“...I’m sorry, did you just say, ‘Christian atheism’?” Those reading this article may have asked that very question. I know I certainly did when I stumbled across a TikTok video that used that very same phrase: Christian atheist.
But can this be possible? Can Christianity be paired with other religions? I’ve definitely seen variant forms of this, from Christian witches to Christian Buddhists. Or have people truly gone off the rails?
In this article, we’ll explore the belief known as “Christian atheism,” what the Bible would have to say about such a belief, and why someone would hold such a belief in the first place.
What Is Christian Atheism?
First of all, what is this belief? In short, it denies any theistic claims the Bible makes. Meaning if Jesus claimed to be God, a Christian atheist would throw those passages out of the Bible—much like a Thomas Jefferson fashion.
However, a person who is a Christian atheist will still live by Jesus’ teachings. They will admire Jesus’ warnings to “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:38-40) and to “go the extra mile” (same chapter in Matthew).
In other words, they view Jesus as a good and moral teacher. They would see him as a figure similar to the Buddha or Mohammad. A prophet, but nothing more.
This belief system may seem completely wacky to us, and we’d be correct. C.S. Lewis shows us, in his book Mere Christianity, that Jesus set out to prove he was far more than a good moral teacher. This is where the famous Liar, Lunatic, or Lord argument comes from. In essence, because of the bold claims of divinity Jesus made, either he was crazy, a liar, or actually was what he claimed to be. Given the evidence of the resurrection, we can align with the latter.
But do we see this belief system playing out, even if someone does not claim to “be a Christian atheist”?
We do. And you may see Christian atheism play out in the following sinister ways.
“I believe Jesus was a good teacher, but not most of that other stuff.”
If you ask most atheists, they tend to like Jesus as a moral teacher. They like the example of humility and his heart for the oppressed. But they don’t like the harsh stuff he said. And they certainly don’t like the claims to divinity. Because if Jesus truly is God, they will have to change how they live. Most people don’t want to do that, so they’ll keep Jesus “safe” but not “good.” C.S. Lewis highlights the flaw in this argument in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when one character asks whether Aslan is safe. Another character responds, “of course, he’s not safe. But he’s good.”
“I think the Bible has some nice stories, but they most likely didn’t happen.”
In a broader picture, a Christian atheist may see some stories in the Bible as good moral tales. Such as fairy tales. But they don’t perceive them as much beyond that. To do so, they would have to believe in extraordinary, supernatural events such as the worldwide flood (Genesis 6) and the sun standing still for one day (Joshua 10:12), among several others.
“I’m not a Christian, but I’m spiritual.”
Christian atheism can manifest itself in this way. Someone may like some of the moral teachings of Christianity, but they may not like everything about Christianity.
The crux of Christian atheism shows up in the tendency to cherry-pick the nice bits of the Bible, but it throws out the supernatural, life-changing pieces.
Can a Christian be an atheist? In short, absolutely not. Scripture says to be a Christian, you must confess the Lordship of Jesus (aka the divinity, Romans 10:9-10). You have to believe in supernatural events such as the resurrection of Christ (see the same Romans 10 verses linked above).
But what does the Bible have to say overall about this faulty belief system?
What Does the Bible Say about Christian Atheism?
We must understand that Christian atheism didn’t really exist in the early church. Sure, some false teachings floated around. In the early centuries, however, they combatted Gnosticism more than any other heretical teaching.
When it came to the Trinity, people in earlier centuries did try to lessen the roles of Jesus or the Holy Spirit or downplay the deity of God altogether. So we can say fragments of Christian atheism did exist in the early centuries.
With that said, the Bible does have things to say about atheism—the belief that there is no God. Or to act as though God does not exist. Let’s explore some of those passages below.
Psalm 14:1 says that fools believe that God doesn’t exist. Because we have an innate sense of the divine, and all creation points to God, we inherently know that someone created everything. We’ll explore why people would deny God below, but humans know in their hearts that something divine exists.
1 Corinthians 2:14 indicates that when someone continues to do life how they please and ignores the divine, they will become insensitive to things of the Spirit. The callousness may continue to the point where they will deny the existence of God. If you’ve seen videos of arguments with atheists, you will witness that even in the face of extraordinary evidence, they vehemently deny God’s existence. It cuts to the core of their actions. Because if a God truly exists, that requires some major life changes.
Colossians 2:8 says that when someone turns away from God, they will turn to something else to place their faith in. Perhaps healing crystals. Perhaps science alone. Perhaps another “fill in the blank” item.
Since the term Christian atheism exists, it causes us to wonder why someone would hold this view in the first place.
Why Does Christian Atheism Exist?
We can point to several reasons a person would adhere to Christian atheism, but we’ll highlight three major ones below.
1. It Looks like Other Religions
Christianity (not Christian atheism) is the only religion where humans cannot save themselves. Read that again. In every other religion, humans attain their own salvation, their own enlightenment, etc., through good words. Through a mindset, they change on their own. Christianity, however, operates on the idea that sin has corrupted humans and only a divine savior can rescue us from our hellfire fate. Most people don’t like that. The idea is that they need rescuing. American idealism likes to think we can save ourselves. On the other hand, Christian atheism puts the power back into human hands. It says to follow Jesus’ moral teachings but not take up their crosses and follow him.
2. It Avoids the Harder to Believe Bits of the Bible
Christian atheism is the easy way out. A Christian atheist does not have to believe Jesus underwent a bodily resurrection. They don’t have to believe in spiritual warfare that surrounds us. They don’t have to believe that God created the world in seven days (literal or figurative). They don’t have to believe any of these things. In other words, they don’t need faith.
3. It Doesn’t Require Avoiding Sin
If Jesus is divine, that means that everything said in the Bible rings true. Jesus quoted Scripture several times and attributed authority to the Old Testament (he refers to them as the law, prophets, and writings). That means some hard truths. It means that people can’t engage in New Age practices. It means that marriage has to look like the biblical model laid out for us. It means that godly living will run counter to culture. But if you take away the divinity of Jesus, then his words do not have the same power. In that scenario, someone can live however they want.
In short, someone may believe in Christian atheism because it requires little commitment, little belief, and little faith.
Dear Christians, be vigilant for variant forms of this. Satan seeks to twist Scripture, to deceive, and to give us half-truths. Watch out for Christian atheism beliefs that may sneak their way into the church walls.
Photo Credit: Graphic by G. Connor Salter
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our Christian Terms catalog, exploring words and phrases of Christian theology and history. Here are some of our most popular articles covering Christian terms to help your journey of knowledge and faith:
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