WELCOME
Good Morning! Welcome to church! Whether you are listening online or you’re here in person; we’re glad you’ve connected with us!
SERIES RECAP
If you are visiting or this is your first time listening, we are in a series called Talking Faith. It’s a series about apologetics; learning how
“…to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15).
So far, we’ve laid a foundation for doing apologetics by taking a closer look at our culture and the questions people are asking, last week we developed an apologetic for talking with our friends about the reality of absolute truth and why all roads do not lead to heaven.
Today, in Part 3, I’d like to turn our attention to something that might hit a little closer to home in a message called Combating A New Kind of Atheism.
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND DR. WATSON GO CAMPING
As we work our way into this topic, let me begin by telling you a story of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. They decide to go on a camping trip and after dinner and a bottle of wine, they laid down for the night and went to sleep. A few hours later, Holmes woke up and nudged his faithful friend:
"Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
Watson replied, "I see millions of stars."
"What does that tell you?"
Watson pondered for a minute.
"Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets."
"Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo."
"Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three."
"Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow."
"Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant."
"What does it tell you, Holmes?"
Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke: "Watson, you idiot. Someone has stolen our tent!"
People can be very profound in giving an answer and miss the larger point.
When it comes to atheism, atheists try to give a rationale for the existence of the universe and the meaning of life, without a belief in God.
GET YOUR OWN DIRT
They’re kind of like the group of scientists who got together and decided that man had come along way and no longer needed God. So, they sent a delegate to tell him,
“Listen, God, the scientific community has decided that we don’t need you anymore. We’ve made significant advances in technology and medical science. We can transplant organs, grow tissue, and we can even clone people.”
God replied,
“Wow. That’s impressive. But you say, ‘You don’t need me anymore’? How about we put your theory to the test. Why don’t we have a competition to see who can make a human being?”
The scientist agreed and God said,
“Great. Now, here’s how we’ll do it. We’ll make a person just like I did back in the olden days with Adam. Ok? Go ahead, you go first.”
“Fine, no problem,” said the scientist and scoop down to get a handful of dirt. To which God responded,
“Whoa! Wait a minute. Not so fast. Get your own dirt.”
Get your own dirt, indeed! This is, of course, the main problem atheism is unable to solve: how did matter come into existence? Only God has the capacity to create something out of nothing (ex nihilo, Latin).
INVITATION TO SCRIPTURE
If you have your Bible, turn with me to John 14, and let’s go back to the same conversation we read about last week. Jesus had told his disciples he was leaving and that they knew the way to where he was going. Thomas had told Jesus, “Actually, we don’t know where you’re going” [paraphrase of John 14:5]. And it was then that Jesus made the claim,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)
Well, right after that, Philip chimes in on the conversation and says,
“Lord,” Philip said, “show us the Father, and that’s enough for us” (John 14:8)
If Thomas was a skeptic, Philip was pragmatic: “Show me the money!” Philip wanted to see the goods.
Whether Jesus rolled his eyes, I don’t know, but the response he gave Philip revealed that to know Jesus is to know God, and the search for (1) God, (2) truth, and (3) reality ends with Jesus. Let’s read what Jesus said,
“Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves” (John 14:9-11).
There are two questions that Jesus poses in this passage: questions about knowing and believing. Jesus says, “Don’t you know me?” and “Don’t you believe in me?”
CHRISTIAN ATHEISM
Knowing and believing in God are two phrases that are it blatantly rejected in traditional atheism. But there’s a new kind of atheism in our world today where knowing and believing are a little more subjective. It’s called as Christian Atheism. known as Christian Atheism. What’s that you say? Christian Atheism? Does that even exist? It sounds like a contradiction. You’re right! It is a contradiction that many people are living. Whereas traditional atheism is
“Atheism is the deliberate, definite, dogmatic denial of the existence of God. It is not satisfied with appropriate truth or relative truth but claims to see the ins and outs of the game quite clearly being the absolute denial of the absolute.” – Etienne Borne (1907-1993), a French philosopher
Christian atheism is something else. It accepts that there is a God but rejects the supernatural claims of Jesus.
It’s traditional atheism with a spoon full of Christianity.
Christian atheism is a form of cultural Christianity that draws its beliefs and practices from the life and teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels but rejects the supernatural claims of Christianity. Put a little more bluntly,
“Christian atheism is believing in God but living as if he doesn’t exist.”
Listen to how Linda Woodhead, a professor of philosophy and religion at Lancaster University in the U.K. described what is happening in our word,
“I hypothesize that being ‘spiritual’ may be a transitional position between being Christian and being non-religious…Spirituality provides an opportunity for people to maintain what they like about Christianity without the bits they don’t like.”
As sad as it is, I think Professor Woodhead hit the nail on the head [no pun intended]. Can you believe it? Take what you want and leave everything else behind:
• If you don’t like reading the Bible, that’s fine you. You don’t need to.
• If going to church is inconvenient, that’s ok too.
• If you think the resurrection of Jesus was a spiritual analogy, as opposed to a physical reality, then that’s fine.
• If you think the forgiveness God offers through Jesus gives you the green light to continue sinning, then go ahead. It’s all good!
What an absolute travesty! This means that according to today’s culture, to be “Christians” simply means that someone can believe in a God but do whatever [the heck] they want. Christian atheism is nothing more than a marriage between agnosticism—maybe there is a god, maybe not—and humanism, which places man at the center of the universe.
CHECKING OUR BELIEFS
The reason the conversation in John 14 caught my attention is that it caused me to re-evaluate where I am on the scale: Christian Atheism on the one end and Genuine Christianity on the other end.
• What exactly do I believe about Jesus?
• Philip had spent three years with Jesus, and he was still in the dark about really understanding who Jesus was:
"Don’t you know (ginosko, Greek) me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?" (John 14:9).
Here, the Greek for “know” is ginosko and it means to learn to know someone in the closest, devoted, and intimate way.
"Don’t you believe (pisteuo, Greek) that I am in the Father and that the Father is in me?" (John 14:10).
To believe (pisteuo, Greek) means to be absolutely confident that Jesus is God. It is saving faith
If I truly believe what I read about Jesus, then that belief needs to be fleshed out in the way I live. Wouldn’t you agree? Allow me to illustrate:
• If a person clucks like a chicken and walks around like a chicken, it DOES NOT make him a chicken…no matter how much he identifies as a chicken.
• Let’s say Adam goes to church every Sunday and attends a Bible Study on Wednesdays. But on Fridays, he likes to go out with his friends and get drunk. What he’s hearing on Sundays and Wednesdays is not having any bearing on his life.
• Or let’s say, Sally, who grew up in a Christian home decides that after college she needs to take a break from church to “figure things out.” And at 25, she’s still trying to figure things out while splitting the rent with her live-in boyfriend.
• Bob, on the other hand, attends church during Christmas and Easter but during the rest of the year, Bob spends his weekends playing golf.
• Alison doesn’t attend church because she doesn’t like the music, she prefers gardening at home—that’s her time to connect with God.
• Steve prays when he’s in trouble. When life seems to be working fine, there’s no need for prayer.
In essence, Christian atheists are people who say they believe in God but don’t really know him. The Apostle Paul put it like this in his second letter to Timothy,
“…having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5).
This “form” or appearance of godliness includes things like (1) going to church, (2) knowing Christian doctrine, and (3) using Christian clichés, and completely lacking a faith that is both inward and outward. Looking good on the outside but being totally empty on the inside.
CONCLUSION: A WAY FORWARD
What on earth should we do? What’s the way forward? The answer might sound too simple to be true: do what Jesus did. What exactly did Jesus do? With love, he patiently clarified the truth.
Think about it, Jesus could have thrown his arm up and said,
“Father, I give up. These people are too dense. I’ve spent three years teaching them. They’ve seen the miracles! And they still don’t get it. I’m done. Get me out of here.”
But instead, Jesus took time to explain to Philip that to know Jesus is to know God, and that the search for God and truth begins and ends in Jesus. Likewise, in these spiritually murky waters, we need to take time to (1) answer questions, (2) evaluate the alternative systems of thought, (3) respond to objections, and (4) present and clarify the Gospel.
The Apostle Paul said,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
When the Gospel is preached is has the power (dynamis, Greek) of God. In other words, the Gospel is not powerful because the preacher has a booming voice or because they are delivering it with persuasive words, but rather because within the Gospel message there is an inherent God-given power. It is powerful by virtue of its nature; the gospel is
“…the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16).
The Franklin Graham (2011) once said,
“There is only one thing powerful enough to transform hearts and lives from the inside out and to deliver us from the penalty and power of sin—it is the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
When we find ourselves in situations where we can present the Gospel, God will empower the message through the Holy Spirit. We are simply the vessel; God delivers the goods. Let’s pray.
PRAYER POINTS:
• Engage in meaningful conversations with our friends and neighbors.
• Articulate a response for why Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life.
• Empower us by the Holy Spirit to give a clear reason for the hope we have in Jesus
• Lead people into a relationship with Jesus.
