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Let him live the rest of his life out peacefully. I'm not trying to hurt him at all, and I'm not motivated by anger. I'm glad we got knocked down. Because of Watergate, I'm doing things that are much more meaningful in my life. I've been forgiven, for which I have much to be forgiven. But I'm just saying, "Don't teach this example." That's my passion. That's my greatest concern.

Your new book, The Good Life, is something of a departure for you. Why did you write it?

It's a departure for me for a couple of reasons. One is I have written primarily to the church up until now. Now I'm writing, I hope, to seekers. You won't find references to Scripture until you get to the very end of the book. I'm writing for seekers who are looking for answers to the meaning and purpose of life. And I'm explaining the things I experienced in my life, which turned out to be dead ends, and then taking the reader on a journey through rational, reasoned arguments which you pursue in order to find what is true in life.

It's kind of a natural order approach. It's a, I hope, kind of apologetic defense or apologetic presentation that seekers will find helpful. I've written the book primarily for seekers. Now, a lot of Christians are seekers. A lot of Christians have a nominal faith, and they don't really understand it. But what I argue in the book is that only the biblical worldview makes sense of life. But I don't get to that point until the end.

A lot of people have said that we're living in a postmodern era and rational arguments don't seem to work with those kinds of people anymore. Do you think this book will scratch people where they itch?

Young people are looking for answers to what life's about, and they're not rejecting religious answers. In fact, they're looking for religious answers. They are simply, woefully, ill-informed. I don't think reason is out the window. I think it needs to be resurrected to lead people through intelligent arguments about reality. In my opinion, you have to challenge the postmodern generation. This book does that. It challenges postmodernism as being a bankrupt way of seeing life. So I'd love to have a postmodernist read it. I don't believe the way you deal with postmodernism is to embrace it and build on it. I think you refute it.

What do you think most people are looking for?

I think people want to know what life is all about. Rick Warren exposed a raw nerve in the world. And that is, people want to know why on Earth they're here, as he put it so well. I started writing this book before The Purpose-Driven Life, but I was greatly inspired by Warren's example, because he's taking the Scripture and showing people how life has a purpose, which is terrific. I'm doing it by reason and by what I hope are thoughtful arguments that get you to the same place.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

The Good Life is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.

Charles Colson's columns for CT are available from our website.

Prison Fellowship has a statement from Colson about "Deep Throat."

Colson was interviewed by NPR for his reaction to the uncovering of "Deep Throat."

Colson was also a major figure in this Naples Daily News article about the revelation.

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June (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49