christian atheism.
it's a term that i've come in
contact with twice this week.
first off, there's this guy-
craig groeschel- who defends the
principle that there are many people
in his life- including himself-
that legitimately believe in god-
but then live their lives
like he doesn't exist.
it's a pretty powerful viewpoint.
especially when you are surrounded
by an entire world that has been deeply
scarred by the term "christian", and
are watching so-called christians
set up these gigantic expectations on
how to live, and seldom pursue
these expectations and rules themselves.
secondly, good ole' wikipedia tells me
that christian atheism is a belief structure,
in which "the god of christianity is
rejected or absent, but the moral
teachings of jesus are followed".
essentially, the god that christians
have set up is dead and non-existent,
but jesus' radical teachings can
and should change our lives.
by this definition, a christian atheist
would be one to remove the "fairy tale"
elements of the christian faith, and to seek
out the raw and authentic teachings that
can affect our own livelihood.
this does away with religion itself,
and places significant ownership
on humans alone to be the dictators
of their own destiny.
upon speculation on both variations
of the term, i'm immediately struck by
the comfort of some to put the word
"christian" so close to the word "atheist".
the two seem so opposed, and yet,
maybe that's missing the point all together.
both the traditional christian and the atheist
are individuals with viewpoints, experiences,
and challenges.
and maybe we need the considered
"opposition" to be close, so that we may
gain a better understanding of each other,
of ourselves, and ultimately- of god.
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