Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett has said he’s “almost back to being curious” when it comes to matters of faith.
On an episode of his popular podcast “The Diary of a CEO,” Bartlett hosted an extended discussion between a “spiritual thinker,” an atheist and Christian Greg Koukl.
During the conversation, Bartlett shared an anecdote about a friend of his, aged between 35 and 40, who was living in Dubai – single, childless, and working from home. Bartlett describes how said friend had confided he could no longer get out of bed and felt stuck. “And then about six months later, out of the blue, it turns out, without telling any of us, his best friends, he’s flown to America, he’s been baptised, he’s a Christian, and suddenly his life has purpose and meaning again,” Bartlett said. “He’s a completely different person.”
The entrepreneur then went on to describe another friend of his, who doesn’t have a faith, and feels “lost and stuck in life.”
Reflecting on both anecdotes, Bartlett continued: “It appears to me… That freedom, independence, ‘be your own boss,’ the decline in people having children, the glamourisation of ‘do it yourself,’ ‘do it your way’ is failing people in some way, and that actually the push for independence is in some way some kind of lie.”
Bartlett then spoke about his own shifting perspective on belief. Once a “staunch atheist,” he said he went through the “same New Atheist ‘baptism’” as Alex O’Connor – the YouTuber known as “Cosmic Skeptic” whose ideas have often been discussed on Glen Scrivener’s “Speak Life” channel – the guest representing atheistic views.
“I read all those books at 18 years old,” Bartlett recalled. “I was debating dog walkers on the street about God. But I now find myself in a position where I’m almost back to being curious again – because independence wasn’t the answer.”
