What happens when you pair a staunch atheist with an evangelical theologian and let them debate?
Opposites attract in the documentary "Collision," released Oct. 27 in Los Angeles and New York, which features Christ Church pastor Doug Wilson of Moscow and Christopher Hitchens, author of the bestselling book "God is Not Great," as they debate each other in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Since the documentary's release, Wilson and Hitchens have received a lot of media attention, appearing on radio and television shows like "Fox and Friends," "The Joy Behar Show," "Imus in the Morning" and the "Dennis Miller Radio Show."
Their partnership started in 2007 when Hitchens released "God is Not Great" and wanted to take an approach to celebrate the book's release that was departure from the traditional wine-and-cheese event. He invited anyone to debate his viewpoints.
Wilson's agent heard about this and put him in touch with Hitchens. The two began a series of written debates published in Christianity Today. The exchanges were turned into a book, "Is Christianity Good for the World?" published by Canon Press, a publishing company associated with Christ Church, which was released last year and resulted in a mini book tour.
Filmmaker Darren Doane, who in the past has made music videos like Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours," heard about the spirited exchanges between the two, and he sought out Hitchens and Wilson to pitch the idea of making a film around the debate.
In fall 2008, Doane and crew accompanied Hitchens and Wilson on an East Coast tour to promote the book resulting from the debates.
Wilson said he was pleased with the prospect of doing the documentary, which also is available on Amazon.com and currently is the top-selling religious documentary.
"There has been a huge interest in the subject," he said. "Christopher Hitchens sells very well. It's a hot topic and Christopher is a well-known writer, so his presence has helped garner interest."
The two's philosophies are like night and day, but both are known for their debating skills.
"We get along very well," Wilson said. "With Christopher you have to watch your step all the time. He's quick and witty."
Despite the opposing views on the existence of God, Wilson said he was able to find common ground with Hitchens on a variety of subjects.
"We have shared literary tastes, some shared territory in politics, but on the fundamentals we are poles apart, but we stay amicable," he said.
In debating Hitchens, Wilson said he had multiple goals.
"The central one is encouraging believers who are beat up by arguments all the time," he said. "Debates like this give encouragement to people like that."
He said he has enjoyed debating Hitchens.
"He is sharp enough to understand the point you are making, whether or not he acknowledges it," he said. "I think I've stopped him a couple or three times, but he's such an able debater, when he's stumped, it's not like he falls off his chair. He steers the conversation in another direction."
Wilson said there likely will be one or two local showings of "Collision" in November, but no specific dates have been set.