Think for Christ

In his book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, former UK broadcaster Justin Brierley offers a bold proposition: That the "withdrawing Sea of Faith is beginning to reach its farthest limit and that we may yet see the tide of faith come rushing back in again within our lifetimes.” Brierley argues that the first two decades of the 21st century represent the low tide of Christian belief in the West, a period that coincides with the rise and triumph of the New Atheism in popular culture. But recently things have begun to change. The New Atheism has suddenly become old and the intellectual climate in the Anglo-American world is shifting. Brierley's bold proposition may have just received some empirical support from the findings of the Religious Landscape Study conducted by the Pew Research Center and released in February of this year (2025). The study shows that the decline of Christianity in U.S. has stabilized over the last 4 or 5 years and may have reached something of a plateau. Is this a sign of a rebirth of Christianity in the Western World? If Brierely's own experience and assessment is on target, it just may be.

In Chapter Six of We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine Jordan Peterson takes up the story of Abraham and Jacob to draw from them characteristics of the divine as well as deep universal lessons for life. Peterson sees in Abraham the divine call to live a life of adventure, a life of risk, a life of courage, a life of sacrifice, a life of upward striving. The story of Jacob is understood by Peterson as one of transformative identity that comes from the unavoidable struggle with the divine that each of us must engage in. This chapter represents the heart of the book as it reveals in the clearest way what Peterson means when he insists that we are all of us fated to wrestle with God.

The next biblical story up for consideration in Chapter Five of Jordan Peterson's book, We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine, is the Tower of Babel as found in Genesis 11:1-9. What is the spirit that led mankind to pridefully and presumptuously build a tower as a monument to human ingenuity and greatness in direct opposition to the command of God? How is that sprit manifested today? What are the consequences of following a spirit that worships technology and seeks to usurp the divine order, both for individuals and for society. Peterson is at his very best when he turns his formidable intellect to contemplate the tragic reward of a godless culture. He is a prophetic voice of our times echoing amplifying the grave biblical warning: Pride goes before the fall.

In this lecture Andrew Payne considers the central importance of meta-narrative as a framework for meaning and the dire consequences of the postmodern dissolution of meta-narratives for the western world in general and for Christianity in particular. Using critical texts as his guide, Andrew surveys the downward spiral of the postmodern dissolution from the relativistic postwar consensus, to the therapeutic atomization of the individual, to the politicization and moralization of Christianity.

In this episode Anthony Alberino and Andrew Payne critical review chapters 3 and 4 of Jordan Peterson's We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine. In these chapters, Peterson takes on the biblical accounts of Cain and Abel and Noah and the Great Flood.

In this episode Anthony Alberino and Andrew Payne critically review the first two chapters of Jordan Peterson's book, We Who Wrestle with God. Peterson begins the first chapter of his work with a consideration of the creation account at the opening of the biblical book of Genesis and then moves to an interpretation of the divine likeness within man and woman. Along the way Peterson draws insights from the text related to the nature of the Garden of Eden, the Serpent, and the Fall.

In Part 29 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we conclude our look at the historical case for the resurrection of Jesus by considering some of the most prominent and promising of alternative naturalistic explanations that have been offered over the centuries. Examined here are the Conspiracy/Fraud Theory, the Apparent Death (or Swoon) Theory, the Wrong Tomb Theory, the Hallucination Theory, and Combination Theories.

Anthony Alberino and Andrew Payne launch a new series of episodes dedicated to a critical evaluation of Jordan Peterson's 2024 book, We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine. In this introductory episode we discuss Jordan Peterson and his influence on western culture in general and on western Christianity in particular. We then seek to identify and unpack the ideological framework that control's Peterson's interpretation of biblical texts throughout his work. Finally, we take a look at the introductory chapter of the book which Peterson titles, "Foreshadowing: The Still, Small Voice."

In Part 28 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we continue our review of six well-attested facts that provide evidence for the historical case for the resurrection of Jesus and from which the resurrection can be inferred. Last time we looked at the first three, in this episode we review the final three, which are: 4. The origin of the Christian faith depends on the belief of the earliest disciples that God had raised Jesus from the dead. 5. The church persecutor Paul was suddenly changed. 6. The skeptic James, brother of Jesus, was suddenly changed.

In Part 27 of this Introduction to Apologetics series we continue our review of the historical case for resurrection of Jesus by considering six well attested historical facts that will serve as our evidence for the resurrection. In this episode we look at the first three, which are: 1. Jesus died by crucifixion. 2. The tomb of Jesus was found empty by a group of women followers on the first day of the week following his crucifixion. 3. On separate occasions different individuals and groups had experiences of seeing Jesus alive from the dead.