Sunday, March 6, 2016
Taking every thought captive for obedience to Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 10.3-5)

The Question
What does it mean when someone claims to be an atheist? (1)

According to some reports, it is becoming increasingly fashionable among young people these days to refer to themselves as “atheists.”

This is not a trend that should alarm us. According to Pew Research, somewhere around 3% of American adults claim to be atheists, so it’s not like we’re in danger of being overrun.

And when you think about it, given all the anti-God propaganda we’ve heard in recent years from such “new atheists” as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Lawrence Krauss, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens, and considering that God as a subject of discussion is pretty much locked out of the public schools and public square in America, then, factoring in the cavalcade of stumbling blocks Christians tend to roll out toward our neighbors with regularity – when you take all that into consideration, it’s fairly amazing the number of professing atheists isn’t higher.

Alister McGrath argues that atheism is in fact in retreat all around the world, especially in those places where the Gospel is making surprising and significant progress (The Twilight of Atheism).

All things considered, therefore, we shouldn’t be alarmed a young person – or anyone else for that matter – rebuffs our testimony or witness with the protest that he or she is an atheist. Indeed, rather than be off-putting, this can make for an interesting and fruitful conversation, as long as we know how to proceed.

Here we begin some thoughts about how to engage self-proclaimed atheists in a conversation that could have two salutary effects. First, you might actually help someone examine that claim, which is all too often embraced as merely the latest fashion in worldview thinking. And second, you might also be able to demonstrate sufficient interest, respect, intelligence, and love to lead your “atheist” friend to think again about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

To begin with, then, let’s consider the options of what someone who claims to be an atheist might actually mean by such a claim. It’s too easy to brush off spiritual conversation by saying, “Oh, I’m an atheist.” It’s another thing altogether for one to make himself clear concerning precisely what he means by such a claim.

Love requires that we understand our neighbors in order to serve them well, so we will want to press our atheistic friend for more clarity concerning his view.

For example, one who claims to be an atheist might intend to say, “There is no God.” That is, he might be saying, “I’m convinced there is no God.”

We shall be interested in learning how our friend has arrived at such a sweeping conclusion.

Or he might only be saying, “I don’t believe in God.” That’s certainly a “softer” conviction than the outright claim of certainty regarding the non-existence of the Deity. If this is his explanation in elaborating his claim of being an atheist, then we need to seek further clarification.

We should like him to explain to us which “God” he is referring to when he says he doesn’t believe in God. We don’t want to assume anything here, so we should like for him to provide a bit more detail about the particular object of his unbelief.

Or is he simply saying, “I don’t believe even in the very idea of God.” Which, if this is the case, would mean that, for him at least, any object of belief which falls into the category of God is to be avoided. Again, however, we will want to seek greater clarity concerning his idea of the “idea of God.” Is it possible that he has not given sufficient thought to God as an idea to be able to make such a claim?

Finally, we would like to know what our friend means by “believe” when he says, “I don’t believe in God (or in the idea of God).” We’ll want to discover what he does believe in, and to ask him to consider whether or not what he actually believes in might not qualify as a god of some sort. This can lead to further fruitful explorations, as we shall see.

It’s not really fair, when someone protests to be an atheist, to begin rolling out “proofs” for God (as if we already understood which “God” he intends), to try to associate his atheism with the horrors of atheist regimes of the past or present (as if no atheists could ever be moral, kind, or fun), or to dismiss him as a hopeless “unbeliever” who doesn’t deserve our time. The proper course, required by love, is to follow the pattern of Jesus’ incarnation and to enter our friend’s world, in the form of a servant, so that he and we can establish some ground on which to seek a better understanding of what we both believe.

We’ll begin considering the course such a path might take in our Question installment next week.

For reflection
1.  What are some reasons people might choose atheism as a way of life?

2.  Is it possible to maintain friendship with an atheist? Why or why not?

3.  Have you read any of the work of such “new atheists” as Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris? Would it be helpful to do so?

Talk with some of your Christian friends. Do they know any people who claim to be atheists? What do they know about these folks? Have they tried talking with them about the Lord and the Christian faith? What thoughts do they have about sharing the Good News with an atheist?

Have you mapped out your Personal Mission Field? Download the free worksheet and begin working to become a more consistent and effective witness for the Lord.

The Week features insights from a wide range of topics and issues, with a view to equipping the followers of Christ to take every thought captive for Jesus. For more help in developing a clearer vision of Christ and His Kingdom, order the books Be Thou My Vision, 28 days of devotional readings and meditations, by clicking here, and The Kingship of Jesus by clicking here.