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For years, I worried that the Bible might be a liability to mission — too complicated, too controversial. Wouldn’t it be easier to just focus on inspirational messages and leave out the tricky bits?
But that assumption no longer fits the moment we are in. The Quiet Revival research by Bible Society (2025) has revealed a remarkable shift in the spiritual landscape. Young people — especially Gen Z — are not just open to faith, they are actively curious about it. And many are diving deep into the Bible, including the Old Testament.
In 2018, YouGov polling found that just 4% of young people in England and Wales went to church. By 2024, that number had quadrupled to 16% — with an astonishing 21% of young men saying they now attend. Something is stirring beneath the surface.
And when it comes to the Bible, the story is even more striking. According to the research, 35% of young men outside the church want to understand the Bible for themselves.
In recent months, I’ve spoken with dozens of young people whose spiritual hunger has led them to pick up a Bible:
A 16-year-old who felt deceived by mainstream education and started reading Scripture on his own.
A 21-year-old who turned to the Bible instead of suicide when life felt meaningless.
A student who discovered Tik-Tok videos about the Bible’s historical impact and wanted to see if it could be trusted.
These stories are no longer rare. The Bible — once mocked by the New Atheists — is making a surprising comeback. Public figures like Jordan Peterson, Tom Holland, Bear Grylls and sports stars like Bukayo Saka are speaking positively about Scripture. Whether or not we agree with all they say, their interest reflects a wider cultural moment: people are asking big questions about meaning, morality, and hope — and they are open to hearing what the Bible has to say.
The problem is that many people who try reading the Bible get stuck on difficult topics and texts, including stories about creation, laws about slaves, warfare and violence, brutal suffering, unbelievable miracles, teachings about sex, and warnings of judgement. For some, these are deal-breakers. As one young person said, “Some passages in the Bible disturb me. They make me want to slam it shut.”
The Quiet Revival research found that 35% of young Christians say their faith is shaken by certain Bible passages. That’s not just a discipleship issue — it’s a mission issue. If the next generation loses confidence in Scripture, they lose everything.
This is why I wrote God’s Book: An Honest Look at the Bible’s 7 Toughest Topics. The book follows the storyline of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, tackling the most challenging questions head-on:
Do I have to choose between science and the Bible?
How should we interpret strange laws and rituals?
Why did God allow warfare in the Old Testament?
Why does suffering still exist if God is good?
Are accounts of miracles and exorcisms credible?
Is the Bible’s teaching about sex outdated?
Why would a loving God send people to hell?
Rather than avoiding these issues, the book places them in their original context —
showing why the Bible was surprisingly progressive in its ancient setting. But this is not a dense academic treatise. It’s a visual, practical and pastoral toolkit designed for real conversations. Each chapter is short, readable and aimed at someone who’s curious, not combative.
God’s Book includes:
Seven topics broken into short chapters — the tone is accessible and introductory. The book explains the big story of Scripture while focussing on the toughest topics
Accessible scholarship — careful historical and literary explanation without jargon. If you want bibliographic depth, I signpost the best further reading.
Reflection prompts and short Bible passages to read — this gives a practical and devotional guide so the experience is not all head knowledge but heartwarming too.
Personal letters — each chapter closes with a short, candid letter to a young person, capturing why the issue still matters and how it makes sense of the world we inhabit.
Small-group and preaching resources — sermon resources, small group videos and discussion guides are also available so the whole church can journey through the God’s Book series (visit andrewollerton.com).
Of course, by the end many questions and mysteries remain. The book’s aim is not to sanitize but to equip: to reduce needless stumbling so the reader can press on to the heart of the matter. As I wrote the book, I had the story of Philip and the Ethiopian in mind (Acts 8). The Ethiopian man was highly intelligent and elite. And yet he got stuck trying to make sense of the Bible on his own. As he says to Philip: “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?” This honest, open seeker needed a person of faith to sit alongside and show how tough texts in the Old Testament ultimately find their resolution in Jesus.
I believe there are more curious seekers coming down the road in our cultural moment, like this Ethiopian man. They are not hostile. They are not Richard Dawkins. They actually want the Bible to be true and to make sense. But they are stuck and need some explanation. They need others to come alongside. Will the church be equipped and ready to have these conversations?
The Quiet Revival is not loud or flashy — it is happening in living rooms, university halls, TikTok feeds, and coffee shops. People are quietly reaching for Bibles and searching for answers. What they find when they open those pages matters. If we stay silent or defensive, we risk confirming their suspicion that Christianity can’t face hard questions. But if we meet them with thoughtful, honest, and hope-filled engagement, we may find this moment is not a crisis — but an opportunity.
That’s why I wrote God’s Book: to equip Christians and seekers alike to engage the Bible’s toughest topics with confidence. It’s not about winning arguments. It’s about clearing obstacles so people can encounter Jesus in the pages of Scripture.
Dr Andrew Ollerton is a theologian, pastor, and creator of The Bible Course with Bible Society. Andrew’s latest book is now available to order: God’s Book: An Honest Look at the Bible’s 7 Toughest Topics (Hodder) and creator of The Bible Course.
