The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God: Why New Atheism Grew Old and Secular Thinkers Are Considering Christianity Again is the culmination of years of conversations with numerous leading thinkers about matters of faith. For more than a decade, Justin Brierley was the host of the Unbelievable? radio show and podcast, which brought unbelievers and believers together for meaningful conversations. Over time, he noticed a substantial change in the tone and content of the conversations. No longer was there the bombastic berating of religion and God by atheistic thinkers. There actually seemed to be an openness to the value of faith.
As he began to pay attention, the influence of New Atheism appeared to be waning and a number of leading thinkers who had been atheists or staunch agnostics were opening up to the possibility of God or at least concluding that the Christian story is deeply powerful and valuable. This observation caused Brierley “to wonder whether, even in the midst of our highly secular culture, we are witnessing a sea change in people’s openness to faith” (page 3) and that became the impetus for this book.
Brierley suggests that the outgoing tide of faith is reaching its “farthest limit and that we may yet see the tide of faith come rushing in again in our lifetime” (page 4). He recounts the conversations he’s had and the reasons people give for their change of posture toward faith, all of which leads him to wonder if maybe a fresh wave of belief in God is just around the cultural corner. His aim is “to show why Christianity can still make surprisingly good sense to twenty-first-century people and how the church can ready itself for those who may choose to walk through its doors again” (page 5).
Summary
The book opens by narrating how New Atheism burst onto the scene in the early 2000s. With books, conferences, and rallies, it railed against the idea of God and ridiculed religion, gaining steam seemingly almost overnight. If you’re not familiar with the phrase “new atheism,” perhaps you’ve heard of names like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, three of the leading voices of New Atheism. They joined forces in the early 2000’s in a quest to save the masses from the evils of religion with books like The God Delusion and God Is Not Great. Very quickly they attracted thousands of fans, and the world was abuzz with reasons not to believe. But surprisingly, their influence was short-lived and New Atheism began to fizzle out only a decade after getting started.
After narrating that story, Brierley explores the new conversation about God that he sees currently happening in broader western culture, especially among prominent secular thinkers. He highlights the story of Jordan Peterson, once an agnostic psychology professor from the University of Toronto who has become a bit of a cultural sensation and now gives public lectures expressing profound respect for the wisdom of the Bible. Brierley also shares the stories of several other intellectuals who are changing their tune about the value of faith. Some are full converts to Christianity, while others are more admirers who see the value of the Christian story. All of this suggests to Brierley that the Christian story is making a comeback in Western culture.
“The Christian story is making a comeback in Western culture.”
In the remaining 5 chapters of the book, Brierley surveys the kinds of questions and subject matter that has been causing atheists to doubt their unbelief. From history, he shows how the values and virtues that even many unbelievers hold as crucial for human society are the result of Christianity (chapter 3). In chapter 4, he recounts how even a number of secular thinkers are recognizing that the Bible is reliable and “contains a deep well of psychological, practical, and spiritual wisdom” (page 101). He describes how recent scientific discoveries have led a number of unbelieving scientists to conclude that there must be a super-intellect and a super-power behind the universe (chapter 5).
He then moves to whole different kind of data in chapter 6, what might be called psychological data. He describes how the human quest for meaning can’t be satisfied by atheism, while Christianity provides a better explanation of and the resources for a deeply meaningful life. Finally in chapter 7, he develops the thesis that our search for a meaningful story to live by is best answered by the story of Jesus.
Know What You’re Getting
This book is engaging, thought-provoking, and easy to read, but you need to know what you’re getting.
If you’re looking for a detailed work of apologetics, this is not your book. But if you enjoy apologetics and want to see snapshots of applied apologetics, this book is a useful read.
If you’re interested in reflecting on where culture is and what kinds of conversations can be helpful to that co-worker or neighbor who doesn’t yet believe but is curious about matters of faith, then this book is especially valuable.
The book’s subtitle raises a question: why did atheism grow old and why are people considering faith again?
In short, the answer Brierley offers is meaning. People need a story to live by and atheism fails to offer a better, more compelling story than Christianity. Therefore, as secular people have experienced that scarcity of meaning, they are beginning to revisit the Christian faith, finding that it offers a more complete story of human experience and holds more explanatory power for the full range of human experience. Through telling people’s stories and describing a few highlights from the discipline of apologetics, Brierley sounds a note of optimism for the potential of people returning to the church or exploring faith for the first time.
“Brierley sounds a note of optimism for the potential of people returning to the church or exploring faith for the first time.”
So, what does Brierley think the church should do to be ready for a fresh wave of openness to faith? He suggests the church must not limit its apologetic arsenal only to facts and data that appeal to the intellect. Some people might need that up front, but most don’t, he says. Brierley suggests that, for most people, that material is for a later step in people’s journey of faith. What they need up front is to want to believe, and that comes by engaging their story and God’s story, raising the possibility of a beautiful and grand story to live by. A story that answers their quest for meaning. A story that explains what they actually experience in life—outrage over evil, a yearning for justice, a longing for love, and a hunger for joy.
A Key Benefit
And that leads to a key benefit of the book: it shows us the kind of questions to be asking and conversations to be having with those who just might believe.
Therefore, it reminds those of us who follow Jesus that we should be winsome conversationalists, listening to people’s stories and engaging with their longings in a way that leads them to reconsider the value of Christian faith—and once they see that value, how we can help them grasp its truthfulness, too.
And for church leaders…
This book can help you think through how you can form your people in the big and better story of life and the world that Christianity offers. And as you’re mindful of secular folks who aren’t sure what they believe but have walked into your church, this book can help you see how you can invite them into the kinds of considerations Brierley explores.
“We should be winsome conversationalists, listening to people’s stories and engaging with their longings in a way that leads them to reconsider the value of Christian faith.”
Conclusion
The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God is an encouraging read that reminds us that “always being ready to give a reason for the hope we have” (1 Peter 3:15) entails more than traditional apologetic arguments. That giving a reason also includes the full range of human experience, and it offers the true story of the world and our place in it, because we humans are meaning-seeking creatures who need a grand story to live by.
