If you pick up this book thinking that Craig Groeschel is writing about those other people, well — WRONG. It’s aimed at most of us, people who call themselves Christian. People who may even go to church, serve in ministry and contribute regularly.
According to Pastor Groeschel, you may be a Christian Atheist when:
- You believe in God, but don’t really know Him
- You believe in God, but are ashamed of your past
- You believe in God, but aren’t sure He loves you
- You believe in God, but not in prayer
- You believe in God, but don’t think He’s fair
- You believe in God, but won’t forgive
- You believe in God, but don’t think you can change
- You believe in God, but still worry all the time
- You believe in God, but pursue happiness at any cost
- You believe in God, but trust more in money
- You believe in God, but don’t share your faith
- You believe in God, but not in His church
If you’re anything like me, you’ll recognize yourself in at least some of the categories. It boils down to saying you are a Christian while not living like one (at least in certain areas of your life).
As you can imagine, the book was quite challenging ( a good choice for Lent when we are meant to be examining ourselves in light of the sacrifice of Christ). I agreed with most of what Pastor Groeschel has to say, with the exception of some issues in the section on prayer. He says that the way we live (our righteousness) and the depth of our faith is “one factor that makes a difference” in whether our prayers are heard and answered. He does qualify that with:
“That doesn’t mean that if you’re mostly righteous, God must do everything you ask him to do exactly as you say. It also doesn’t mean that if you are a total mess, God will never answer your prayers.”
So it’s a bit unclear. I can see that the more righteous one is, the more their prayers will line up with God’s will, and therefore, more likely to be answered positively. However, as my pastor husband would say, this is a slippery slope. In praying we form a relationship with God, we don’t influence Him. The only prayer that will never fail is “thy will be done.” (see The Prayer that Never Fails).
VERDICT: 4 STARS. Worth reading and pondering
For a book on a similar topic visit this link:
Sick of Me by Whitney Capps–Book Review #2
Lutheran Ladies Connection 