The Rage Against God

How Atheism Led Me to Faith

By: Peter Hitchens

Narrated by: Peter Hitchens

Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

What if notorious atheist Christopher Hitchens, best-selling author of God Is Not Great, had a Christian brother? He does.

Peter Hitchens details a very personal story of how he left the faith but dramatically returned. And like many of the Old Testament saints whose personal lives were intertwined with the life of their nation, so Peter's story is also the story of modern England and its sad spiritual decline.

Peter brings his work as an international journalist to bear as he documents firsthand accounts of atheistic societies, specifically in Communist Russia, where he lived in Moscow during the collapse of the Soviet Union. He shows that the world's bloodiest century, the 20th, entailed nothing short of atheism's own version of the Crusades and the Inquisition. The path to a secular utopia, pursued by numerous modern tyrants, is truly paved with more violence than has been witnessed in any era in history.

Hitchens provides hope for all believers whose friends or family members have left Christianity or who are enchanted by the arguments of the anti-religious intellects of our age.

©2010 Peter Hitchens (P)2010 Zondervan

Well spoken!

really enjoyed how Peter Hitchens talks about the history of his country the history of Russia and and the results of driving God from the public square. It is a case study that every atheist should look into before they call for the dismantling of the Christian faith. The other point is that an atheist should be more intellectually honest. Equating the God of the Christian narrative to the god of the Muslim narrative is just intellectually dishonest. into convenient. without the brutality in murdering nature of fundamental Muslims the atheist is left with deflated historical points that are very flimsy. I believe that Peter looks at this subject in the most honest and compelling way.

A mistitled but enjoyable book

Having enjoyed stories of deconversion to atheism, I though I would treat myself to the opposite experience by proxy of the brother of Christopher Hitchens, one of the world's most vocal atheists. I wanted to know the intimate, inner workings of a mind that turned from atheism to faith. In this, I was not satisfied. Peter Hitchens does not reveal why he became a Christian, other than relating some significant moments such as being struck by the possibility of actual divine punishment of sin while looking at a renaissance painting . I am left with the impression that ultimately, he has turned back to Christianity because he likes the association of that tradition with fond memories of his early life (which ARE related in the book), as well as being genuinely shocked by experiences in countries where religious tradition has either dissipated or been suppressed. If you are looking for deep thoughts about these experiences that lead one to an inexorable acceptance of God as real, you will be disappointed.

And yet, this is an enjoyable book. The anecdotes of the author's life are fascinating, and told in a polished, entertaining style. Hitchens drops a few hints of how he really feels about the modern world, and I vehemently disagree with some of his positions - but he writes in a well-phrased, educated, polished prose that draws the listener in. The entire text reads like a massive newspaper editorial (perhaps not surprising, given the author's many years in journalism). The impression Hitchens conveys of himself is that of an ecucated, intelligent, relentless pessimist, disappointed with the world, and only a little less disappointed with his own past.

The epilogue, as another reviewer noted, is perhaps the most touching part of the book. The unexpected peace between two brothers, after years of feuding, is enough to restore a person's faith not just in humanity (which Hitchens himself would reject), but in Hitchens himself.

Heartfelt Account

This book is a heartfelt account of the author’s struggle with God’s love and existence. Excellent work of literature and a thought provoking listening experiencing.

Good content. But narration could have been better

I played this several times. Even though it seemingly wandered off into biographical topics, they were interesting and supported the main topic as a whole in the end.

The only problem I had with this book was the narration. Hitchens should let a professional speaker do his narration. I am used to British English and have done several audio books done by British speakers with no problem. The problem was with enunciation and pacing rather than accent. At times the rapid-fire mumbling was difficult to decipher for this American.

To Christopher with Love

As much as I enjoyed the content, the beautiful thing about this book was the love Peter had of his brother (and mutual affection Christopher must have had towards him).

thought it was going to be better

What disappointed you about The Rage Against God?

The book was ramblings by the author. 'Rage against God' is a poor title, it should be babblings by Peter Hitchens. I got so tired of Mr. Hitchens wandering, I stopped listening.

Would you ever listen to anything by Peter Hitchens again?

No

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Peter Hitchens?

I don't believe another narrator would fare any better.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No

Any additional comments?

Don't waste a credit on this book.

Disappointing

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Although the subject is fascinating, this book failed to keep my interest. Ultimately I stopped listening. I was very disappointed that it wasn't better.

Started strong but falls flat

I was interested to read this book, having read some of Christopher Hitchens' work. The beginning of the book is pretty good. However, it is suddenly changed to journalistic literature analyzing the downfall of countries like Great Britain and Russia.

The subtitle "How Atheism Led Me to Faith" led me to believe that the author would devote a substantial portion of his narrative to doing just that--explaining the factors that compelled him to convert. However, there is very little in the book detailing his actual conversion or his reasoning for making the leap of faith.

The most interesting part of the book is the chapter devoted to whether religious wars are really fought in the name of religion. I think my major with the book was how it was organized. It jumps from place to place with no connective aspects to bring it all together. Overall I was disappointed.

Read WAY Too Fast

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I couldn't get through this whole book because it was read so fast that it was not at all enjoyable.

Would you be willing to try another one of Peter Hitchens’s performances?

No!

Any additional comments?

Reading is not meant to be a horse race. It's supposed to be a leisurely experience.

No substance

What would have made The Rage Against God better?

Author spent too much time with worthless filler material. I could care less how many adjectives he uses to describe his childhood or thoughts on the birds. The first six chapters are extremely useless.

What do you think your next listen will be?

not sure… looking now.

How could the performance have been better?

find a new author with compelling view points

What character would you cut from The Rage Against God?

n/a

Any additional comments?

Again, author spent too much time with worthless filler material. I could care less how many adjectives he uses to describe his childhood or thoughts on the birds. The first six chapters are extremely useless. Create actual content that gives a compelling arguement. Nobody cares who your brother is we are looking for insight for or against atheism. This provided neither.