APATHEISTS

Apatheists just don’t care.

I first encountered the word in Lutheran Hour Ministry’s video-based Bible study, “The Journey from Unbelief to Faith.” In the fourth session of the study, a young gamer named Tyler Mann used it to describe one of the three categories of unbelief systems that he like to argue with: atheists, agnostics and apatheists.

Tyler himself had grown up an atheist, and had also taken up a serious interest in online gaming (video games, not gambling). He eventually entered into online discussions with believers and unbelievers alike. Tyler loved to argue the Bible, using it to attack believers who weren’t aware of what it said.

Tyler describes his attitude: “I didn’t care about what the Bible actually said. I cared about arguing, and basically telling Christians and other believers that they were wrong.”

Tyler is a very intelligent guy; he immersed himself in the Bible, not with an intent to believe, but to gain ammunition for his arguments. He soon learned, as he engaged Christians in theological debates, that “I knew more about the Bible than they did.” Here come the Apatheists.

Apatheist is not actually a new term. It was first coined by sociologist Stuart Johnson in 1972. And it’s really not a belief system as much as an attitude: apatheists just don’t care. In the broadest sense, they fit in well with atheists and agnostics, except those groups often are quite passionate in advocating for their unbeliefs.

The more dangerous apatheists are the ones Tyler encountered online: people who indicate some level of “belief” in God, but make no effort to actually live by faith, or even know who He is or what He says. Tyler quotes James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.” As the Holy Spirit gradually broke down Tyler’s walls and led Him to believe Jesus and His Word, Tyler concluded, “It’s not enough to believe that God exists. Do you trust what He says? Do you trust His promises?”

Do you trust Him with your life? What difference does Jesus make in your life? Can anyone else tell that difference?

Jesus saves you from sin, from death and from the power of the devil – not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood, and with His innocent suffering and death. Perhaps the greatest adversary He saves you from, is you. His amazing unbounded grace – a love as undeserved as it is unconditional – drives Him to seal the deal on salvation for you. When Jesus breathes His last on the cross and says, “It is finished,” (John 19:30), He’s not just marking the end of His own life. He’s proclaiming the end of your death.

You and I – two of the most deserving targets of God’s anger on earth – are instead saved from ourselves by His grace, and then handed the keys to the Kingdom by His gift of faith. This is not an intellectual ascent or a reasoned conclusion. Faith is God opening our eyes, our hearts and our lives.

Jesus calls us to be, to believe and to belong. He calls us children of God, because that is what we are through His sacrificial love (1 John 3:1). He calls us to believe in who He is and trust what He says (John 14:1-14). He calls us to belong to Him, as the One who resuscitates and resurrects us by His own power of Resurrection (Romans 1:6).

But do you care?

Jesus is not an acquaintance, and the Bible is not a coffee table book. When Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15), He makes it intensely personal. Scripture tells us, “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord,” (1 Peter 3:15), and then calls upon us to be ready to explain that. Jesus as Lord means He is your top priority in life, your source of strength and hope, and your very best friend Who is with you always. And you treasure spending as much time with Him as you can. He is your everything or your nothing; no in-between. You have a daily conversation with your Lord.

His Word, then, becomes our breath and blood. This is no longer ink on a page, nor is it a collection of cute stories and catchy sayings. The Bible is not a meme. This is God talking; this is Jesus revealing to you and reminding you of all that can be, in every moment of life, when Jesus is your Lord.

Christian comedian Jeff Allen talks in his act about his conversion from atheism to Christ. A comedian friend tried to talk to him about the Bible, but Jeff kept pushing back, saying, “Ah, don’t give me the Bible. I don’t want to hear the Bible.”

The friend says, “What do you mean?”

Jeff: “I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in that garbage.”

His friend: “What is it about the Bible you don’t think is true?”

Jeff said, “I don’t know. I never read it.”

He said, “Well, you’re not an atheist; you’re a moron!” Jeff asked him to explain himself and the man told him, “To be honest, a true atheist is not only a Biblical scholar but is scholarly in all the faiths of the earth. And after a long intellectual journey has come to the conclusion that there is no God of the universe. You, on the other hand, want to circumvent the entire intellectual process and just come to the conclusion that there’s no God. That’s lazy and moronic.”

To avoid that same fair and accurate accusation, I want to challenge you to go deeper, grow stronger, and get healthier in your faith by resolving to care: Care about Jesus; care about His Word. No apatheism. Genuine faith come to life.

Three ways that the Lord can snap you out of the lazy haze of indifference:

1. Be in the Word on your own. At home, in the car, wherever. You and Jesus. We’ll help you make a plan.

2. Be in the Word with your Family. Come over to God’s house, EVERY TIME YOU CAN! Don’t get lazy on worship.

3. Be in the Word with a group. Finding a few people who get it and get you can help you experience a much richer and fuller faith life in Christ. It worked for Tyler. We’ll set you up with a group, or help you and your friends get started. Message me or Pastor Chad.

​
You cannot have a relationship with someone you never talk with or spend time with. You matter to Jesus. He cares about you. He loves being with you and living life together. It’s time to care back. Don’t be a moron.