From the mid-1990s to the 2010s, New Atheism dominated the intellectual space. A virulent, attacking form of godless evangelism, it saw people like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens top best-seller lists, and draw huge crowds to their lectures.

Justin Brierley was in the middle of it all as New Atheism rose – and then collapsed. In its wake, Justin says he is seeing a new openness to theism – but where that might lead is anyone’s guess.

Meet our guests

Links

Special thanks to our season sponsor Zondervan Academic. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions

Get a copy of Brierley’s excellent book here

A transcript of this episode is available here. Please note, that due to software not all exchanges between guests will be completely accurate.

Extras

Check out these helpful links below for more info on what was discussed in this episode.

To Read

• Heaps of commentators have spent hours dissecting what happened to New Atheism – here’s a great Guardian explainer on it all
• Despite the best efforts of many communicators (including this podcast) a concerning amount of Christians still believe science and religion are at odds. Here’s a report breaking it all down
• Dawkins’ infamous Dear Muslima open letter was a turning point for New Atheism – and not in a good way. Here’s a breakdown of it all, courtesy of The Atlantic
• Former Atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Why I Am Now A Christian article caused a huge response. Check it out here
• Terry Eagleton’s book On Evil gives Christianity a fascinating appraisal from an “outsider”. Order yourself a copy here and check out this great review of it

To Watch

• You can find all of Justin’s work for Premier Unbelievable in your podcast app, but you can also watch his discussions, via the YouTube channel. Check it out
• The “Atheist Bus Campaign” was one of the hallmarks of New Atheism. Here’s the Guardian news story on it
• Sam Harris was one of the foremost voices of New Atheism – here he is sharing how the 9/11 attacks influenced his worldview
• “Elevatorgate” was one of the major breaking points for New Atheism. Here’s the Rebecca Watson video that started it all (skip to about 5’00 for the part Dawkins – and loads of others) took issue with
• Here’s Jordan Peterson, speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience about the cultural impact of the Bible

To Listen

• Check out our episode with Tom Holland (the historian, not the actor) here
• Tom Holland has also frequented Justin’s show – check out his debate with atheist A.C. Grayling (or better yet, watch it) here
• If you want more Justin Brierley action, check out this talk he recently gave, covering similar content to this episode
• Justin also recently appeared on the Whole Life Podcast, to discuss the reappraisal of Christianity in the world – check it out here

… and finally

• You can find loads of helpful material on all we’ve spoken about on this episode (and adjacent episodes) at the Centre for Public Christianity – co-founded by John Dickson!