What Atheists Can Teach Christians

Atheists are often a vocal group. Is there anything theists and Christians can learn from them?

People want to hear this. They really do.

Especially atheists.

You might be surprised to learn that many people become atheists because they are not hearing a strong message of spiritual transformation. "Repent," says Jesus -- turn your life around. Jesus invites people to follow him and discover the amazing and unexpected closeness of the kingdom of heaven.

Atheists don't want less Christianity. They want a more serious and vital version of it.

Larry Alex Taunton recently conducted a series of interviews with people who have become atheists, and reported his discoveries in The Atlantic magazine (June 2013). He found that most people become atheists after spending time in church. They lose their faith in response to Christianity, not as a reaction to Islam or Buddhism.

For a college student named Phil, church became a mushy mix of ceremony, handholding and kumbaya. "I missed my old youth pastor," he said with disgust. "He actually knew the Bible."


So what can atheists teach us to help us...