In central London in 2009, red buses had a bold message stretched across their sides: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” It was the high tide of New Atheism—Richard Dawkins filling stadiums, and the cultural mood tilting hard against faith. Belief in God felt not only outdated but unfashionable. But something unexpected happened.
In a small radio studio near Westminster Abbey, a young broadcaster named Justin Brierley started inviting atheists and Christians to have honest conversations. No shouting. No mocking. Just listening, questioning, and seeking understanding. At the time, critics warned him:
“You’re giving atheism a platform! Christians will lose their faith!”
Atheists started listening, and some—even very public ones—began to reconsider. Scroll through YouTube comments today under Brierley’s debates with people like Richard Dawkins, and you’ll see an astonishing pattern. Atheists writing things like: “I don’t believe in God, but this conversation made me think.” “This is the first Christian space where I’ve felt respected.” “I’m an atheist… but I’m curious again.”
One journalist calls it a “softening.” A growing number of public intellectuals have begun speaking publicly about Christianity as morally beautiful, culturally essential, and spiritually compelling.
Brierley calls it a “surprising rebirth of belief in God.” Many people—especially young men—are quietly asking again: “What if there is more?” Sometimes God moves by opening cracks in even the most confident doubt.