202. The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God — A Conversation with Justin Brierley

Faith Matters

Faith Matters Foundation

Morality, Lds, Ethics, Mormonism, Latter-day Saint, The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints, Christianity, Philosophy, Mormon, Religion & Spirituality

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 February 2024

⏱️ 62 minutes

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Summary

A little less than two decades ago, you might walk past a bookstore and see The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins featured among the bestsellers. The mid to late 2000’s were the heyday for the New Atheists, a small cohort of scientists and philosophers who were convinced religion was both untrue and a bad influence in the world. At the time, it was easy to see the rise of the New Atheists as the latest peak of secularism, a sign that public belief in religion was long gone, and there was no going back.

Where we sit now in 2024, we can see that the New Atheist movement fell apart due to internal disagreement and concern about its own influence on the world. According to our guest Justin Brierley, public opinions towards religion are complex and mixed, not nearly as negative as the New Atheist movement would have anticipated. In fact, there are many signs that a Christian renewal is underway. From notable conversions of high-profile individuals to the rise of secular thinkers defending Christianity to the increasing skepticism that science and atheist worldviews can answer our most important questions, Justin observes that the Christian story is far from dead.

Justin Brierley is a writer, speaker, and podcaster committed to building dialogue between Christians and non-Christians. His first book was titled Unbelievable? Why, after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian and in September 2023 he published his second book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God.

Zach interviews Justin in this episode, and the conversation ends with several fascinating questions: will there be a renewal of Christianity and belief in God? If so, are the churches prepared for it? How can the Christian world transcend tribalism and culture wars to welcome a new batch of seekers?

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0:00.0	Hey everybody I just wanted to jump on really quickly before we get started to make sure that you know about Thomas McConkey's new book.
0:05.2	It's the newest book from Faith Matters publishing and it's called At OneMint, embodying the fullness of human divinity.
0:10.2	This book feels like a guide to transformation. Thomas brings together insights and practices from all of his experience studying under masters in Sufism, Buddhism, and Christian contemplation over the last 25 years.
0:21.0	But then he also integrates some really powerful concepts from developmental
0:24.3	psychology and neuroscience. This book was transformative and resonant and deeply rooted in gospel
0:29.2	principles and it's experiential. It's full of practices and meditations that will help you to metabolize and
0:34.2	embody what you read as you go.
0:36.2	I think it will profoundly affect the way you see the world, and I really can't recommend it
0:39.6	enough.
0:40.6	You can find at OneMint on Amazon, Audible, and a desert book. I hope you enjoy it.
0:44.8	Hey everybody, this is Aubrey Chavez from Faith Matters. A little less than two decades ago,
0:49.7	you would have seen books like The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins or God is not great
0:54.0	by Christopher Hitchins featured among the bestsellers at most bookstores.
0:58.2	The mid to late 2000s were the heyday for the new atheists, a small cohort of scientists and philosophers who were sure that
1:04.4	religion was both untrue and a bad influence in the world. And at the time it was
1:08.8	easy to see the rise of the new atheists as a signal that public belief in
1:12.4	religion in general was long gone.
1:14.9	But it wasn't long before we saw the new atheists movement begin to fall apart.
1:18.6	And according to our guest today, Justin Briarley, public opinion toward religion is actually complex and mixed and not nearly as negative
1:25.0	as the new atheist movement probably anticipated.
1:28.0	In fact, there are many signs that a Christian renewal is underway.
1:31.0	From notable conversions of high-profile individuals to the rise of secular
	...

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