Hello friends

I was stunned to read the news that came out this past weekend that famous Ex-Muslim atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali has announced she is now a Christian.

Ayaan rejected the fundamentalist Islam she grew up with in Somalia and became an outspoken critic of religion along with other New Atheists in the mid 2000s, with a bestselling book ‘Infidel’.

But in a recent article for UnHerd titled ‘Why I am now a Christian’ Ayaan says she eventually found atheism insufficient to counter the growth of global authoritarian regimes, the rise of Islamism and the ‘viral spread of woke ideology’

Ayaan says she came to realise that everything she values about Western civilisation is built on the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Some have accused Ayaan of embracing Christianity for purely cultural reasons. But in her article she writes:

“I would not be truthful if I attributed my embrace of Christianity solely to the realisation that atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes. I have also turned to Christianity because I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace unendurable — indeed very nearly self-destructive. Atheism failed to answer a simple question: what is the meaning and purpose of life?”

You can watch my video response below:

justin.brierley

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Ayaan’s story is yet another example of a phenomenon I identify in my new book and podcast documentary series - The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God. New atheism has grown old and secular thinkers are considering Christianity again.

It seems Ayaan Hirsi Ali is on a journey realising that at both a civilisational and spiritual level we cannot save ourselves - we need some thing beyond us - the Christ who spoke the words of life that have shaped our culture. 

Ayaan is one among many people I am seeing make this transition from hard blown atheism to a new appreciation of the value of Christianity.

Ayaan concludes her article saying: Of course, I still have a great deal to learn about Christianity. I discover a little more at church each Sunday.

I wish Ayaan well on her new journey.

Thank God For Richard Dawkins

Have you listened to the latest episodes of The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God podcast?

In a recent episode I chart how Richard Dawkins and New Atheism sought to demolish belief in God. Ironically, it led to a revival in Christian apologetics and even the conversion of a number of atheists.

I speak to skeptics and converts who have reconsidered their approach to faith and are grateful that Richard Dawkins opened up the God question for them.

I’ve had lots of wonderful feedback to this new podcast so far, including Sam who wrote:

“You guys really really need to listen to this documentary series. If I hyped it harder I'd still fall short of how educative and yet comforting and encouraging I found it. Thank you, Justin, for yielding to this call.”

AND… If you’d like to listen to the next episode of the podcast A WHOLE WEEK EARLY you can do so by becoming a Silver of Gold level Patreon supporter…

And the next episode is a doozie….

Welcome to Peter Byrom - Operations Manager for Think Faith

I’m absolutely delighted to announce that Think Faith (the name of the company under which all my projects now sit) has just appointed its first full time member of staff.

Peter Byrom and I go back many years. He began listening to Unbelievable? in the late 2000s while he was still an agnostic, beginning to question the new atheist arguments against religion.

Joyously he went on an a personal and intellectual journey that brought him to faith (indeed you can hear his story in Ep 1 and Ep 3 of the new podcast) and eventually ended up working alongside me, making a huge difference to the shows and resources I was able to produce while at Premier.

Providence (combined with a leap of faith on both our parts) has led to Peter now accepting a role with my fledgling company. Peter will be helping with administration, project management and content editing. I can’t wait to see how God uses our ongoing partnership.

Naturally, such an appointment is a significant financial outlay for our new company. If you feel able to support our ongoing work you can do so here.

And… if you’re in the USA, we are partnering with Defenders Media to allow US donors to contribute tax-efficiently. Just click here to give a tax-deductible gift.

With all best wishes

Justin