S1 E08. Ayaan Hirsi Ali: A New Atheist embraces Christianity

The Surprising Rebirth Of Belief In God

Justin Brierley

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 592 Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2023

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ayaan Hirsi Ali recently announced her conversion to Christianity. The Somali-born ex-Muslim was one of the key voices of New Atheism in the mid 2000s but created a big stir when she published an article titled 'Why I am a now a Christian'. In this bonus episode Justin speaks to Elizabeth Oldfield and Glen Scrivener about Hirsi Ali's story, hearing clips from her interviews and responses from critics who claim her embrace of Christianity is politically motivated rather than a spiritual conversion. More info, book & newsletter: https://justinbrierley.com/surprisingrebirth/ Support via Patreon for early access to new episodes: https://www.patreon.com/justinbrierley/membership Support via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/brierleyjustin Support via Tax-deductible (USA): https://defendersmedia.com/portfolio/justin-brierley/ Buy the book or get a signed copy: https://justinbrierley.com/the-surprising-rebirth-of-belief-in-god/ Ep 8 show notes: https://justinbrierley.com/surprisingrebirth/episode-8-ayaan-hirsi-ali-a-new-atheist-embraces-christianity-the-surprising-rebirth-of-belief-in-god-podcast/ Also, check out our show ‘Uncommon Ground’ for discussion and debates: ⁠⁠https://justinbrierley.com/uncommon-ground-podcast/⁠⁠ The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God is a production of Think Faith in partnership with Genexis, and support from The Jerusalem Trust & the Christian Evidence Society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Well, we were not prepared for this. The venue is full. However, the mission is bigger than the room. You can still join us. Due to the incredible uptake, our responding to the Rebirth Conference will now be live streamed. Book your online pass now at rebirthconference.net. You may not be in the room, but you can still be part of the
0:22.5	response from anywhere in the world on Saturday the 22nd of November. On the live stream,
0:28.5	you'll get full access to all keynote sessions, panels and interviews with guests, including
0:33.6	John Lennox, Paul Kingsnorth, Elizabeth Oldfield and Al Gordon.
0:39.3	You can take part in the Q&A.
0:42.1	You'll get to take home recordings of all of the sessions and get a front row seat to what God is doing.
0:45.7	A rebirth is happening.
0:47.6	Let's respond together wherever we are.
0:49.8	Book your live stream pass at rebirthconference.net.
1:06.4	My understanding of Jesus is not someone who rides in with tanks to destroy a civilizational enemy.
1:16.1	That was what was expected and that was why he was so confusing to people.
1:22.2	I see a precious soul made in God's image who in a very dark time has opened herself up and found something in the scriptures
1:31.0	and found something in the Jesus movements that that is making a real difference in her life.
1:37.2	I just have a little cry here.
1:40.0	Oh, the power of testimony, right?
1:54.0	Yeah. Oh, the power of testimony, right? Well, hello and welcome to a bonus edition of the surprising rebirth of belief in God podcast,
1:59.1	as we sort of take a break between our last act on the
2:02.6	new conversation on God. And just before we begin, our next act on how we've been shaped by the
2:07.9	Christian story. Today, I'm bringing you a conversation on the remarkable story of Ian Hersey
2:13.6	Ali, who only last month announced that she had embraced Christianity, having been a leading voice of the new atheist.
2:21.2	And I'm going to be exploring IAN's story with two guests, Elizabeth Oldfield and Glenn Scrivener.
2:26.7	Elizabeth is the host of The Sacred, a podcast from Theos about our deepest values and the stories that shape us.
	...

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