Christ First Forum

S.C. Pastor Exposes 'Practical Atheists' among Christians
By Lillian Kwon|Christian Post Reporter

Most Americans claim belief in God but many are living as "Christian atheists," according to some pastors.

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"I'm sick and tired of the fact that people can attend church for ten to 20 years and never change," said NewSpring Church Senior Pastor Perry Noble.

"Here's the deal: we believe in Jesus enough to get us out of hell but not actually enough to change the way we live and that's a problem in the church," the S.C. pastor said Sunday to his mega-congregation.

Noble launched a new series titled "Practical Atheist," borrowing the term from fellow pastor Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv who preached on a similar series years back and has a book on the subject coming out this month.

Practical atheist, or Christian atheist, is defined as someone who believes in God but lives as if He doesn't exist.

Groeschel calls himself a recovering Christian atheist. He says in The Christian Atheist that "Christian Atheism is a fast-spreading spiritual pandemic which can poison, sicken, and even kill eternally."

In concordance with the well-known LifeChurch.tv pastor, Noble began preaching on the matter on Sunday recognizing that believers may say the right things or look the part but not necessarily live as Christ followers.

Seventy-two percent of Christians claim they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, according to NewSpring Church, but only 17 percent feel that the local church is necessary for spiritual growth and only one in three Christians believe God expects them to be holy. "Where's the disconnect?" the church poses.

"Jesus Christ didn't just die on the cross so we can just say a prayer and live however we want," said Noble, clad in a gray sweatshirt that says "LOVE." "He died ... so we in turn would give ourselves to him."

The area Noble feels most Christians are practical atheists in is prayer.

"I believe when it comes to prayer most Christians are actually superstitious rather than believers in the supernatural," he pointed out.

The humorous pastor expressed his belief in miracles and healings through prayer, which he acknowledged was possibly a rare belief.

At the same time, he also cautioned that sometimes God says "no" to prayers and sometimes He wants believers to obey and take action rather than just pray about it.

Noble stressed, no matter what happens – whether God says "no" or "yes" – He is still a great and glorious God because "our circumstances do not alter His character."

Practical atheism will be addressed over the course of five weeks at NewSpring. Noble warned that those five weeks will be "the most uncomfortable weeks in church" for Christians.

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20 ... index.html

Thanks for posting this, Frank. I agree with him all the way. Many just want to believe so they can have "fire insurance" - and many pastors say tht's all you need. They have it all wrong. If you have Jesus in your heart, you WANT to serve Him, you have to try to reach others, etc. Good post - thanks for sharing.

open door wrote:Thanks for posting this, Frank. I agree with him all the way. Many just want to believe so they can have "fire insurance" - and many pastors say tht's all you need. They have it all wrong. If you have Jesus in your heart, you WANT to serve Him, you have to try to reach others, etc. Good post - thanks for sharing.

Amen, Open Door.

Psalm 27:4
One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

Scripture says to Nicodemus:

Most assuredly, I say to you, UNLESS ONE IS BORN AGAIN, he CANNOT see the kingdom of God. John 3:3

To be BORN AGAIN is a CHANGE in that person...

Paul was killing the Christians on the road to Damascus to saving the Christians.....

I, agree, too many Christian Atheists in our churches...

No change within themselves,and they accept what the world has to offer...

That's why scripture clearly speaks of a small remanant of God.....

It's no different today,and God's coming for His small remanant in the Rapture...

Today is the day to make sure you know Christ in a BORN AGAIN experience...

He came to died for EVERYONE sins,and He LOVES everyone....