I often watch YouTube podcasts. I have never seen so many YouTube Influencers changing their minds about God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ. There is a growing cultural shift toward Christianity and the Bible for many of these men and women.
Former atheist and clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson, in 2017, focused his lectures on the “Psychological Influence of the Bible” generating over sixty-five million views so far. What made this most interesting was that Peterson didn’t even consider himself a Christian. Peterson’s views on the Bible which he unashamedly says is, “good for the individual and society as a whole,” is making its mark on many.
Even Dave Rubin, who in the past, considered himself an atheist has begun to change his views on God, the Bible, and Christianity due to talking to Peterson. He comments, “After conversations with Dr. Peterson on the Bible and the biblical story, it moved me. It moved me. I now definitely feel there must be something outside of us. It’s changing how I live my life.”
Peterson’s lectures have demystified the search for God and the truth of the Bible. I might trumpet him as the first non-Christian evangelist on YouTube. As one of, if not the most influential men on YouTube, his constant speaking on the truth of the Bible, Jesus, and even the Cross are reverberating throughout social media.
Another influencer who has had a change of heart is Andrew Tate. As a former atheist, recently Tate has begun to talk often about his faith in God and that “atheism is a negative force in the world…a lot of the problems in the world is that it’s lacking faith.”
Even Joe Rogan, the most popular podcaster in the world, who, in the past, has made many negative and demeaning comments on Christianity has only recently said, “The primary tenets of Christianity really do work.”
JP Spears, the hilarious, satirical YouTube comedian, has recently become a Christian. It was his growing understanding of evil that led him to put his faith in Christ. On his broadcast, he often wears the black T-shirt emblazoned with “Got God?”
Man’s Search for Meaning
It was Holocaust survivor and Psychologist Victor Frankl who wrote in his most famous work, Man’s Search for Meaning, that man’s search for true life at the most basic form is a search for meaning.
In the past, people looked for meaning by looking outward—at accomplishments and success—but today there is a profound shift. In the West, people are searching and attempting to find meaning by looking inward. What sociologist Phillip Reese has called, “the psychological man.”
This search is causing people to look within themselves to find meaning and through this search, they are discovering that the only One who completely fulfills their search for meaning is God. This natural psychological search is driving the arrow not outward, but inward, toward the heart. God is using this to bring men and women to a new understanding of the Bible and God made known through Jesus Christ.
Abandon Self
Some of the most influential men of our times are discovering Christianity and the Bible for the first time, and they are embracing it. YouTube satirical commentator, comedian, icon of hedonism, and social commentator Russel Brand in explaining his recent conversion, said, “I’ve been heavily influenced by atheistic and cultural hedonism, and I discovered there is nothing there! I began reading C.S. Lewis and it’s like I’ve come home.” He continues, “I had to give up self, abandon self, crucify self completely [in order to follow Christ].”
Brand gets it. Abandon self and embrace Christ! This is profound stuff. God is moving in powerful ways. These are exciting times to be alive.
Pastor Steve