Customer Reviews

COLLISION: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I was lucky to see an advance of 'Collision'. Hitchens is at his best and Wilson is his perfect foil. It was so refreshing to hear two intelligent, passionate and knowledgeable men able to have a meaningful debate/discourse without it degenerating to any disrespectful level - (especially in these current times).

The evolution of their debate and discourse is also quite interesting. It could just be good editing, but I believed these men listened to each other and were often challenged to not rely on their standard answers and thoughts. The debate increases in enjoyment because of it. It was also refreshing to see them often agree with one another, on completely different merits - (not fundamentally of course).

My level of respect has risen for both of them. Whatever your belief system, or lack thereof, this film will challenge some of your ideas. I highly recommend it.

I saw a pre-screening of "Collision," and it was fantastic. Douglas Wilson and Christopher Hitchens don't beat around the bush. It's not your typical debate - both are calm, poised, witty, educated, and sharp. This is a film that people from both sides of the debate can enjoy.

You will quickly realize that this debate engages the surrounding culture and arguments of pathos and ethos, and not only the logical arrangements that have become characteristic of both atheists and Christians. As Wilson said, Christopher is a "public intellectual; the only intellectual that matters."

I highly recommend it! It makes a great gift too, and is a perfect conversation starter.

Last week my wife and I were able to view the film Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson. As expected, we found both Hitchens and Wilson to be witty and intelligent, even charming. The movie is put together well, giving the viewer the highlights of a series of debates that Hitchens and Wilson held over the last year immediately after co-publishing Is Christianity Good for the World?.

Somewhat surprisingly to me, Hitchens' main arguments are that religion is not necessary for morality (in fact, he says, it degrades it, as it is more commendable to love one's neighbor in the absence of divine instruction rather than because of God's commandment) and that the doctrine of vicarious substitution is perverse and wicked (because of the idea that one person, an innocent person, can bear the blame for another). As expected, Hitchens repeatedly mentions the Old Testament slaughtering of whole nation-states (men, women, and children).

Wilson presses hard on the lack of any basis for morality in Hitchens' atheistic worldview. His accusation is not that Hitchens is himself overtly immoral but that Hitchens has no basis for morality. Thus Hitchens, in strenuously claiming certainty, precisely about ethical matters, is borrowing Christian concepts while denying the Christian framework which validates those concepts.

All in all, a great film. Just a teaser: The interaction at the end is very interesting and surprising. Watch the movie, and then check out this 15-minute conversation that John Piper and Doug Wilson had about it.

This DVD is not a "debate" per se, but really a documentary *about* two people debating across the country. For that reason, don't expect this to be a 90 minute composition of prepared speeches from each side. And that's why I liked it!

The camera shifts back and forth between scenes from different debates, in the taxi on the way there, at the hotel rooms, at the dinner tables, where these two fantastic speakers have basically spent a whole week together. It's very entertaining watching them dine while suggesting ideas to each other.

In all fairness, I believe that Hitchens carries his point across more succinctly than Wilson. This might be because I am a huge Hitchens fan, but I really felt that the editing left Wilson's arguments incomplete. Or perhaps Wilson just isn't up to challenge Hitchens.

So, one reason I dropped a star from the review is that you never really get to hear a complete thought from start to finish -- on either side (but moreso Wilson) -- like you would at a debate. You'll hear the start of an argument, then it will change scenes to a bar or taxi cab for a different conversatino, then maybe if you're lucky you'll hear the middle of the original argument. Rarely does it seem the whole idea is presented.

The second reason is that the music is jarring and overdramatic, and gives a sense of intensity when it doesn't seem appropriate. I thought it was too loud in places, and made it difficult to hear what speakers were saying.

I hope that another documentary/debate DVD is released that does a better job of bringing the two styles together, is fairer to both sides, and doesn't try to be as artistic with the music. Until then, this is worth a watch if only to see Hitchens in a different venue than you normally would.

This is not a watch it once kind of a flick. I showed it to a group of friends last night and although they were enthralled, to a person they said they'd need to watch it again. At times the "Blair Witch" feel made the argumentation difficult to follow. The format is clearly not your garden variety lectern styled stuffy debate. It's funny, exhilarating, challenging and thought provoking. "Is Christianity Good for the World?" Well, that's the question Christopher Hitchens (atheist) and Douglas Wilson (Christian pastor) attempted to answer.

The reasoning on both sides, anti-theist and Christian, was riveting and the music presentation was captivating. As a Christian, I must admit that I was extremely impressed with Hitchens. He was witty, thoughtful, at times self-effacing and often powerfully direct. He pulled no punches and his take no prisoners style should be an abrupt wake-up call to the Christian community. This man was on his game and has apparently had his way with Muslims, Jews and Christians. I'd venture to say that few Christians would survive the Hitchens' assault...but then again he's rather freakish in that his IQ is off the charts, he's got an incredible command of the English language and his reasoning skills were brilliantly startling.

Wilson was Hitchens' intellectual equal and was clearly not shaken by Hitchens' well-placed attacks on Christianity. On numerous occasions Wilson hammered home the theme that Hitchens had co-opted the Christian moral worldview, since he could not account for the origin of his own morality.

One particularly poignant moment where I felt that Wilson became super-energized and more forceful, came at the halfway point when Hitchens did the old tried and true "Jesus predicted he'd return in the lifetime of his disciples. He didn't do it and therefore he's a false prophet, not God and thus Christianity is a bankrupt religion"... Wilson said rather emphatically something to the effect of "Jesus was speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem not the end of the space/time universe. He simply wasn't." Wilson went on to explain his preterist eschatological position that few Christians are even aware of. This was one of the few points where Hitchens seemed unprepared and for a season, silenced.

At any rate, I believe the producers created a very well-balanced movie. Both atheists and Christians may think their view was victorious. Some Amazon reviewers have offered slightly negative critiques because in their mind "Collision" didn't solve anything. That's true. But that was the point. Serious arguments were presented on both sides, giving the watcher the chance to hone and refine their particular worldview. The debate should not be considered an end in itself but the starting point for serious inquiry. It has been my belief that too many Christians shy away from these kinds of tough questions. That must stop.

I admit my bias in saying the following. Christians can take the best shots Hitchens, Dawkins and other atheists can land. However, they need not be lazy or unprepared. If they don't bring their "A" game they will not meet their challengers.

The flic was great overall. Cinematography was creative and well-done in my opinion. Excellent soundtrack. My only criticism is that at some points the soundtrack was a tad too loud, making it difficult to hear what the respective speaker was saying. The editors were very aware of, and included key points in the respective arguments, making each scene thought-provoking. Who wins the discussion? You will have to decide, but, in my opinion, it is very clear in the final scene.

Most Christian vs. atheist debates are horribly one sided but Hitchens has finally stumbled across a consistent, rational Christian and I think he was surprised. Part of the importance of this movie is that it gives Christians an example of how to interact with people of opposing worldviews. You should not pretend like your beliefs can "coexist", yet you need to remember you are interacting with another human made in God's image. These two men clearly respect one another. In other words, there is a third option beside being spineless and being a bigot.

I found this video very confusing to say the least. Not because of the protagonists, as they are superb, but for technical reasons. I have read Hitchens book "God is not great" and admire his savvy about the topic of non-believing. Everyone should read Hitchen's take on religion for enlightenment if not for amusement and I told you so opportunities. Douglas Wilson is new to me. He has a first rate mind but is somewhat suffering from compulsiveness and rambling incoherent arguments. I kept asking myself, "What did he say? How's that again?" Because of the poor editing I suppose, there are numerous non sequiturs on camera from both men that are very distracting. This video has a lot going for it but it is a mess as far as editing, POV, sound, unfocused and jerky camera work. This was a great opportunity to hear two heavyweights debate "whither God" but the film editors royally screwed it up by constantly changing venues, topics, camera angles, and inserting grainy black and white shots over pristine color. There are long establishing shots with a rap or hip hop song blaring about something or the other in the background that further alienate the viewer's attention. Having said that, there are great moments in the film of revelations and a fair amount of gallows humor. Hitchen's is a brilliant speaker but more than meets his match with Wilson, the bibliophile that never met a quotation he didn't like. However, the funniest quote in the film came from Hitchen's who says at one point, "Nietzsche said 'God is dead,' and Freud said 'God is dad'." (See the film). I felt like the film was really a long commercial for their collaborative book on the topic of Christianity, as it's mentioned many times throughout the documentary, but maybe not. In the end, Hitchen's makes an astounding revelation about his own philosophy which was quite compelling. Wilson, unfortunately, does not concede an iota towards Hitchen's thoughtful arguments which in my opinion outweigh the triteness of Wilson's unwavering faith. All this goes to show as Carl Sagan has written that once the mind has convinced itself of a fact or idea (such as God) there is hardly any way the mind can be persuaded differently...so here we have two good examples of a conversation of the deaf. It was worth the nine bucks I paid to view it but I wish the editing had been more coherent. I will not buy their book now.

Extremely well produced, stimulating, and rewarding to watch. There was a good rapport between the two, and less of the bitterness often demonstrated by Dawkins. Both these men come across as pretty likeable, but only one of them can be 'right'! You decide.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable debate to watch. Both of these men have read widely, are masters of rhetoric, and a lot of fun to listen to. This isn't a definitive debate for a scholarly pursuit, but it does cover the critical bases in a format that the entire family can watch and discuss. And if you're like me, it may spark questions for further self-study.

Sit back, laugh, and let this take you deeper into knowing what you believe and why you believe it.