Friday, October 1, 2010

The Christian Atheist















I am by no means a book critic.  More accurately, I am an aspiring bookworm.  That is, I really enjoy reading, but I have to learn to stay awake long enough to finish books in a timely fashion.  I actually end up reading the same pages and paragraphs and two or three times because I nod off, twitch back into alert mode, re-read, and repeat as necessary until I give up and turn off the light.  I'm sure some of you can relate.
Anyway, I recently managed to finish a new book that I thought I would recommend to anyone who claims Jesus as their Lord, Savior, et al., but whose faith could easily be challenged or "called out" (with regard to their "un-Christian" behavior) by friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and in this day and age... Facebook friends -- yup, you see it all the time in status updates... "Praise God!" one day, and "I got hammered" the next.  Heck, I'd be willing to bet you've seen, "Praise God, I got hammered!"
So the book is perfectly titled The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel (pastor, LifeChurch.tv).  It's about "believing in God but living as if He doesn't exist."  It's a book for the self-proclaimed Christ follower that: doesn't really take the time to get to know God; doesn't pray as often as he should; doesn't always think God is fair; doesn't always forgive on the level he has been forgiven; doesn't think God can change his ways; continues to worry all the time; doesn't share his faith; wants to claim Christ but not be a part of His church; and more.
On levels fortunately much lower than they were ten years ago, I still wrestle with my newly defined "Christian Atheism" daily, but I believe God can change me, has changed me, and is changing me.  This book actually helped me identify some specific areas I can improve on and better represent Christ to the people around me.

Today's Good Read: Titus 1:16

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