Why I’m Still a Christian: After Two Decades of Conversations with Skeptics and Atheists—the Reason I Believe

Unbelievable? podcaster Brierly (The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God) draws from his conversations with Richard Dawkins, Philip Pullman, and other nonbelievers in this comprehensive case for the value of Christian faith. Diving into debates on faith-related topics, Brierly provides insightful responses to questions like whether religion and science can coexist (yes, because the universe’s boundless complexity points to the presence of a creator) and whether Jesus was actually resurrected (yes, on the basis of historical data like the empty tomb and witnesses’ reports of the resurrected Jesus). Brierly’s less convincing when it comes to perennially spiky topics like suffering and why God allows it (possible explanations include that removing suffering from the world would also mean robbing people of free will and that hardship can spur people to grow their faith). Still, he provides a smart, evenhanded model for what disagreement on matters of faith can look like. Despite his fondness for apologetics, he’s also careful to delineate its limits, writing that a reasoned defense of Christian beliefs can remove barriers to faith for skeptics but can never be “the whole picture... in the end, nobody gets argued into the Kingdom of God.” This provides much food for thought. (May)