Jonathan Franzen is a pretty articulate writer, avid bird watcher, and self-described atheist.  Only I don’t believe in him.  I think he does have gods.  I don’t know what exactly they are but I would put my money on something related to vanity, power, or pride,  something related to control and autonomy, and something related to sexuality or pleasure.

You are right to question how I could dare these broad assumptions.  I dare them because these are the general categories for human idolatry.  In fact these are the gods most often being lugged into Christian churches each week.  Humans need their gods, and you fellas are no different.

If you were genuine atheists you would do one of two or three things–

1.  lie prostrate, moan quietly and hope all the time that the random force of gravity did not fail you, no God, no constant force of gravity (sorry, but it is true)

2.  pluck live chickens and starve the Ukraine  (you would still have  your petty little gods, but your quest for power would fuel the inconsistencies…)

3.  genuinely feel sorry for us faith based folk.  Really guys, it is your grumpy protests against “God” that always give you away.  It isn’t that He isnt there, it is that you live with a deep and abiding desire to avoid His personality.  And that is the last thing I would like to say…

That is the sticky wicket, the saccharine misunderstanding, if you will.  I give you credit for not co-opting a fictious belief system and using it to snooker unsuspecting maidens, but what if you are wrong about Him?

What if the simple fact that Christians are generally lousy reflections of Christ and that you have never looked God’s reality, presence, personality, sense of humor, or overwhelming love in the face is actually robbing you of a relationship with a Guy who if you faced Him directly you would find to be incredibly smart (omniscient), incredibly strong (omnipotent), and even-handed enough to allow you to muck about and waste your life without Him?

What if Heaven isnt syrupy sweet?  What if it is the toughest, smartest, most brilliant light in an undying sky;  you opt out just because you have a prejudice against guys named Hey-Soos?