What’s The Real Truth About Religion? - Alex O’Connor

Alex O’Connor is a YouTuber, writer and a podcaster. Christianity is nothing new. But it's seeing a resurgence in popularity among some unexpected groups - public intellectuals and Gen Z. What is going on that only shortly after it was cool to be an atheist, it's now cool to go to church on a Sunday again? Expect to learn whether we are actually seeing a Christian revival, if the new wave of Christianity is just right wing conservatism in disguise, whether you can ‘choose’ to believe in God, if new atheism was a failure, why there is not a current muslim revival, what happened to the gospels that were missing from the original bible, whether there's two Gods in the Old Testament and much more... - 0:00 Are We Seeing a Christian Revival? 07:53 What’s Causing the Rise of Cultural Christianity? 18:46 Is it Possible to Choose to Believe in God? 23:48 Has Christianity Gone Too Soft? 38:49 Experience of Visiting the Vatican 43:49 Is the Rise in Religion Just a Conservative Movement? 57:59 Christianity as a Prophylactic Against Woke 1:05:33 Why Isn’t There an Islamic Revival? 1:15:31 The Gnostic Gospels 1:27:28 The Gnostic Version of Genesis 1:35:47 Why the Bible is Compiled As it is 1:42:13 Christianity’s Antidote to the Meaning Crisis 1:52:40 Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Debate With Dawkins 1:59:59 The Figureheads of the Christian Revival 2:06:44 Important Things Ignored by the Media 2:11:24 Where to Find Alex - Get $350 off the Pod 4 Ultra at https://eightsleep.com/modernwisdom (use code MODERNWISDOM) Get up to 20% discount on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get up to 40% off Mando’s Starter Pack at https://ShopMando.com (use code MODERNWISDOM) Get 50% off your first Factor Meals box at https://factormeals.com/MW50 (discount automatically applied) - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris WilliamsonhostAlex O’Connorguest

Jul 8, 20242h 14mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: July 8, 2024
Duration: 2h 14m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Alex O’Connor is a YouTuber, writer and a podcaster. Christianity is nothing new. But it's seeing a resurgence in popularity among some unexpected groups - public intellectuals and Gen Z. What is going on that only shortly after it was cool to be an atheist, it's now cool to go to church on a Sunday again? Expect to learn whether we are actually seeing a Christian revival, if the new wave of Christianity is just right wing conservatism in disguise, whether you can ‘choose’ to believe in God, if new atheism was a failure, why there is not a current muslim revival, what happened to the gospels that were missing from the original bible, whether there's two Gods in the Old Testament and much more... - 0:00 Are We Seeing a Christian Revival? 07:53 What’s Causing the Rise of Cultural Christianity? 18:46 Is it Possible to Choose to Believe in God? 23:48 Has Christianity Gone Too Soft? 38:49 Experience of Visiting the Vatican 43:49 Is the Rise in Religion Just a Conservative Movement? 57:59 Christianity as a Prophylactic Against Woke 1:05:33 Why Isn’t There an Islamic Revival? 1:15:31 The Gnostic Gospels 1:27:28 The Gnostic Version of Genesis 1:35:47 Why the Bible is Compiled As it is 1:42:13 Christianity’s Antidote to the Meaning Crisis 1:52:40 Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Debate With Dawkins 1:59:59 The Figureheads of the Christian Revival 2:06:44 Important Things Ignored by the Media 2:11:24 Where to Find Alex - Get $350 off the Pod 4 Ultra at https://eightsleep.com/modernwisdom (use code MODERNWISDOM) Get up to 20% discount on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get up to 40% off Mando’s Starter Pack at https://ShopMando.com (use code MODERNWISDOM) Get 50% off your first Factor Meals box at https://factormeals.com/MW50 (discount automatically applied) - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

SPEAKERS

Chris Williamson
host
Alex O’Connor
guest
Narrator
other

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Alex O’Connor, What’s The Real Truth About Religion? - Alex O’Connor explores cultural Christians, New Atheists, And The Search For Meaning Today Chris Williamson and Alex O’Connor explore whether there is a genuine Christian revival or merely a rise in ‘cultural’ or ‘utilitarian’ Christianity, especially among right‑leaning public intellectuals. They contrast people who love Christian “fruits” (ethics, community, aesthetics) without believing the “tree” (God, resurrection) with traditional believers who insist on the truth of core doctrines. The conversation ranges through New Atheism’s legacy, the political use of Christianity and Islam, and the psychological pull of religion for people facing nihilism and depression. They also dive into Gnostic gospels and biblical scholarship to show how contingent and constructed the Christian canon is, and how that complicates modern appeals to “Judeo‑Christian values.”

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