335 - Justin Brierley - The Next Great Renewal

I had the opportunity to sit down with Justin Brierley to talk about Christian apologetics, the state of public discussions about faith, new converts, the identity crisis, and the rise of the “Christian atheist” with figures like Tom Holland, Jordan Peterson, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali intellectually aligning themselves with Christianity.

Justin Brierley is a freelance writer, speaker and broadcaster who has become known for creating dialogues between Christians and non-Christians. Justin is passionate about creating conversations around faith, science, theology, and culture. Through creative use of podcast, radio, print, video and social media, he aims to showcase an intellectually compelling case for Christianity, while taking seriously the questions and objections of sceptics.

Justin has worked in radio, podcast and video for over two decades. Until April 2023 he was Theology & Apologetics Editor for Premier Christian Radio, and hosted the Unbelievable? radio show and podcast as well as the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast. Justin was also editor of Premier Christianity magazine from 2014-2018, for which he continues to contribute articles. 

Original YouTube version: https://youtu.be/nIqBOQ-Vyhc 

Justin’s website: https://justinbrierley.com 
Surprising Rebirth Book: https://justinbrierley.com/the-surprising-rebirth-of-belief-in-god/
Surprising Rebirth Podcast: https://justinbrierley.com/surprisingrebirth/

Justin Brierley’s book on Amazon, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again (Sep 2023): https://www.amazon.com/Surprising-Rebirth-Belief-God-Christianity-ebook/dp/B0BX14YSTH

My recent feature with Justin Brierley on the Re-Enchanting podcast brought to you by ( @SeenUnseenMag ) Seen & Unseen Magazine: https://youtu.be/ToWHWrmN2xY?si=7zU_Te_-p5aasJWm 

Mentioned:
- Jordan Peterson on the Unbelievable podcast, debating with Susan Blackmore: https://youtu.be/syP-OtdCIho?si=7UFzr6K6PIluV7fO 
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali's article on UnHerd magazine, ‘Why I am now a Christian: Atheism can't equip us for civilisational war’: https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/ 
 

Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:44 - Intro music
01:10 - Introduction
02:49 - The rise of the Christian atheist
05:57 - Elevatorgate
11:54 - Giving Christianity a second look
14:11 - Ayaan Hirsi Ali Unherd article
14:39 - New converts
18:14 - Men's meaning crisis
21:22 - What's lying ahead
27:07 - Recapture apologetics today
29:16 - The role of artists
33:41 - Non-Christian Christian apologists
36:34 - Jordan Peterson's debate on Unbelievable
41:10 - “It depends on what you mean by ____”

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My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.