The Speak Life Podcast Gavin Ortlund: Can Atheism Deliver? || SLP620
25 snips
Nov 21, 2025 
Gavin Ortlund, an apologist and author, dives deep into the struggles of modern atheism and the challenges of meaninglessness. He contrasts ancient biblical suffering with today's existential dilemmas and critiques nihilism through figures like Nietzsche and Camus. Gavin emphasizes the profound hope found in the Trinity and resurrection, advocating for a relational understanding of joy. He also discusses practical evangelism, encouraging believers to engage with seekers through prayer and community, making Christianity a journey of wonder and enchantment.
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Modern Disenchantment Meets Gospel Wonder
- Modern Western culture shows deeper disenchantment, loneliness, and meaninglessness despite material progress.
- Gavin argues the gospel uniquely answers this by restoring wonder, joy, and ultimate meaning through Christ.
Objective Meaning Vs. Biblical Suffering
- Modern meaninglessness differs from biblical suffering because it denies any objective meaning or transcendent anchor.
- Gavin contrasts Job's questioning God with existentialists who see no God to ask, producing a far darker nihilism.
Atheism's Logical Endpoint: Lost Orientation
- Existentialist thinkers honestly traced atheism to a loss of orientation and meaning in life.
- Gavin uses Nietzsche, Sartre, and Camus to show that freedom without an objective telos feels crushing and futile.
