It is common to say an atheist is someone who believes there is no god, or someone who doesn’t believe in God (the latter might suggest there is a God but the person doesn’t believe in that God). The true atheists believes there is no god.
But some who say they are Christians live as if there is no God, and Craig Groeschel, in his brand new book, takes aim at this problem and probes and prods each of us to make our belief in God real and robust. His book is called: The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn’t Exist
. In essence, if we say we believe in God, and say things like we believe God can change us, then we need to make that more visible. What evidence is there about us that makes it clear we believe in God?
. In essence, if we say we believe in God, and say things like we believe God can change us, then we need to make that more visible. What evidence is there about us that makes it clear we believe in God?
What are the marks of a “Christian atheist”? Where is it hardest to make belief in God manifest or operative in our lives? What can we do about this?
He probes this from the angle of topics that are profoundly Christian but which are not present enough in our lives: knowing God personally, ashamed of your past and unwilling to let God heal you, afraid to let God love you, not praying, don’t think God’s fair, unwilling to forgive others, don’t believe you can change, worry all the time, pursue happiness at any cost, trust more in money than God, don’t share your faith and don’t believe in God’s Church.
Groeschel isn’t harsh; he’s not out to make you feel guilty; he’s instead concerned that you make God really God in your life.
This book is simply exceptional; fun and probing at the same time; full of stories but right on target when it comes to real issues about how much we really believe in God and let that belief permeate our lives and heart and soul and body. Groeschel tells much of his own journey, enough for all of us to say “he knows this topic from the inside out.”