A Comeback for God? with Justin Brierley
Christian author and broadcaster Justin Brierley joined the Rev Jamie Franklin to discuss his new book The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God and why he believes that we may be seeing signs of a revival of interest in Christianity in the Western world. Topics include:- The New Atheist movement: its appeal, internal division and eventual demise- Whether the Science vs. Religion question is relevant anymore.- Jordan Peterson, Tom Holland, Louise Perry and other secular thinkers who provide a challenge to the secular Enlightenment liberal narrative.- The need for the Church to be distinctively Christian and to offer real community for spiritual seekers.That and much much more as ever. For Justin's book please go to: https://justinbrierley.com/the-surprising-rebirth-of-belief-in-god/For Justin in general: https://justinbrierley.com/If you enjoyed this special episode, please consider supporting the podcast in the following ways:Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/irreverend) or Buy Me a Coffee (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irreverend). Subscribe to Jamie's Blog here: https://jamiefranklin.substack.com. And please rate, review us and share on social media!Timings:00:00 Unbelievable? and early apologetics podcasts02:23 Bringing difference points of view into debate03:28 What is Justin doing post-Unbelievable?06:00 The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Justin’s new book07:02 Please convince me to be an optimist about the future07:44 New Atheism and the background to rebirth of belief in God12:20 Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion and the decline of New Atheism17:58 Why science cannot prove God19:55 Is it still worthwhile engaging the Science vs. Faith question?21:33 People are still conditioned in the anti-Christian Enlightenment narrative23:38 Tom Holland and the historical pushback to the Enlightenment narrative25:26 Jordan Peterson, the “Intellectual Dark Web” and the new conversation on God33:38 Tom Holland and the insufficiency of recognising the cultural value of Christianity38:25 Louise Perry, The Case Against the Sexual Revolution and feminist interest in Christianity46:12 The need for Christian communities to help people live differently48:48 Christianity works because it is literally true49:30 The Church’s need to find confidence in the Gospel53:48 Isn’t the West decline into barbarism and moving away from Christianity?58:48 The rapid secularisation of culture could be reversed1:03:45 Thank you, please buy The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in GodSupport the show