What if God disappeared?

The Bond Between Christianity and Atheism

On Being a Christian Atheist

I jokingly sometimes tell people that I am a “Christian Atheist.” In reality, I do not identify as either. I find meaning in the figure of Jesus but I don’t refer to myself as a Christian. I do not believe in the “God” of religion, but I don’t claim the label of Atheist.

The idea of Christianity and Atheism getting along is akin to expecting a Ravens and Steelers fan to be BFFs. Muhammad Ali said, “Impossible is nothing.” So I figured I’d give it a shot.

Speaking about Christianity and Atheism is a dicey endeavor. I often have two groups of people who are irritated with what I write. On the one hand, there are Christians who are not fond of me because despite writing favorably about Jesus, I am openly critical of Christianity and its theology. For them, my esteem of Jesus doesn’t go far enough. On the other hand, Atheists are often dissatisfied with me for mentioning Jesus at all. It seems the people who most relate to my writing are those who are less likely to claim a label, and appreciate the shades and nuances of post-religion spirituality.

A Work in Progress

Last week I made a presentation at ORTCON24 (Open and Relational Theology Conference), sharing publicly for the first time my most recent thoughts about religious deconstruction. I published an article about that presentation, which includes the Google Slides. One of my major points was that understanding the evolution of Christianity from its historical roots, reveals an epic twist that jettisons any traditional notion of “God”.

Many of these thoughts I shared are still incubating and refining. Because these ruminations are heavy on my mind, I decided to share some of my evolutionary process of thinking with my paid subscribers. The only people in the universe who see my paid-subscriber content are my wife Amy and you. For example, the content in this article will not be shared anywhere else on social media or the Internet.