Is the tide turning on a belief in God? Are we witnessing a wave of curiosity towards the Christian story?
In this episode, Jo and Peter sit down with the renowned author and former host of the Unbelievable? podcast, Justin Brierley, to delve into his latest book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God.
Join our co-hosts as they explore the journey Justin undertakes in his book, where he uncovers the unexpected resurgence of belief in God in an age supposedly characterised by scepticism and secularism. He considers what might it look like for the world to be ‘re-enchanted’ by the God story in new and imaginative ways, and the thought-provoking questions his book raises about the intersection of science, reason, and spirituality in our modern world.
For more conversations like this one, Justin also co-hosts the Re-Enchanting podcast. To listen to this and order your copy of his latest book, head to: justinbrierley.com
Part one (00:00)
01:54 – Are we looking at the birth of a new cultural tide where people are ready to hear the Christian story once again? Introducing Justin’s new book: The surprising rebirth of belief of God.
05:43 – The rise and fall of the mid-2000s ‘new atheism movement’ – why many people are no longer satisfied with atheism.
10:50 – “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing; they believe in anything…” Atheism opened a void that was filled by numerous other stories on life, meaning and purpose, that took people in all kinds of directions.
Part two (13:21)
13:36 – Since the Enlightenment, there has been a ‘disenchanting’ of the world – what does this mean? What problems does it pose? And does the Christian story have anything to offer?
18:47 – What story are you living for today? And other questions that might shift how we share the story of God in today’s culture.
22:45 – Christians have often sold the God story short, but what might it look like to re-enchant a world that is looking for meaning, belief and imagination?
27:27 – With a rise in cynicism towards the church, it’s important to recognise our own flaws while not becoming disenchanted with our own story.
31:15 – From Tom Holland to Jordan Peterson, how can we be careful about how we engage with so called ‘secular prophets’?