25 Ways to Become a Christian Atheist
The Christian Atheist: Someone who believes in God, but lives as though He doesn’t exist. Someone who has gone to church for years but realizes their relationship with God has done nothing to change how they lived. Here is a link to Craig Groeschel’s blog with info on the book and how you can pre-order his new book The Christian Atheist.
I was a Christian Atheist for many years and had a blast (for awhile)! I picked up the below tips from personal experience and by watching others. Live your life incorporating as much of the below as possible and you can become a Christian Atheist:
1. Don’t submit yourself to any form of accountability in a local church. Just set your own rules and whenever you don’t like something, just change churches….again.
2. Don’t ever open your life up to others. Instead live in a bubble and make sure all your relationships are surface level.
3. Go to church every time the doors are open. Listen really closely to the message, and then don’t think about it once you leave.
4. Blame the “church” for your lack of spiritual growth and don’t take personal responsibility for you or your family.
5. Make your kids go to church all the time, but don’t ever show them any evidence of your faith at home. This is a great way to create other Christian Atheists.
6. Don’t ever talk to anyone about your faith. Make it all an intellectual pursuit in your own brain, in your own world.
7. Be as divisive as possible with other Christians. Make unchurched people thankful that they have nothing to do with you and your arguements.
8. Be rude to waiters, kids, and poor people. Kick dogs too while you’re at it.
9. Be hateful all the time to certain groups of people.
10. Wear a cross around your neck while you defile God publicly with your body in public.
11. Make your kids your god and don’t ever serve any one outside your family.
12. Don’t serve anyone ever. Instead fill your schedules every night of the week with as many activities as you can.
13. Don’t ever pray. Hearing what God would have you do is way over-rated!
14. Don’t ever seek out truthful feedback from others about what they see in you.
15. Worship your money and your success. It’s all about you.
16. Judge people frequently and be thankful you are better than they are.
17. Say Christian things all the time like “brother” or “praying for you,” then never do what you say you are doing.
18. Have an emotional affair with your spouse and don’t ever tell anyone about it.
19. Blame the church for your kids’ lack of spiritual growth. Don’t ever take personal responsibility.
20. Put “Christian” on your Facebook or Twitter profile, then blend in with the rest of the world with what you post.
21. Don’t ever forgive your self or seek forgiveness. Instead, just try to be a good, moral person without God in your life.
22. Don’t ever listen to other people. Talk about yourself during the whole conversation. This will give them hints that you don’t care about anyone but yourself.
23. Don’t ever engage with the Scriptures. Allow your mind to become numb to the things of God.
24. Place your popularly above your desire to be obedient.
25. Read about becoming a Christian Atheist from TheWayItCouldBe.com, then continuing to live out many of the above items.
What other ways can one become a Christian Atheist? Please share!
Wow. I wonder how many will be able to have their heart pierced by these teachings? Does it make you Christian Atheist if you read through these and say, “I sure know a few people who are like this and I’m Glad I’M not one of them!”
Great questions Warner! Yeah, there are things on here I struggle with all the time, sharing my faith and allowing it to make me different and lots of the other ones. None of us are perfect, but I do think it is good to be aware of our lives and if they match up with our beliefs. Thanks!
# 18—is that worded correctly?
also add:
dont read Bible
Cant find Bible
Dont memorize Scripture
Dont have personal devotion/prayer time.
Explain away miracles of old testament; dont pay much attention to New Testament.
Dont believe promises and commands of God pertain to you.
Take God for granted.
Do not write a gratitude journal.
great additions becky!
When we trust our own strength and we don’t trust the strength we get from God.
So true Scott, it is so easy to trust in ourselves and our abilities…
Isn’t this just another checklist of performance items for “being a Christian”? Sometimes I get the distinct feeling that Christians spend more time judging each other than anything else. Is it not possible to spend so much time worrying about everything we’re doing that we forget Whom we’re doing it for? Maybe it’s just me. It probably is. If I am a follower of Christ–and I admit, I’m never sure these days–I am at least one of the worst Christians ever. I was terrible at being an atheist, then awful at agnosticism, and even now, 10 years after I was awakened by the Holy Spirit (or so I thought), I keep seeing evidence of how worthless I am as a Christian. If I had faith, I’m sure the evidence would be obvious to me; but I see nothing but the mess I’ve made of my life. I am left with the distinct impression, after reading this list, that I am less than nothing.
Sam, you may have that impression of Christians judging one another for a good reason! Probably depends on the environment you are in. I happen to be in an environment where this isn’t a focus. And yes, I think it is possible to forget Who we are serving. It’s funny, when you made the comment I was working on a post entitled something like “Why I’m a screw up.” Still working on it….too much material for a short post! Ha…
I am convinced that I am less than nothing as well, but that through Christ I am an over comer and can actually be different, not worthless. It seems like you could take any Biblical text or instruction on how to live a Christian life and turn it into a “checklist of performance items.” We see Jesus ripping Pharisees for taking his law and turning it into just what you mentioned (so much so one time that he “fashions a whip” to clear the temple). It was certainly not the intent of this post to come across as a performance list for everyone. It is more of a challenge for those that claim Christ, yet don’t look any different than the rest of the world (me for most of my life). It is a challenge not to settle and blend in. We see in Revelation concerns of some of the New Testament churches being luke warm, so much so that God would “spit them out of his mouth.” That is pretty clear language.
To me (and this is just my perspective from what I can derive from the Scriptures), it is a thought that God loves us as the failures that we all are, but doesn’t want us to stay worthless all our lives. Rather he wants to change us and use us for his purposes. While this certainly doesn’t mean we won’t fall on our face at times, it does mean that we can put practices into our lives to grow and discover his will for us. It means attempting to be faithful with the short lives we’ve been given and make the most of every opportunity that we have to be used for His purposes here on earth.
Again, I think you can take any Christian teaching and turn it into a legalistic list. It all comes down to balance. It’s one thing to worship money and be totally controlled by it. It’s another thing to want things from time to time. This doesn’t mean we don’t talk about how Christians use their money.
It’s one thing to never pray or have any sort of relationship with God. It’s another thing to not be that good at praying, and often struggle through it (me a lot). This doesn’t mean we abandon encouraging people to pray.
It’s one never, ever share your faith with some one. It’s another thing to look up and realize that you could be better about sharing the message of Christ with others. This doesn’t mean we abandon teaching people to share their faith.
On your point, it all comes down to the difference in what “we” are capable of on our own (not much) and what God is capable of doing through us if we will just allow him (a lot). So if we are going on our efforts, our understanding, our rationalization or our merit, sure we will crash and burn every time. Like a branch disconnected to the vine, it is pretty difficult to produce fruit. However, if we are going on His efforts, His Wisdom and His empowerment, we can not just survive, but be used to do grow, make an impact, and leave behind a serious legacy when our time is up on earth. Any of this make sense? Thanks for the comment.
I’m really enjoying this book, but I’m reading it as well as some other books, so it’s taking me a long time. I want to thank you again for sending me this book, Chad!
Sandy, you are so welcome! Thanks for the note; I’m glad you are enjoying it.