Before I spoke with director Darren Doane, I had no idea what kind of person he would be.
I’d seen his new documentary, Collision, in which pastor Douglas Wilson and anti-theist Christopher Hitchens debate their diametrically opposed worldviews, but Doane doesn’t inject himself into the film like Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock. As Wilson and Hitchens trade intellectual volleys for 90 minutes, I genuinely couldn’t tell which of the two voices Doane sided with—they’re each given equal opportunity to espouse their arguments and opinions. I also wondered if Doane was merely a hired gun who knew how to make a film but didn’t have a dog in the fight, so to speak. Doane’s filmography wasn’t much help—he’s a respected music video director who has directed documentaries on the LA underground battle rap scene and Van Morrison. Nothing in his previous work screamed ardent atheist or mild-mannered believer. But within a few moments of talking to Doane, a committed Christian, it was evident that the engaging and challenging Collision is a product of his heart and faith.
Doane described Collision as a “pet project” that he wanted to do for the last 13 years, ever since he saw an organized theological debate as a new Christian. Something about the debate resonated with him, and he was determined to make a debate film. Specifically, he was determined to make a better kind of debate film, one that went beyond the standard two camera angles. A few years ago, Doane stumbled across the online debate Wilson and Hitchens participated in for ChristianityToday.com. In that four-part exchange, the pundits responded to the question, “Is Christianity good for the world?” and Doane was thrilled by what he read. He began trying to build relationships with those involved in the exchange in hopes of making his debate film dream a reality. “Once I saw who Douglas Wilson was and who Christopher Hitchens was, I thought if I could get on the road with these guys and film [the debate] the way I always wanted to film it, I could show people things they haven’t seen.”
The result is a film that gives voice to the most serious arguments of one of New Atheism’s most prominent mouthpieces and the confident response of evangelical Christianity. Christopher Hitchens has written for Vanity Fair, Slate, and The Atlantic, and his 2007 book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything was a New York Times bestseller. Douglas Wilson pastors Christ Church of Moscow, Idaho, and has written several books, including Letter from a Christian Citizen (Wilson’s response to atheist Sam Harris’s book Letter to a Christian Nation). Both men have a lot to say and do so with credibility and skill, and Doane’s film lets them operate.
Collision doesn’t muffle Hitchens or prop up Wilson in order to promote the Christian perspective. Instead, the director seems content to let the two debaters debate, to share their dialogue with the audience, and trust that the truth will win out. It’s as though Doane has taken his cues from Wilson, a passionate advocate for the Christian faith who takes no issue with a debate format (or a film, for that matter) that gives atheism equal time. Rather than boycott, ban, or burn opposing views, Wilson and Doane present a model for engagement and response, for a meaningful collision.
When he started, Doane thought Collision would be a “fun, cool, intense film about people debating [Christianity].” And on the surface, he was right. Doane describes both Hitchens and Wilson as willing and able opponents who showed up ready to fight, and the bulk of the film is their dynamic give and take. But on a deeper level, Doane reveals that Collision “is relational more than anything else. It’s not about getting a kick out of watching two guys fight.”
The relationship between Hitchens and Wilson is really what Collision documents. The pair’s first casual conversation was captured by Doane’s camera and we witness a bond form within minutes. While the two men deny each other’s positions, neither can deny the other’s intelligence, eloquence, wit, and level of commitment. In recognizing the worthy opponent across the table from him, each man responded with a healthy measure of respect. As the cameras rolled, that respect grew into a friendly rapport that still made allowances for stern disagreements. “They both began to have a very genuine affection for the other person,” Doane observes. “In a very sort of masculine way,” he adds. In fact, Doane recalls a public appearance in which Wilson admitted he and Hitchens were “dangerously close to becoming good friends.” While Doane is hesitant to offer any universal principles that emerge from his film, it appears that Collision proves once and for all that it’s possible for people on opposite sides of faith issues to talk to one another. Even more, it’s possible for such people to become friends and get to know one another beyond talking points and split-screen debates.
One takeaway from Collision that Doane is comfortable acknowledging is that Douglas Wilson “knows his Bible,” and the rest of us should, too. After all, that’s what he thinks gives Wilson the ability and confidence to represent his faith amid opposition. “If God is the creator of all things, then there is nothing in this world that is not a true reflection of who God is or some sort of lie or counterfeit. Culture is just one of those things,” Doane says. “So we can engage the culture only if we know what true culture is. If I understand who God is and how He desires things to be, that gives me a picture of truth. I need to know what it is I’m interacting with and what it is a counterfeit of.”
That approach to apologetics (as polarizing a term as that may be) seems like a good one. When Wilson, a theologian by trade, absorbs the Bible and familiarizes himself with the atheist perspective and arguments, he is ready to explain and defend the gospel in the public square. When he enters those conversations, Wilson does so with a personal faith that has overcome, rather than avoided, difficult questions, and he appears better for it. I suspect that’s another reason why Doane was willing to give Hitchens a voice in the film. Through outlets such as Collision, followers of Christ can learn to face (but not fear) the loud and charming assertions of New Atheism. Regardless of whether Wilson’s specific arguments provide a blueprint for colliding with the other side, perhaps his approach does just that. He’s calm, clear, firm, and funny as he debates Hitchens before an audience. Better yet, he’s the same way when the two are sharing a taxicab or a table in the back of a pub.
For more about Collision visit www.collisionmovie.com.