Unbelievable?: Why after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian
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- Create Date：2021-09-26 09:53:48
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Justin Brierley
- ISBN：0281077983
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Summary
Conversations matter。
Yet， recently， good conversations about faith have been increasingly squeezed out of the public sphere。
Seeking to reopen the debate， Justin Brierley began to invite atheists and sceptics on to Premier Christian Radio to air arguments for and against the Christian faith。
But how has ten years of discussion with atheists affected the presenter’s faith？
Reflecting on conversations with Richard Dawkins， Derren Brown and many more， Justin explains why he still finds Christianity the most compelling explanation for life， the universe and everything。 And why， regardless of belief or background， we should all welcome the conversation。
Yet， recently， good conversations about faith have been increasingly squeezed out of the public sphere。
Seeking to reopen the debate， Justin Brierley began to invite atheists and sceptics on to Premier Christian Radio to air arguments for and against the Christian faith。
But how has ten years of discussion with atheists affected the presenter’s faith？
Reflecting on conversations with Richard Dawkins， Derren Brown and many more， Justin explains why he still finds Christianity the most compelling explanation for life， the universe and everything。 And why， regardless of belief or background， we should all welcome the conversation。
Reviews
Joseph
，
Justin has an incredible gift of being amicable and deferential to all types of opposing ideas in religion and philosophy。 His gracious words to both atheists and Christians alike will garner him a lot of respect， but often in our world today even listening to the "other sides" is seen as anathema。 The book is a perfect encapsulation of his depth of experience with apologists and atheists alike and how he arrived at the personal decision that God is still a better solution to life's problems。 Justin has an incredible gift of being amicable and deferential to all types of opposing ideas in religion and philosophy。 His gracious words to both atheists and Christians alike will garner him a lot of respect， but often in our world today even listening to the "other sides" is seen as anathema。 The book is a perfect encapsulation of his depth of experience with apologists and atheists alike and how he arrived at the personal decision that God is still a better solution to life's problems。 。。。more
Andrew Chida
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Well， it definitely made me respect some of the leading atheists less。 I found his criticisms of atheism pretty convincing and I’m not someone hostile towards atheists。 I found his evidence for Christianity less convincing。 It wasn’t bad by any means， I just saw it more as a reasonable possibility than definitive proof。 However， I’m also very comfortable with uncertainty and faith requiring a leap or two so that didn’t bother me。
Sajad Torkamani
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A very enjoyable read。 I respect Justin Brierley and love his radio show so had good hopes for the book and wasn't disappointed。 Although I don't agree with many of the points， I can still appreciate why he holds his worldview and beliefs。 I found myself agreeing with many of the arguments for why belief in a God is reasonable but remain unconvinced by the case for the resurrection and therefore Christianity。 Nevertheless， a very good read and I learnt many things！ A very enjoyable read。 I respect Justin Brierley and love his radio show so had good hopes for the book and wasn't disappointed。 Although I don't agree with many of the points， I can still appreciate why he holds his worldview and beliefs。 I found myself agreeing with many of the arguments for why belief in a God is reasonable but remain unconvinced by the case for the resurrection and therefore Christianity。 Nevertheless， a very good read and I learnt many things！ 。。。more
cameron ross paton
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I very much enjoyed this book。 Very fair and honestly written。
Sarah Mcknight fuller
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Just awesome。 I love this guy and his respect of skepticism。 I love that he's facilitated such important conversations with grace and fairness。 I love that， in light of all he has learned， he upholds the Christian faith。 Just awesome。 I love this guy and his respect of skepticism。 I love that he's facilitated such important conversations with grace and fairness。 I love that， in light of all he has learned， he upholds the Christian faith。 。。。more
Ashley
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I am so grateful for Justin Brierley。 This was a really accessible but thorough "apologetics" book， which was good， but I think I appreciated most Justin's personal insights and anecdotes about his interviews over the years。 I am so grateful for Justin Brierley。 This was a really accessible but thorough "apologetics" book， which was good， but I think I appreciated most Justin's personal insights and anecdotes about his interviews over the years。 。。。more
John
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Very well written， Brierly brings forward a great deal of compelling evidence like he does in the show！
Barak Fredrickson
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A fantastic read for Christians and those who aren’t Christians！ It is well structured and logical， and doesn’t shy away from difficult questions。 Highly recommend and definitely going to keep on my shelf for reference。
Ken
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A must read of seeker and believer alike I have read a number of books in defence of Christianity。 Few are as accessible to both Christians and non believers as this。 None have the even handedness in explaining why some dismiss the evidence。 It is written with winsome humility and conveys Justin's genuine love for Jesus。 A must read of seeker and believer alike I have read a number of books in defence of Christianity。 Few are as accessible to both Christians and non believers as this。 None have the even handedness in explaining why some dismiss the evidence。 It is written with winsome humility and conveys Justin's genuine love for Jesus。 。。。more
Max
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The first book to provide a compelling argument for God。
Grant Klinefelter
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For any fan of the podcast Unbelievable？， this book is a great addition。 Justin writes about faith in such a beautiful way in the shoes of C。S。 Lewis and Sheldon Vanauken。 Pulling from top scholarship， reason， experience， and above all， beauty， Justin Brierley makes a compelling case for the rational and realistic claims of Christianity。
Jean-Christophe Balleine
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An Apologetics' Guide to RebuttalsI initially got exposed to Justin Brierly about a year ago when I listened to an ''Unbelievable？'' episode where Jordan B。 Peterson was debating Susan Blackmore。 During the cutscenes， he discussed the fact that his book had recently come out， a book titled ''Unbelievable？: Why after ten years of talking with atheists， I'm still a Christian''。 It picked my curiosity since I was an atheist and this book claimed to refute the very questions that based my worldview， An Apologetics' Guide to RebuttalsI initially got exposed to Justin Brierly about a year ago when I listened to an ''Unbelievable？'' episode where Jordan B。 Peterson was debating Susan Blackmore。 During the cutscenes， he discussed the fact that his book had recently come out， a book titled ''Unbelievable？: Why after ten years of talking with atheists， I'm still a Christian''。 It picked my curiosity since I was an atheist and this book claimed to refute the very questions that based my worldview， but I eventually forgot about the book and hadn't bought it before doing so。Fast-forward about a year later and I find myself revisiting that very podcast episode by browsing Peterson's podcasts。 I initially was recommended the ''biblical lectures'' by Peterson by a Christian friend and eventually found myself coming back to the podcast。 This time， armed with my Kindle E-Reader， when told once again about the existence of the book I didn't wait for much longer and bought it from Amazon。I started my reading by the end of August and finished it today， so it took approximately 1 month and almost a half for me to read it， which is kind of slow。 The reasons for that slow read are what I'll get into and what ultimately led me to not give it 5 stars。 Now， as I said， I was an atheist but was also open to the idea of my worldview being wrong since I was experiencing an existential crisis and my worldview wasn't contributing to my happiness anymore。 So I was welcoming to the ideas of the book。As the chapters went on， the amount of evidence contributing to the case for christ， and god for that matter， was getting increasingly heavy and as time went on， it ended being more rational to believe in the existence of god than to hold onto my atheistic views。So， here I was， ready to make the move， ready to consider myself a Christian， but still， something was holding me back。 Was it that more evidence was needed to convince me？ Initially， I thought that was the case but as time went on， I realized that it wasn't what I needed。I needed my emotions to be appealed to。 I didn't solely need to believe god's existence， I needed to FEEL god's existence。 Ultimately， this book didn't allow me to get my feelings engaged in the way I had hoped it would。The book ended up being sort of a ''check-list'' containing rebuttals for atheist's arguments。 Yes， I needed that; I needed to believe that Christianity was true and rational。 But， paradoxically， as Brierley pointed out in the last chapter: ''。。。apologetics alone can never provide the whole picture in our search for faith。 In the end， nobody gets argued into the kingdom of God。 （Brierley， Justin。 Unbelievable？ （p。 196）。 SPCK。 Édition du Kindle。）'' This leaves open the question: if one cannot be argued into the kingdom of God， what leads someone to the kingdom of God？ This is essentially what was missing from the book。Ultimately， before finishing the book， I was recommended the movie ''The Case For Christ'' which is an adaption of Lee Strobel's quest to debunk Christianity which ended up making him become a Christian， and this is ultimately what gave me the emotional investment that was needed for me to say ''Yes， now I welcome God into my life''。 But ultimately， Brierley's book couldn't give me this spark， and as the book went on， it got monotone and felt like a chore。That being said， initially， I loved the book since it addressed why Christianity made sense over Atheism and what the Christian rebuttals were for atheistic paradigms， but as the book went on， it didn't evolve and kept going on like a check-list of rebuttals for various areas of faith。 Ultimately， as a guy who stands on science and evidence to believe what I believe， I didn't need to hear any more rebuttals past page 150 or even below that。 I was fine with what had been said， the case for Christianity had been done and I hadn't anything to say。 Now， I needed the emotional part of me to be invited into the mix， but unfortunately， it ended up not being appealed to。 In conclusion， If I had been a Christian looking for ideas to reinforce my faith by allowing myself to stand my ground to atheistic arguments， that would have been the perfect book。 But for Atheists looking for a book to allow them to make the switch to Christianity， if you're lacking evidence for a belief in God， then this book will help， but don't be surprised if by the end of it you're not saying ''Now that I've read this book， I'm welcoming God into my life''， because ultimately， as Brierley stated， arguments are not the pinnacle of conversion， they're merely a factor。 There needs to be something more。 To finally become a Christian， I was exposed to that ''something more'' through a movie and， wherever you go， I hope you'll find your ''something more'' too。3/5 。。。more
HaleyFran
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The merits of Brierly’s work hinge on his succinct explanations of complex philosophical and scientific theories。 The Moral Argument is nicely explained using various interview excerpts。 You might not win a formal debate with every point in the book but you will familiarize yourself with enough concepts to have meaningful conversation about the existence of God and religion。 I was particularly taken with his points regarding the historic case for Christ。 I was not expecting such compelling ideas The merits of Brierly’s work hinge on his succinct explanations of complex philosophical and scientific theories。 The Moral Argument is nicely explained using various interview excerpts。 You might not win a formal debate with every point in the book but you will familiarize yourself with enough concepts to have meaningful conversation about the existence of God and religion。 I was particularly taken with his points regarding the historic case for Christ。 I was not expecting such compelling ideas。 The apologetic arguments presented are simplified but not purposeless。 They serve as a good survey of Christian philosophy， so that one can have talking points as well as foundational knowledge for deeper study in the field。 。。。more
Gideon Yutzy
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I read this all the while hearing Justin Brierly's polished voice narrating each sentence in my mind。 Interesting background to the Unbelievable show and also he gives us a good model for dialogue between athiests and theists。 I read this all the while hearing Justin Brierly's polished voice narrating each sentence in my mind。 Interesting background to the Unbelievable show and also he gives us a good model for dialogue between athiests and theists。 。。。more
Elizabeth Holter
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Justin Brierley moderates long form debates/discussions with humor， patience and grace。 He maintains his position on one side of the debate， as the title of this book states， but I have never heard him speak to anyone on the other side with anything but respect。 His is a practical and down to earth view of issues which cannot be proven， and demands the type of respect which he accords others。 The book is a solid exposition of the ideas which he has expressed in many of the debates which he moder Justin Brierley moderates long form debates/discussions with humor， patience and grace。 He maintains his position on one side of the debate， as the title of this book states， but I have never heard him speak to anyone on the other side with anything but respect。 His is a practical and down to earth view of issues which cannot be proven， and demands the type of respect which he accords others。 The book is a solid exposition of the ideas which he has expressed in many of the debates which he moderates so well。 。。。more
Brent T。 Johnston
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Worth ConsiderstionPlenty of solid dialogue for a reasonable Fa¡th =Trusting relationship， in CHRISTianity ✝️。 The Unbelievable POD cast is also worth listening to💯‼️
Tim Beaumont
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This is as accessible introduction to apologetics as I’ve ever read。 What makes it particularly authentic is the inclusion of atheistic voices from the ‘unbelievable？’ Podcast。 This means that rather than being overly academic or aggressively confrontational， it’s actually refreshing and friendly in tone。 This is the sort of book that anyone believing or unbelieving would benefit from reading。
Jacob Gane
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Highly recommend if you’re looking for an intro to apologetics to recommend/dive into。 Justin is always humble while still clearly presenting the reasons why after hearing the number of opinions he has heard， he still believes that Jesus is the way to true life with God and others。
SethGyan
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A short look into Justin's faith。 Been Listening to Unbelievable？ for 3 years。 Got a kick from listening to his background and what led him to starting the show。 He highlighted some eventful shows and interviews to make his points that i found very interesting。 I agreed with everything except his take on hell。 I know his view is comforting but is it the truth？ A short look into Justin's faith。 Been Listening to Unbelievable？ for 3 years。 Got a kick from listening to his background and what led him to starting the show。 He highlighted some eventful shows and interviews to make his points that i found very interesting。 I agreed with everything except his take on hell。 I know his view is comforting but is it the truth？ 。。。more
Jonathan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The book is on the whole well written and engaging - but varies in strength of argument and skins over many of the points Atheists may have liked to push more。 The author seems to think that finishing chapters with one word answers （“God。” “Period。”） somehow makes his point unquestionable by the reader。 Many of the arguments he makes in the book aren’t provided by the best example of a counter - understandable with a Christian bias but when I myself can think of better counters whilst reading it The book is on the whole well written and engaging - but varies in strength of argument and skins over many of the points Atheists may have liked to push more。 The author seems to think that finishing chapters with one word answers （“God。” “Period。”） somehow makes his point unquestionable by the reader。 Many of the arguments he makes in the book aren’t provided by the best example of a counter - understandable with a Christian bias but when I myself can think of better counters whilst reading it does emphasise that the author has cherry picked the bits from discussions that affirm his opinion the most。 Of course this is the purpose of the book and so as a reader I shouldn’t be surprised but for someone who wants to see a balance of opinion - this isn’t the place。 Many of the things discussed are very effectively countered （the multiverse theory） but then others （morality） seem to be glazed over from what I term “Christian glasses” - the lens of bias that Christians can’t avoid seeing everything in the world through。 The moral counter of evolution is skimmed over as one of 5 counters the author seems worthy of only a brief paragraph。 However， I believe this counter is far more powerful than that and the way the author deals with it is again seen through a particularly skewed lens。 The chapter on Jesus as a historical figure is well written and well supported - that Jesus existed is a very difficult fact to counter。 The author effectively shows both sides but ultimately to believe anything other than that the man existed is to call human history into question entirely。 The chapter on the resurrection however is not so convincing， but does lead the reader to question things more than some of the earlier chapters （or certainly for me）。 Whilst the existence of pain hasn’t been one of my biggest arguments against Christianity it is for many atheists。 The author addresses a number of the questions atheists has but ultimately doesn’t put forward a powerful counter and by the end of the chapter I was even more strong of the opinion that there isn’t a Christian God。 。。。more
Luke Lackey
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Excellent use of logic to describe why God in our universe makes sense！ I think it would help all people help understand their faith further and the why behind it。
Aaro Keipi
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I'm a huge fan of the Unbelievable podcast and I contemplated buying this book for a while before I pulled the trigger。 Now that I've finally read it， however， I feel a bit underwhelmed。 This is essentially a broad overview of generic apologetic arguments with some interesting anecdotes thrown in。 At the same time， it gives very little space to explaining legitimate atheistic arguments。 This surprised me， considering Justin's exceptional moderation skills on the podcast。 I expected this book to I'm a huge fan of the Unbelievable podcast and I contemplated buying this book for a while before I pulled the trigger。 Now that I've finally read it， however， I feel a bit underwhelmed。 This is essentially a broad overview of generic apologetic arguments with some interesting anecdotes thrown in。 At the same time， it gives very little space to explaining legitimate atheistic arguments。 This surprised me， considering Justin's exceptional moderation skills on the podcast。 I expected this book to be more balanced， readily conceding to non-believers some of the ground in murky areas。 Instead， it turns out to be quite a bit of an idealised one-sided read。 Of course， considering the book's subtitle， this is perhaps understandable， but I feel that it ultimately weakens the impact of the arguments that Justin presents。 It is like having only a Christian guest appearing on an episode of Unbelievable: you lose the back-and-forth aspects that make it compelling。I realised sometime during the reading process that what I hoped for from this book was not this type of rehashed Case for Christ overview of apologetics arguments， but a book of compelling behind-the-scenes stories about the guests of Unbelievable with some powerful insights thrown in。 Hopefully his next book will be more along those lines。 🙂 。。。more
Jeffrey Thompson
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Beast Master in the house Excellent read。 Justin is a master at being a non biased moderator and apparently an equally talented apologist and author。 This will go down as one of my favorites and one I will now most highly recommend to my skeptical friends。 I also love that he wins you over not with arrogant arguments， but with sound logic， coupled with the kindness and humility of Christ。
Paul
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Oh， how I love this book！！！！I have been an avid listener to Unbelievable Podcast， and Justin brings his warmth and clear thinking to this wonderful book in a generous， fair and thoughtful inspite of the admission that he has taken off his neuteral moderators hat。It was written in a coffee shop and the book and the conversations covered in part of the book exude that warm friendly communal feeling。Well done Justin！ This was a real page turn an easy by dense read （if you can squre that dichtomy）。
Ray Weaver
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Excellent intellectual defense of why Christianity makes the most sense for people like me。 Avoids the common pitfalls of many apologetics books， it left me more confident in my faith， but not all smug。
Lily M
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This book is worthwhile。 For many reasons。 Recommended。。。。 Thank you Justin。
R S
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Solid apologetics book。 Many of the common arguments boiled down。 This would be a great primer for those interested in exploring apologetics at the base level。 I would recommend it to those folks。
Mwai
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👌
Samuel
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If you have spent much time listening to Unbelievable？ Justin Brierley's radio show/podcast， then there may not be much new here， the topics he covers in the book are topics he has covered time and time again after 10 years of weekly conversations between Christians and non-Christians。 But he does state that right up front， this is his taking the best arguments he has found in his 10 years of conducting conversations and ruminating why some are more compelling than others， and where he personall If you have spent much time listening to Unbelievable？ Justin Brierley's radio show/podcast， then there may not be much new here， the topics he covers in the book are topics he has covered time and time again after 10 years of weekly conversations between Christians and non-Christians。 But he does state that right up front， this is his taking the best arguments he has found in his 10 years of conducting conversations and ruminating why some are more compelling than others， and where he personally lands on the arguments。It is a great starting point into arguments for and against Christianity。 。。。more
Ron0126
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