Groeschel, Craig. The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as if He Doesn’t Exist. Zondervan, 2010. ISBN: 9780310327899.
Meet the Author
Craig Groeschel is the founding pastor of LifeChurch.tv, which has grown from a single campus in 1996 to a multi-campus church with over eighty weekly worship experiences in fourteen locations including an online campus. Groeschel has written five books: Confessions of a Pastor: Adventures in Dropping the Pose and Getting Real with God; Going All the Way: Preparing for a Marriage That Goes the Distance; It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It; Chazown: Define Your Vision. Pursue Your Passion. Live Your Life on Purpose; and The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn’t Exist. According to research done by Lifeway in 2009, LifeChurch.tv is the second most attended American church and the most attended American multi-site church. Groeschel, generally considered as leading edge when it comes to technology, is a newcomer to Twitter. To follow him, click here.
Book Basics
The Christian Atheist is adequately summarized by its subtitle (Believing in God but Living as if He Doesn’t Exist) and biblically
supported by Titus 1:16 (They claim to know God, but by their actions deny him). Structurally the book includes twelve chapters all titled “When You Believe in God but . . .” sandwiched between an introduction and an afterword that are both pastoral and personal. Written from an evangelistic and conservative theological worldview, Groeschel seeks to encourage his readers to engage in introspection to learn if their faith is genuine or hypocritical and then to respond by making any necessary changes to become what he terms a “third line Christian” (someone who believes strongly enough to give one’s life to “Christ’s gospel”).
Groeschel’s willingness to share his own personal journey, including shortcomings that became learning experiences and opportunities for spiritual growth, serves as the book’s greatest strength. The book’s greatest weakness is its redundancy. The reader moves through twelve verses (ways to fall short of being a third line Christian) of the same song: real Christians believe this but Christian atheists act in a way that seemingly denies such a belief.
So What?
When is the last time you engaged in an introspective exercise to evaluate whether or not your actions match your beliefs?
- If you have done so recently, what did you learn? How did you utilize what you learned?
- If you have never done so or not done so in some time, would you be willing to commit to doing so sometime in the next month?
Are you committed to being a third line Christian or someone who is willing to give your life fully to that which you believe?
- If so, how has that commitment changed how you view your roles in life (i.e. mother/father, follower of Jesus, worker, steward of God’s gifts, etc.)?
- If not, how do you reconcile a belief system and a lifestyle that are at odds with one another some of the time?
How do you respond to Groeschel’s definition of Christian atheism (believing in God but acting as if God doesn’t exist)?
Note: While I cannot recommend this book, I do recommend It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It.