Customer Reviews

The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn't Exist

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

WOW!!!! This is a must read, rarely do I find a book that pushes me past my comfort zone and into the game, but "the Christian Atheist" does just that. If you have been looking for a book to challenge you out of the mundane status quo living then read this book! Here is what you will find inside:

Chapter 1: When You Believe in God but Don't Really Know Him

Chapter 2: When You Believe in God but Are Ashamed of Your Past

Chapter 3: When You Believe in God but Aren't Sure He Loves You

Chapter 4: When You Believe in God but Not in Prayer

Chapter 5: When You Believe in God but Don't Think He's Fair

Chapter 6: When You Believe in God but Won't Forgive

Chapter 7: When You Believe in God but Don't Think You Can Change

Chapter 8: When You Believe in God but Still Worry All the Time

Chapter 9: When You Believe in God but Pursue Happiness at Any Cost

Chapter 10: When You Believe in God but Trust More in Money

Chapter 11: When You Believe in God but Don't Share Your Faith

Chapter 12: When You Believe in God but Not in His Church

As you can see there are so many chapters relevant to were many of us live our lives. One word of advice DON'T miss the "Afterword" where Craig talks about stepping across the third line. You will leave the book challenged and inspired!

It should be easy to spot people who really believe that God exists and Jesus was who he claimed to be, because they should be acting as if God is an ever-present part of their reality, and yet surveys tend to show that there is very little difference in the way people who claim to be Christians behave when compared to others. Craig Groeschel explores why this is so in this book.

The book examines a number of ways in which Christians fail to act consistently with their stated beliefs: not really knowing God, remaining ashamed of your past, being unsure of God's love for you, not believing in prayer, not trusting that God is fair, failing to forgive, not believing that you can change, clinging to worry, pursuing happiness at any cost, trusting more in money than in God, not sharing your faith, and not being part of the church.

The book demonstrates that a lack of faith can be manifested in many different ways, and it points out what are likely to be some key areas of sin in the reader's life, although it does this in a non-judgemental way because the author confesses that he commits the same sins. This is a very well-written book which anyone who claims to be a Christian would benefit from reading.

I've never read any of Groeschel's books before. This book stood out to me in the bookstore with its red cover and the words "Christian" and "atheist" juxtaposed. I've been reading several different books lately on how to be a better Christian, and this fit right in. Christian atheist is just a catchy term to suck the reader in, and it worked for this reader.

While I didn't find it as hard-hitting as other reviewers, Pastor Craig does make some good points. The chapters on worry and forgiveness are the best. The chapters on money and some others aren't as strong, and the points he makes aren't as profound. I'd wish he go into more detail on how to handle certain issues. He brings up Christian singles who want to meet that special someone, and suggests they visit gatherings of those with similar morals. Outside of church, and some volunteering, I am still trying to meet such people!

Pastor Craig is at his best when confessing his own faults. While he is not as overly dramatic as Jimmy Swaggert, he does admit to more than the fairly innocuous admissions you may hear in a typical Sunday sermon. This is where he is at his most real.

This is still a good read on how to be a better Christian, but the title of the book implies something more. I thought that Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" made similar points but with a more radical approach and I enjoyed it better. I'd also recommend John Ortberg's "When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box".

When I read the title, "The Christian Atheist," my interest was definitely piqued! I was not familiar with the author, Craig Groeschel, but with endorsements by Francis Chan, Andy Stanley, Brian Houston, Dave Ramsey, and Bill Hybels, I figured this was a MUST read. I was right!

Too many "Christians" are professing their faith...but no living it. Pastor Craig Groeschel cuts to the heart and prompts you to self examine your life as a Christian, but does so with such an amazing humble attitude...it still amazes me he pulled it off! Pastor Groeschel uses his own life experiences in a relevant and powerful way...exposing his own faults and weaknesses as a Christian in order to open the heart of the reader. Each Chapter will take you through most of the main ways in which Christians are "claiming" to know God, but by their actions denying Him. You might be surprised at how you're own faith measures up. This isn't a "quick" read. You'll want to read each chapter and then pray and ask God to examine your heart and reveal the areas that need some work. Yes, Pastor Groeschel is out to convict Christians, but not condemn. "The Christian Atheist" is a message that is calling God's people to live out the faith that they profess. I can't imagine a better book to grow and develop your faith!

My husband and I are pastors and we want everyone in our congregation to read this book, because it gets to the heart of the issue of what it means to be a christian. We believe so many people are so misinformed when it comes to christianity and The Christian Athiest with its gut level honesty, humour and biblical truth redefines the term "christian". I want thank Craig Groeschel for stepping up to the plate and being open and honest as he lives these truths out and shares it with us.

This book is a very easy read and is very relevant to the way so many of us live our Christian lives. I originally bought this book to try and use its contents as talking points with a luke warm christian friend, but found so many points applicable to my own life. I know I benefited from it greatly. It's a must read.

My thoughts on this book can be summed up in two words: Sigh and Yawn. First, the sigh.

I have been intrigued by this book for a while and finally picked it up at the local store looking forward to hearing a pastor talk about believing in Christ while living as if we don't. The phrase, "Christian atheist" is a provocative one and it presents interesting inroads into some pastoral work.

Instead of thought-provoking work, the book is a string of stories supported by a few verses here and there and punch-lines. Every chapter goes like this: catchy title, story of the down-and-outer, verse, repeat story and verse four or five more times, a little bit of surface Scriptural work, punch-line. I don't know exactly what I expected when I picked up the book, but I was fairly underwhelmed with the product.

The Yawn is pretty self explanatory. Every chapter was essentially the same with variations on the stories and themes. All the actual biblical and spiritual work was simple bordering on simplistic. The illustrations - not unlike many sermons preached each week - overwhelmed the biblical insights and the vision of Christ this topic could have developed.

If you are looking for a simple and easy to read pick-me-up with lots of stories, this book really might be a help to you. If, however, you want to really dig into the very real problem of "Christian atheists," this book might come up a little short for you.

Excellent read!! I find myself in so many different chapters in the Christian atheist...if you are looking to be challenged and reflect on your walk with Christ this book is a gonna potentially rock your world...I do not think you can read this book and not be transformed in your relationship with Christ if you are seeking to grow as a believer...when I first heard this teaching it resonated with me, moved me and the book drives the point home even more so that I need to reflect my love for Jesus in every aspect of my life...

I've read all of Pastor Groeschel's books and this is definitely the BEST yet! He brilliantly breaks down the facade that so many call Christianity and talks about what is means to be a true follower of Christ. Warning: this book will challenge you like you've never been challenged before. I highly recommend it to Christians, Christian Atheists and Atheists.

This disappointing book has a misleading subtitle--it's supposedly about helping people who believe in God but live as if He doesn't exist, yet most of the book is made up of the author's personal failures and how God forgives people anything. Instead of upholding Godly standards or setting guidelines for Christian living, it's mostly about trying to do away with shame and guilt by focusing completely on God's grace, where you can live however you want and not feel bad about it.

The people he talks about in the book are not "Christian atheists." He has a very broad view of what it means to be a Christian (he was raised Methodist apparently but doesn't get specific in the book--all he tells us is he went to church twice a year and had a Bible in the home that he never read) and an atheist (here defined as living like God doesn't exist, which is different from believing that God doesn't exist). Most of the people in the book are believers who don't hold themselves to godly standards--that's not the same as being an atheist.

This writer is now the pastor of a huge church with multiple locations--yet this book seems to dwell on his need to constantly confess to his own sins. He tells us about everything from his having an affair in college with his buddy's girlfriend to stealing a pack of gum as a kid. The book appears to be his way of still dealing with his own guilt and shame. Yet instead of stepping up and concluding that Christians today are not choosing to do right, instead he concludes that they're not choosing to accept God's forgiveness. Those are two very different choices and instead of him exhorting followers to do right in the first place, he emphasizes the need for do-badders to instead forgive themselves.

His response to "Christian atheists" in every chapter is one of empathy and emotion--if you sin, then God "cares" and "hurts." That is true but where is the corresponding reflection on God's disappointment and holding believers accountable? The God of the Bible that the writer claims to preach is a God who shows many other responses to sin than just caring and hurting. The author goes out of his way to claim that the big, mean punishing God of the past is not accurate--yet that is what causes "believers" to live like He doesn't exist. If they can say they follow Him yet are never held accountable for their actions, then there is no purpose for really living their faith.

The author doesn't seem to see that he is preaching the very thing that causes Christians to act like non-believers. He is emphasizing all the wrong things. People can hear from any unbelieving pop psychologist that they shouldn't feel guilty about a terrible sin or that they shouldn't feel shame for their past. What takes guts (and true love) is to let people know that they are making bad choices with consequences--and that the New Testament says that they will be held accountable. So instead of encouraging people to stop doing a specific act, he instead focuses on encouraging them to "stop worrying." No! They should be worrying about what they are doing that displeases God! He represents the modern church's tossing away of God's specific commands and its focus on soft emotional support for those who don't want to feel guilty.

This guy also wallows in tragedies. His brother-in-law died at 34, his little sister revealed she was molested as a child, he mother has strokes, his church is filled with people having affairs, illnesses and deaths. He makes some odd choices for story examples and illustrates his points with negatives instead of positives. (He also started a really weird website where people can confess their sins--so you can go on and read story after story of people's sinfulness with no resolution!)

A few times he wanders into almost recommending some standards (like questioning two young women going to see R-rated Wedding Crashers for a second time) but he never quite gets to the point where he is willing to take much of a stand. He does make the bold statement, "God doesn't want us to be happy," but then squanders the chance to bring it home in a meaningful way by comparing it to a five-year-old disobeying her parents by riding a zipline. Most of his stories are the standard messages of forgiving others, not confusing workaholism with serving God and trusting God to turn bad situations into something positive. But the book says almost nothing that hasn't been seen in other recent wishy-washy bestsellers from people like Joel Osteen. The one specific standard he brings up, like most evangelical pastors, is that people should be giving financially until is hurts--a typical message from someone who lives off donations and admits that he overbuilt a ministry that has bills to pay.

In the end he doesn't fulfill the subtitle's claim--he doesn't really teach Christians how to live the life they say they believe in. It's a touchy-feely Christianity that fails to uphold what believers needs to do to live what they believe. On one hand I'm surprised such bland theology can attract a large audience, but on the other hand Groeschel reflects exactly what's wrong with Christianity today by failing to require that people live up to God's standards.