10 Epic Lessons Derren Brown Taught Us About Life
10. Its Possible To Turn An Atheist To God
In Fear and Faith, Derren explored the notion that religion is not a divine phenomenon; its simply psychology. God is an illusion.
He did this without manically wielding a Bible in the town centre, without overt indoctrination and without even mentioning the word God. Instead, he fills Natalie, a highly sceptical stem-cell scientist, with overwhelming Christian faith, merely through the power of suggestion. Having connected positive feelings about a father figure, love, regret, awe... with some cleverly orchestrated taps and hand gestures, Derren leaves Natalie alone at the church altar. What happens next is something genuinely extraordinary.
What We Learnt...
The "conversion was an eye-opener to us all. Seeing an avowed atheist break down, apologising and declaring her love to Jesus, was a valuable reminder of how easily moulded we can be with emotional manipulation.
Derren Brown also tells us in "Tricks Of The Mind" how he deconverted himself from evangelical Christianity by thinking rationally and learning to understand a world filled with delusion. Derren, though never anti-religion, champions Dawkins' "The God Delusion" as a book that any brave believer intelligent enough to want to challenge and strengthen his faith should read. He discusses Dawkins' book on his website, stating: "For many, including those who float around agnosticism or guilty half-belief, its a big fat life-changing work. For atheists like me its an addictive and wonderful read which argues comprehensively and convincingly for the fallacy of religious belief."