Last night Jenni and I watched Collision: Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson (DVD | stream on Canon+), an 87-minute film in which two witty public intellectuals debate whether Christianity is good for the world.

As we expected, the debate is fascinating, fast-paced, evenhanded, and edifying. The creative camera angles and other non-verbal aspects of the film make it even more provocative (and kind of strange).

Related:

1. The film is based on the book Is Christianity Good for the World? A Debate (Moscow, ID: Canon, 2008).
2. The book grew out of a six-part exchange in Christianity Today.
3. Justin Taylor shared some thoughts after viewing the film in March.
4. John Piper interviewed Doug Wilson for 16 minutes after showing the film at the Desiring God conference last weekend. One of Piper’s questions goes like this: “In the video you speak about having ‘copiousness.’ Describe what that is and whether you think it is important for pastors to cultivate.” I think Wilson personifies these two proverbs: “To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, / and a word in season, how good it is!” (Proverbs 15:23). “A word fitly spoken / is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Proverbs 25:11). Wilson’s copiousness is inspiring.

Updates:

1. John Piper evaluates Doug Wilson in the first 15.5 minutes of this video (early 2013, I think).

2. Doug Wilson reviewed Larry Alex Taunton’s The Faith of Christopher Hitchens: The Restless Soul of the World’s Most Notorious Atheist (Nashville: Nelson, 2016). Superlative review.