

When I was a young boy attending boarding school I was told I must go to church each Sunday unless I had a note from my parents stating otherwise. I loved the sermons as they made perfect sense to my young mind, but was bemused when the young congregation closed their eyes, put their hands together and prayed. I didn't know who or what they were talking to since I was never given any direction from my parents. Thanks parents, you did me a favor. In my later years I came to realize what Christopher was talking about, I always believed there was something not right with Religion, so I turned to Deism. We came into this world totally innocent, our brains hard drives are clean and pure, then adults come along and fill them full of things that can only be damaging to us as a collective. History tells the rest of the story. Thank you Christopher.

A two books life!

Such a compelling account of a side of Christopher Hitchens that we came close to never knowing. I'm grateful to God for Larry and the compassion and kindness with which he showed C.H.. A wonderful story of what was considered a strange friendship and yet it wasn't strange at all.