It’s not easy to be a minister when you’re also an atheist, but somehow, I manage to pull it off.

You might be shocked to know that your pastor is an atheist.  Well, sit down, because I have news for you.  I have plenty of company in the pews.  Most of the membership at any given moment are atheists right alongside me.  (Yes, this means you too.)

There are a couple Psalms that begin, “the fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God.’” (See Psalms 14 & 53.)

The psalmist is not referring to philosophical atheism that denies the existence of a supreme being.  Rather, the psalmist is talking about “practical atheism.”  A practical atheist might very well believe in God, but he or she acts as though there is no God.  So, for all practical purposes, she or he may as well not believe in God at all.

This is a person who says to her or himself: “There may be a God, but it is of no real relevance to me.  God isn’t watching; God doesn’t care.  I can get away with anything.”   

Practical atheism is more than just a strategy to justify our misdeeds.  It is also the sense of being entirely on our own without God’s help or interference.

As a part-time practical atheist, I believe in God.  As an article of faith, even as an intellectual assertion, I have never seriously doubted the existence of God.  But I have routinely acted like God didn’t exist for me.  I have acted as though God was not necessary to take into account as I planned my day and my life.   I have beat my head against walls trying to break them down, all without asking God for help or direction.

I suspect that you, dear reader, are a practical atheist too (at least part-time).  We practical atheists often pray regularly and worship with whole hearts but also live as though God was not anywhere to be found.  We walk with one foot in faith and one foot in the fear and anxiety that is born of the atheistic conviction that it all depends on us alone.

It’s foolish to live this way.  We know it, yet we return to it.  This, I think, is one of the reasons why scripture tells us to ‘pray without ceasing.’  Constant prayer is not required to keep God’s attention.

It is we who need constant communication with God to save us from our atheistic delusions that we are all alone in the project we call life.

Prayer:  Hey, it’s me again.  Sorry for failing to take you into account for so long.  Thanks for the reminders of your presence that call me back to you.  Amen.