I’ve been reading a book by an atheist. I won’t tell you his name or the title of the book because I don’t want to distract you from that first sentence. Let it sink in. I read a book by an atheist.

It’s important to read the opinions of people you don’t agree with. One of the most regrettable factors of modern American life is that we all disappear into our echo
chambers and have our biases confirmed. So reading something by someone you disagree with must be a healthy thing. Right? I think so.

Naturally, I disagreed with the author on the topics that you’d expect me to … like the ‘God doesn’t exist’ stuff. You can rest easily tonight. I’ve not been won over to the other side.

But, there was more to this book than its atheism. There were things I found encouraging and hopeful from a Christian perspective. Chief of these was the author’s
definition of religion. I liked it because it showed he had thought deeply about the human malaise and was aware of the profoundly negative consequences of a society
that has ‘moved on’ from its faith in God.

The author believes there are three types of religion:
1. Supernatural religion, such as the historic world faiths;
2. Ideological religion, such as science, democracy, socialism, capitalism;
3. Interpersonal religions, like friends, family relationships, and heroes.
What I found especially hopeful and accurate was his inclusion of ‘ideological religions’.
They are non-supernatural, but do the same job of a supernatural religion – they give
people a framework to understand the world, and they demand loyalty.

I found this refreshing because for the last 20-30 years we’ve lived through the false cultural belief that science is the only decider of ‘truth’ and that it has disproved God.
Here is an atheist author saying that science itself is a religion when it is used to proclaim itself as the ultimate source of truth. I like this. It exposes the fact that science
itself is based on faith – just as much faith as supernatural religions.

I hope this begins a new era in the conversation about God, where atheists can see people of supernatural faith not as dangerous and irrational fundamentalists who fly
planes into buildings, but as co-equals. That would make for a more peaceful and united world, I think. Then we might all be able to work in partnership to solve our big
problems.

Happy New Year.