Just days from their Monday night face-off in New York, neither Christian conservative Dinesh D’Souza nor outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens was expecting an easy win.

Hitchens and D’Souza have debated each other twice before on policy questions, but never on religion. Now, with the May publication of Hitchen’s book, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, and this month’s release of What’s So Great About Christianity by D’Souza, the God issue is timely. Both talked to WoW this week.

For Hitchens, the question of God’s existence is behind all others: “I’ve always thought of it as the main argument. … Whatever you’re arguing about, whether biology or astronomy or genetics, you’re going to get to the point where you’re arguing about … what is good, what isn’t, what we are here for. That’s why I’ve been thinking about it all my life.

Hitchen’s fight against religion grew more urgent after the Ayatollah Khomeini ordered extremists to kill Hitchen’s friend, the novelist Salman Rushdie, “in the name of God.” “The great project of civilization is to demolish theocracy,” Hitchens said.

D’Souza says that Christians can no longer afford to remain silent: “A lot of Christians have retreated from the public square, hoping that it will remain neutral so they can practice their faith in private. … It seems to me that Christians have no alternative but to be engaged.”

Reason is the best counter to atheism, said D’Souza: “I would ask an atheist to make a list of the ten values or institutions that he regards the most. … I think the atheist would realize to his dismay that virtually none of these values would exist without Christianity.”

The debaters sized up the competition. “Hitchens tends to be a bit of a bomb-thrower,” D’Souza said. “I’m reviewing my strategies for how to beat him.” Hitchen said that unlike many apologists for Christianity, D’Souza knows the issues and is accustomed to debate. But he added, “I’ve never been told after these debates that I’ve lost one.”

Dinesh D’Souza and Christopher Hitchens will debate at the Society for Ethical Culture in Manhattan on Monday at 7:30 p.m. The debate is sponsored by The King’s College and is free and open to the public. For more information, contact [email protected].

WORLD on the Web interviews Dinesh D’Souza, author of What’s So Great About Christianity.

WORLD on the Web: You call your new book the first comprehensive answer to people such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. Did you draw from many Christian apologists, past and present, when researching, and if so, which ones?

D’Souza: Not particularly. There are some good apologists out there, but they tend to inhabit the church subculture. What I mean is that you’ve got guys like Lee Strobel and Ravi Zacharias. But have you seen Ravi Zacharias on Larry King? Have you seen them debate the leading atheists? I want to emulate C.S. Lewis: someone who has good academic credentials but writes for a mainstream audience.

WoW: Do you think What’s So Great About Christianity will have the effect of Lewis’ Mere Christianity for the 21st century?

It’s certainly written with that intention. I’m trying not only to inspire Christians but to engage the seeker. I love the idea of raising the difficult questions; not just refuting someone by saying, “you’re wrong because …” but also saying, “is it true that you believe…” Let’s be skeptical together … the Socratic approach.

WoW: You devote a lot of your time in the book to Darwinism and its effect on society. What is your opinion of forms of theistic evolution?

My main thought is that whatever you think about the subject, Christians should not feel that their faith is at stake. Christians are very defensive when it comes to the universe. We live in a designed universe, and it doesn’t really matter whether the dog and the wolf share a common ancestor.

WoW: You say that Christianity is growing and flourishing in the rural areas of America and in second- and third-world countries. What do you think is the future of cities like New York and Los Angeles?

I think that urban life is built on distraction. It tends to be a little bit hostile to traditional religious morality. However, as people enjoy the benefits of modernity, education, the cities, the thought that pops into the mind is, “is this all there is?” The feeling itself is a product of modernity. A lot of academics have thought that as a society becomes more modern, religion will wane. Just the opposite; (seeking) starts out with a real interest and a desire to know more. The real enemy of religion is not the atheist, but the one who is indifferent.

WoW: If there’s one aspect of the culture that you could see transformed or revived, what would you want that to be and why?

If I could transform one institution, I would probably start with education and schools.

WoW: What are some specific ways that you feel Christians have become apathetic or fallen short of their callings in recent times?

The Bible calls on all of us to be missionaries, contenders for the faith. Many Christians don’t have the right secular language to do that. If you’re talking to an atheist, he’s going to say, “I don’t care what the Bible says.” The point of reason is to remove the obstacles to faith. For many people, reason is a block. I’m not advocating reason as a substitute for faith, but as a prelude or preamble to faith.

WoW: What can the church be doing to transform the culture?

I would like to see the church be more explicit in providing debate and apologetics training. This wuld prepare people to not only be better Christians in the church, but also better Christians in the world. The church should train Christians to present their views in a secular culture.