Functional Athiests

I have been working my way through a book about Christian Atheists. If you are like me, you may be thinking that it is impossible to be both Christian and Atheist. It is a definite contradiction in terms.

Yet as I weave my way through the pages of the book I recognize the author is picking up on some current trends among people who claim to have a belief in God, or would name Jesus Christ as their savior.

The trend is this; that although they state that they believe in God or claim that Jesus Christ is their savior there is little evidence of it in their lives. In other words their attitudes, the basis of their decisions, their thought processes, their moral choices or even their politics are mirrored in those of culture who may make no such claims or in some cases have no belief in God or in His existence.

This is an important topic that is worth serious consideration. Over the past few years I have often been left a little dumb-founded by those who are rightfully endeavoring to shake the bondage of legalism or a rules based faith. What has caught my attention is how far people are willing to carry this new found "freedom" to prove they are free. What can happen is there is a gradual disconnect between profession and practice that if taken to the extreme leads to living in this whole aspect of being Christian in profession while functioning as an atheist.

Please know my heart in this. I am not throwing stones at any one, nor is this in anyway meant to be interpreted as a self-righteous rant. We are all on this journey of faith, we may find ourselves in different places or spaces. However, this is a growing issue that demands and is worthy of our attention.

What are your thoughts?