Reflections from Pastor Rick Mason
Jim Evans is pastor of First Baptist Church in Auburn, AL, who is very “liberal” by Southern Baptist standards. He is also a writer, whose column appears in the Sunday Montgomery Advertiser each week. I always read--& usually agree with—what Pastor Evans has to say.
However, his recent article on the growth of atheism in this country did not reach the core reason for atheism’s rise. He seems to feel that secular humanism is a prime culprit; but I believe the Christian band dc Talk state the main reason well in a tag line on their 1990’s hit song Jesus Freak: “The leading cause of atheism in the world to day is Christians, who confess Jesus with their mouths but deny him with their lives. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
Specifically, it is Christian fundamentalism that is expanding the ranks of atheism n this country. The world finds it unbelievable that followers of the Prince of Peace seem often to be dedicated to violence (war & the death penalty) and hatred (racism, sexism, homophobia). They wonder at a “Christian nation” that is preoccupied with greed and materialism, while the Bible speaks more about God’s love for the poor than about any other subject.
And speaking of the Bible, the world laughs at the lunacy of Christian leaders who claim that Scripture is an inerrant book of science, when the Bible itself never claims to be either inerrant or a science text.
I dare say that Islamic fundamentalism today is likely driving many people in Arab lands into the camp of atheists as well. But here in America, Christian fundamentalists are padding the rolls of atheism and secular humanism alike. In the famous words of Walt Kelly, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
