Christian Atheism: Ending the Debate
I recently came across an article about Christian atheism and my skin crawled. The two words are opposites. I call Jesus—Lord and Savior—and I know God exists because He and I connect each day. So, I can’t be both a Christian and an atheist. However, I understand how people might refer to someone that way when deceived.
I know plenty of Christians who say they’ve given their heart to Jesus but they ignore Him their whole lives. They know about God but don’t KNOW Him and don’t live lives that resemble Christ. Christian atheism is entirely different. It isn’t based on believing that Jesus died as the sacrificial lamb for the whole world, rose from the dead, and returned to heaven and His Father.
So, what do Christian atheists believe and why should it matter to you?
Christian Atheism Beliefs
What do Christian atheists believe?
- The unreality of God: Christian atheists (CAs) believe God is no longer relevant to current-day people. Somehow God lost touch so that traditional Christian theology is no longer in vogue. CAs have no trouble seeing God as absent and dead. They think He is imaginary and unrealistic.
- Theology Must Match Cultural Changes: CAs put God in a box to suit lifestyles and exchange Him for a social gospel. Holy scripture is basically irrelevant/unnecessary.
- CAs Alienate Themselves from the Body of Christ: So if Christ loves the church (the people), why should that matter to a Christian atheist? It doesn’t.
- Jesus is Central to Theological Reflection: Again, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are reduced to mere words instead of the three-person deity known by true believers. Jesus is not a Savior or considered the Son of God. CAs identify with Jesus as a human and transcendental being but not Creator.
What Does It Mean to Be a Christian Atheist?
Since they don’t think God’s real, I don’t see why they would try to prove His existence. If they tried, they would lack the ability to do so.
I Corinthians 2:14 – The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Additionally, I would say the next scripture applies equally to someone attempting to prove God’s existence. Christian atheists may have loving personalities but don’t understand or accept God’s sacrificial love through Jesus.
I John 4:8 – Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Both God’s spirit and His love are spiritually discerned.
To disprove God, a logical first step would be to connect with Him spirit-to-spirit. If an atheist actually connected, God’s love would overtake them. This is what would happen next.
Ezekiel 36:26 – And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Then, a desire to know God personally would replace faith in history, science, philosophy, and self-intelligence. At that point, an atheist wouldn’t be able to say, “there is no God.”
Christian atheism, based on beliefs, isn’t concerned with disproving God’s existence. They’ve already made up their minds about Him.
What do they believe about salvation?
Ending the Debate About Atheism
The concept of Christian salvation is simple.
Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Acts 2:21)”. “No man can come to me (Jesus), except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44)”.
Two kingdoms compete for your spirit – the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. Satan set up a counterfeit kingdom to lure you in by working through your five senses (hear, see, feel, taste, and smell). His job is to destroy everything in your life and to stop you from living God’s destiny.
Every human being is a servant to God’s kingdom or Satan’s downfall. Based on what Christian atheists believe, they can’t call Jesus their Lord and Savior if they don’t see Him as divine. They view Him more as a good person or a rabbi you’d want to know on earth. Someone they might admire.
They see Jesus as a good guy everyone should emulate instead of falling on their knees to worship Him.
Concluding Remarks About Christian Atheism
This quote by Thomas J. J. Altizer, who was a Christian atheist, reveals how deceived he was.
Every man today who is open to experience knows that God is absent, but only the Christian knows that God is dead, that the death of God is a final and irrevocable event and that God’s death has actualized in our history a new and liberated humanity.
Whoa!
Have you figured out that the term Christian atheism is a drummed-up word for unbelief? Sure, it sounds dressed up and religious but it’s another way for Satan to deceive people. Satan confuses Christian atheists and others.
He reduces Christianity to gobbledygook and hogwash. It’s the same old tactic Satan continues to use to undermine who God is and to elevate himself and his evil purposes.
Don’t let him hoodwink you too.
Keep believing that God is supreme and interested in every detail of your life. Don’t let others convince you that God isn’t omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient—because He is. Your sweet fellowship with Him and faith in His Kingdom is real.
Don’t let secularism and the pressing social needs of the world take you off course and away from Him. He captured your heart and Christian atheism is simply a foreign god/idol. Based on what Christian atheists believe, they don’t use the Bible as their blueprint for life. Neither do they respect and fear the one true God as Father, Jesus as Lord, or the Holy Spirit as their indwelling Comforter.
If someone you spend time with says they’re a Christian atheist, just be aware. They’ve been sent from the enemy’s camp to kill, steal, and destroy you and your family.