March 6, 2009, 8:25 am
J. Budziszewski admits that his nihilism was motivated in part by his desire to “get back” at God “for the various things which predictably went wrong in my life after I had lost hold of Him.” He confesses, as well, that he “had come to confuse science with a certain world view . . . that nothing is real but matter.” Budziszewski emphasizes, however, that “the main reason” for his nihilism was “sheer, mulish pride. I didn’t want God to be God; I wanted J. Budziszewski to be God.” — F.R. Duplantier, “Behind The Headlines,” 2000
The Revenge of Conscience by J. Budziszewski was another of the books I featured in a “Behind The Headlines” commentary, Budziszewski another of the authors I got to interview as a guest host on Phyllis Schlafly’s Saturday morning radio program. Like Paul Vitz, author of Faith of the Fatherless (see yesterday’s post), Budziszewski went through an extended period of doubt and disbelief before regaining the faith of his childhood. Like Chesterton, Budziszewski has a gift for turning phrases, and his book is full of great lines. My favorite is this one: “Not many of us doubt God’s existence and then start sinning. Most of us sin and then start doubting. . . .”
