Famed atheist Christopher Hitchens took a podium next to his brother Peter Hitchens, a Christian, last Thursday in a debate sponsored by Michigan’s Grand Valley State University. Peter, a member of the church of England, is a journalist, like Christopher — the author of God Is Not Great: Why Religion Poisons Everything. Their parents raised them as nominal Anglicans.

Peter worked for London’s Daily Express for over 20 years, but left the paper in 2000 shortly before a pornographer bought it. He now writes a Sunday column for the Daily Mail, the Express‘ competitor, in addition to keeping a blog, appearing on radio programs and doing freelance work for other papers.

Peter Hitchens told WoW that reporting on wars and living in Russia has shown him the worth of religion. “They intensify your humility, because you’re exposed, without particular protection,” he said. Parenthood and “the normal temptations of life, when you find out you’re not as terrific as you think you are,” have increased his sense of humility.

But music and the arts suggest to Peter, that, contrary to John Lennon, there is more above us than sky. He believes that Beethoven’s music existed in eternity before the artist put the notes on paper. “There’s a solace in music which I don’t understand,” he said. “I think the origin of much of music is in religion.”

In an interview with the Grand Rapids Press before the debate, Peter said he was at a disadvantage with his brother because he didn’t have Christopher’s certainty: “I can’t definitively say I’m right and he’s wrong. … What I’m saying is this is what I choose to believe.”

The brothers have other significant differences. Christopher supports the war in Iraq; Peter opposes it. Peter lives in England while Christopher has immigrated and become a U.S. citizen. An apparently atheist-heavy crowd applauded Christopher when the two argued about the existence of God but seemed divided in the first part of the debate when the brothers debated the war in Iraq.

Christopher likened Christianity to a “celestial North Korea” in which God can “convict you of thought crimes in your sleep.” “At least you can f—–g die and leave North Korea,” he said.

Peter said his brother enjoyed “the luxury of atheism,” promoting atheism as an ideal, but not dealing with the despair and violence it seems to inspire in English young people and its affect on whole in countries — like North Korea. Christianity can’t be replaced by a blank space, he said.

“You do have to give people hope, when they’ve done things that are grievous and intolerable,” he said. “And what hope is there, besides a sacrifice?”

Richard Dawkins admits that he’d rather say “Happy Christmas” than “Happy Holiday Season.”  And he admits such a glaring truth that most atheists really don’t want to admit:

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