Did Christianity Build the West? Glen Scrivener vs Atheism UK President John Richards

Unbelievable?

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Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 14 August 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this explosive end-of-term schools debate, Unbelievable? host Andy Kind moderates a gripping clash between Christian evangelist and CEO of Speak Life, Glen Scrivener and John Richards, President of Atheism UK. Recorded live at St Michael's School in Aylesbury (thanks to Aylesbury Youth For Christ), the debate asks: Does Christianity provide the moral foundation of the West? Glen argues that Western values—such as equality and compassion—are shaped by 2,000 years of Christian influence. John counters that morality evolved naturally and religion often fuels division. From ancient Rome to Richard Dawkins, from the Good Samaritan to scientific discovery, this is a passionate exchange that pulls no punches. 🔔 Subscribe and share to spark deeper conversations. 👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡 🎧 Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast a www.premier.plus/unbelievable 🎙️ 🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢 Social Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unbelievablefe Facebook: / https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Instagram: / https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: / https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable

Transcript

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0:00.0	Are you hungry to go deeper with God and find your place in God's mission to the world?
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0:40.6	.uk. Join our vibrant community today.
0:49.3	Hello, welcome to Unbelievable with me, your host. And you can't. It's our end-of-term special, our final schools debate of the year.
0:57.6	We're here at a school in Aylesbury.
0:59.7	And what a way to go out with a bang, not a whimper.
1:03.7	I've been joined by two absolutely fantastic individuals.
1:08.1	To my left, we have John Richards, who is the president of Atheism, UK. And to my right,
1:13.9	we have Glenn Scrivener of SpeakLife and one of the foremost exponents of the Christian message
1:20.7	in 2025. And today we're discussing a very interesting topic. Some of you will have read Tom Holland's work over the last
1:29.1	few years. We're asking the question, does Christianity give the West its foundation? So,
1:36.6	are the moral foundations of the West, for instance, accountable for Christianity, by Christianity, or are there other reasons?
1:46.1	So that's what we're looking at. And Glenn, we'll start with you. Obviously, you wrote a book
1:50.7	a few years ago now called The Air We Breathe, but we'll let you lead off. Do you want to
1:56.5	give us an indication of, first of all, whether you think the Western world has Christianity to thank for its foundations.
2:04.5	And if so, why, please?
2:06.7	Okay. So I am Glenn. I'm married to Emma. We have two children. We live on the south coast of England.
	...

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