Don’t miss this Christianity Today debate between theologian Douglas Wilson and atheist author Christopher Hitchens on the question — “Is Christianity good for the world?” Regardless of which position you favor, you have to admire Wilson’s the following response to Hitchens’ argument that Christians have been guilty of bad acts:

[Y]ou say that if “Christianity is to claim credit for the work of outstanding Christians or for the labors of famous charities, then it must in all honesty accept responsibility for the opposite.” In short, if we point to our saints, you are going to demand that we point also to our charlatans, persecutors, shysters, slave-traders, inquisitors, hucksters, televangelists, and so on.
Now allow me the privilege of pointing out the structure of your argument here. If a professor takes credit for the student who mastered the material, aced his finals, and went on to a career that was a benefit to himself and the university he graduated from, the professor must (fairness dictates) be upbraided for the dope-smoking slacker that he kicked out of class in the second week. They were both formally enrolled, is that not correct? They were both students, were they not?
What you are doing is saying that Christianity must be judged not only on the basis of those who believe the gospel in truth and live accordingly but also on the basis of those baptized Christians who cannot listen to the Sermon on the Mount without a horse laugh and a life to match. You are saying that those who excel in the course and those who flunk out of it are all the same. This seems to me to be a curious way of proceeding.

This installment in the debate is the first of several installments in the debate that will occur over the next month, so stay tuned.
Update: Part two of the debate is here.
Update: Part three of the debate is here.
Update: Part four of the debate is here.