I saw a bumper sticker on my morning commute that read, “God doesn’t believe in atheists.” Chuckling to myself, I immediately thought, “There’s my next blog post!”
Turning well-worn phrases on their heads is often humorous and is a staple of bumper sticker technique. Occasionally, the result even contains some truth. How about this one?
The phrase “believe in” has at least two meanings. When atheists say they don’t “believe in” God, they mean they do not believe He exists. This is also generally what we mean when we talk about “believing in” Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, extra-terrestrials, and so on. However, when Christians say they “believe in” Jesus, they do not merely mean that they acknowledge His existence. James makes this distinction clear: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.” (James 2:19) The demons believe in God’s existence, but they have refused to align themselves with Him. To “believe in” Jesus is to entrust oneself to Him, to believe that what He says is true and that what He requires is good, and therefore to live in obedience to Him.
God is certainly not in denial about or blithely unaware of the existence of atheists. Nor does God entrust Himself to any man — He has no need to, first of all, and He is well aware of our propensity for selfishness, deceit, and misunderstanding.
But there is a third meaning for the phrase. When one person says to another (often with a full heart and moist eyes) “I believe in you,” it is a word of encouragement — a shorthand way of acknowledging good intentions, noble character, and a certain amount of skill in whatever is about to be undertaken. It is an expression of confidence in the better elements of a person’s capacities. In that sense, God does ”believe in” atheists, just as He believes in all of humanity. He evidently thought we were worth saving. He does not (usually) strike down those who speak and act against Him, but He waits patiently, and in His mysterious way, He woos them.
So, is it true that God doesn’t believe in atheists? Well…no, yes, and no again. But I hardly think the second sense is really what the bumper sticker meant. Maybe it’s a twist on the first sense — saying that God, knowing what is truly in a man’s heart, understands that even atheists really believe, deep down, that God exists. As the saying goes, “there are no atheists in the foxholes.”
Well, only God knows if that’s true.
October 28, 2008 at 9:42 pm |
Great post. For the most part, I probably don’t care for that bumper sticker. I have had lots of discussion with atheists of late, and for the most part they think that Christians are misguided and elitist. I feel compassion for themas a group, would like to find a way to really reach them, and what seems like the sarcastic nature of the bumper sticker feels to me like it works against that. However, I can and do see the comedic side of it also. And your explanation is very good.
October 30, 2008 at 10:35 am |
Thanks for the compliment.
And yes, I think this is a bumper sticker I wouldn’t want on my own car. It just doesn’t seem like something a good ambassador for the Kingdom would say.
It really is too bad that conversations about God’s existence so often devolve into name-calling. But one’s position on this issue is a fundamental part of one’s worldview, and people tend to become defensive when their worldview is challenged. It takes sensitivity and compassion to have a genuine and effective conversation about this — traits that our culture (political correctness notwithstanding) does not encourage.
Thanks again.