5. The Rumour of God: Is Secularism Actually Dying?

5. The Rumour of God: Is Secularism Actually Dying?

What happens when the story that was supposed to bury God starts to run out of road? A lifelong atheist, one of the sharpest people you'll meet, turns his coffee cup in his hands and admits he's begun to wonder whether we threw out something we needed. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, once a leading atheist, announces she's now a Christian, and Richard Dawkins calls himself a cultural Christian. And a culture that spent two centuries sure it had outgrown faith keeps finding the oldest questions surfacing again. In this episode, Graham explores the surprising rebirth of belief, and whether secularism is actually dying, through the lens of Scripture, theology, history, and cultural analysis. He traces a long thread of Scripture engaging a sceptical world, from Paul at the Areopagus in Acts 17, to "he has set eternity in the human heart" in Ecclesiastes 3, to the Word and the light the darkness has never put out in John 1, to the God of Isaiah who makes a way in the wilderness. He engages with voices like Augustine, Blaise Pascal, C.S. Lewis, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Lesslie Newbigin, alongside the research of sociologists like Peter Berger, Grace Davie, and Rodney Stark on the breakdown of the secularisation thesis. And he asks why the confident modern prediction that we would outgrow God has run into trouble, what kind of belief is being reborn and whether a Christianity valued only for its usefulness can hold, and where the church should look for hope when the decline in the West is real and the headline data is easy to get wrong. Book recommendations: "The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God" by Justin Brierley, "Dominion" by Tom Holland, and "A Secular Age" by Charles Taylor. Email us at GrahamPodcast@icloud.com [GrahamPodcast@icloud.com] See my Substack with an article related to this episode: https://grahamjosephhill.substack.com/ [https://grahamjosephhill.substack.com/] Podcast links: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamJosephHillPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamJosephHillPodcast] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7aqTMTcoYPcvneL4xg4Ohv [https://open.spotify.com/show/7aqTMTcoYPcvneL4xg4Ohv] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919] Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tsqgs-1534f12 [https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tsqgs-1534f12] Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/271b0dd3-990d-41e6-b4ba-3fd4bcf78cef [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/271b0dd3-990d-41e6-b4ba-3fd4bcf78cef] iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/329136112 [https://iheart.com/podcast/329136112] Player FM: https://player.fm/series/3726148 [https://player.fm/series/3726148] Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast-6435212 [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast-6435212] Boomplay: https://www.boomplaymusic.com/podcasts/143800 [https://www.boomplaymusic.com/podcasts/143800]

4. A Place at the Table: Singleness, Loneliness, and the Family of God

What happens when the church builds its life around marriage and the family, and treats everyone else as a guest still waiting in line? A woman, faithful for eleven years, tells her pastor she still feels like a problem nobody has worked out how to solve. A widower watches the casseroles stop two weeks after the funeral. And a church that follows a single Saviour, and learned its faith from a single apostle, keeps treating singleness as a condition to be cured. In this episode, Graham explores singleness, loneliness, and the church's obsession with marriage through the lens of Scripture, theology, history, and cultural analysis. He traces the Bible's surprisingly high view of the single life, from "it is not good for the man to be alone" in Genesis 2, to Paul calling both marriage and singleness a gift in 1 Corinthians 7, to Isaiah's promise of a name better than sons and daughters, to the God of Psalm 68 who sets the lonely in families. He engages with voices like Stanley Hauerwas, Henri Nouwen, Augustine, Aelred of Rievaulx, and Rodney Clapp, alongside the research of Vivek Murthy, Robert Putnam, and John Cacioppo on the loneliness epidemic. And he asks why a church that follows a single Lord treats marriage as the summit of a faithful life, how we can honour marriage and singleness together without making either one the measure of the other, and what it would take for the church to become the family God always meant it to be. Book recommendations: "7 Myths About Singleness" by Sam Allberry, "Redeeming Singleness" by Barry Danylak, and "Spiritual Friendship" by Wesley Hill. Email us at GrahamPodcast@icloud.com [GrahamPodcast@icloud.com] See my Substack with an article related to this episode: https://grahamjosephhill.substack.com/ [https://grahamjosephhill.substack.com/] Podcast links: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamJosephHillPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamJosephHillPodcast] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7aqTMTcoYPcvneL4xg4Ohv [https://open.spotify.com/show/7aqTMTcoYPcvneL4xg4Ohv] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919] Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tsqgs-1534f12 [https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tsqgs-1534f12] Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/271b0dd3-990d-41e6-b4ba-3fd4bcf78cef [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/271b0dd3-990d-41e6-b4ba-3fd4bcf78cef] iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/329136112 [https://iheart.com/podcast/329136112] Player FM: https://player.fm/series/3726148 [https://player.fm/series/3726148] Listen Notes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919] Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast-6435212 [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast-6435212] Boomplay: https://www.boomplaymusic.com/podcasts/143800 [https://www.boomplaymusic.com/podcasts/143800]

3. The Cross and the Flag: Following Jesus in an Age of Political Idolatry

What happens when the cross gets captured by the flag? A mob storms the Capitol carrying Jesus banners. A pastor watches his congregation confuse patriotism with faith. And the church faces a question it can no longer avoid. In this episode, Graham explores Christian nationalism and populism through the lens of Scripture, theology, history, and cultural analysis. He examines the biblical tension between the kingdom of God and the empires of this world, from 1 Samuel to the Sermon on the Mount to Revelation 7. He engages with voices like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth, Desmond Tutu, Stanley Hauerwas, and Raimond Gaita. And he asks what Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa teach us about the dangers of fusing faith with political power, why the gospel offends both the right and the left, and what it looks like to follow Jesus without being owned by any political tribe. Book recommendations: "The Myth of a Christian Nation" by Gregory Boyd, "Taking America Back for God" by Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry, and "Kingdom or Empire?" by Graham Joseph Hill. Email us at GrahamPodcast@icloud.com [GrahamPodcast@icloud.com] See my Substack with an article related to this episode: https://grahamjosephhill.substack.com/ [https://grahamjosephhill.substack.com/]   Podcast links: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamJosephHillPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamJosephHillPodcast] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7aqTMTcoYPcvneL4xg4Ohv [https://open.spotify.com/show/7aqTMTcoYPcvneL4xg4Ohv] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919] Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tsqgs-1534f12 [https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tsqgs-1534f12] Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/271b0dd3-990d-41e6-b4ba-3fd4bcf78cef [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/271b0dd3-990d-41e6-b4ba-3fd4bcf78cef] iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/329136112 [https://iheart.com/podcast/329136112] Player FM: https://player.fm/series/3726148 [https://player.fm/series/3726148] Listen Notes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919] Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast-6435212 [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast-6435212] Boomplay: https://www.boomplaymusic.com/podcasts/143800 [https://www.boomplaymusic.com/podcasts/143800]

2. Love in the Age of Algorithms: God's Children in an Age of AI

What does it mean to be human when machines can do so much of what we thought made us human? A child asks Alexa to pray. A widow confides in a chatbot. And the church has an answer the world urgently needs. In this episode, Graham explores artificial intelligence through the lens of Scripture, theology, philosophy, and cultural analysis. He examines the imago Dei and why the relational interpretation matters most in an age of intelligent machines. He engages with voices like John Searle, Hubert Dreyfus, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth, and Harry Frankfurt. And he asks what the incarnation teaches us about embodiment, what the Tower of Babel reveals about Silicon Valley's promises, and how the church can respond to AI with wisdom, justice, and confidence rooted in Christ. Book recommendations: "2084" by John Lennox, "Made in Our Image" by Stephen Driscoll, and "Love in the Age of Algorithms" by Graham Joseph Hill. Email us at GrahamPodcast@icloud.com [GrahamPodcast@icloud.com] See my Substack with an article related to this episode: https://grahamjosephhill.substack.com/ [https://grahamjosephhill.substack.com/]   Podcast links: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamJosephHillPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamJosephHillPodcast] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7aqTMTcoYPcvneL4xg4Ohv [https://open.spotify.com/show/7aqTMTcoYPcvneL4xg4Ohv] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919] Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tsqgs-1534f12 [https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tsqgs-1534f12] Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/271b0dd3-990d-41e6-b4ba-3fd4bcf78cef [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/271b0dd3-990d-41e6-b4ba-3fd4bcf78cef] iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/329136112 [https://iheart.com/podcast/329136112] Player FM: https://player.fm/series/3726148 [https://player.fm/series/3726148] Listen Notes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919] Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast-6435212 [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast-6435212] Boomplay: https://www.boomplaymusic.com/podcasts/143800 [https://www.boomplaymusic.com/podcasts/143800]

1. Exvangelicals and the Exodus: Deconstruction and the Future of Faith

What happens when the faith you were given as a child stops making sense? A migration is unfolding across Western Christianity, and the Christ-centred mystics saw it coming centuries ago. In this episode, Graham explores the exvangelical movement through the lens of Scripture, the Christian mystical tradition, sociology, and pastoral theology. He examines the idols that drive people from the church, including certainty, power, nationalism, purity culture, and tribalism. He engages with voices like St. John of the Cross, Simone Weil, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Charles Taylor, and Paul Ricoeur. And he asks what reconstruction looks like for those who've walked through the fire, and what the church must learn if it wants to accompany people through the wilderness with honesty, humility, and love. Book recommendations: The Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross, Waiting for God by Simone Weil, and A Secular Age by Charles Taylor. Email us at GrahamPodcast@icloud.com [GrahamPodcast@icloud.com] See my Substack with an article related to this episode: https://grahamjosephhill.substack.com/ [https://grahamjosephhill.substack.com/]   Podcast links: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamJosephHillPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamJosephHillPodcast] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7aqTMTcoYPcvneL4xg4Ohv [https://open.spotify.com/show/7aqTMTcoYPcvneL4xg4Ohv] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919] Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tsqgs-1534f12 [https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-tsqgs-1534f12] Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/271b0dd3-990d-41e6-b4ba-3fd4bcf78cef [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/271b0dd3-990d-41e6-b4ba-3fd4bcf78cef] iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/329136112 [https://iheart.com/podcast/329136112] Player FM: https://player.fm/series/3726148 [https://player.fm/series/3726148] Listen Notes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast/id1890838919] Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast-6435212 [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-graham-joseph-hill-podcast-6435212] Boomplay: https://www.boomplaymusic.com/podcasts/143800 [https://www.boomplaymusic.com/podcasts/143800]