With such a contradiction hanging over his head in a Damoclean fashion, it seemed to me that Mr. Hitchens was ever at risk of being waylaid by the grace he rejected. For while we know from the Apostle John that Heaven rejoices in the just punishment of the guilty, we also know from the Lord Jesus Christ that it rejoices in the salvation of the lost. And while we often associate God’s patience with a forestalling of judgment, it occurs to me that salvation could also be framed (at least poetically), as a divine unwillingness to forestall grace. And as I note elsewhere in this essay, one takeaway from the book of Job is that any attempt to dictate terms to God falls into a category that theologians have historically referred to as “really stupid ideas.” (Stephen Rodgers, “The New Atheism, Fast Company, and the Integrity of Doubt”)

by Stephen Rodgers

I intended to let this pass without comment, but Peter Lim had other ideas.

As someone at our church noticed (Cesar), the most recent issue of the apologetics journal In Antithesis featured a familiar article by yours truly. It’s especially fun to note that the article actually originated here on the Beacon.

• The original article can be found here.
• The issue of In Antithesis containing the re-worked article can be found here. (Also, I would recommend to you a previous issue found here).
• While I have the highest respect for the work that the CH crew does, I thought their formatting left a bit to be desired. If you’re really interested, a .pdf version formatted according to my personal preferences can be downloaded here.

Coram Deo