Christian Atheist: Belonging without Believing
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In this fascinating and thoughtful book, Brian Mountford explores the borderland where Christians and atheists gaze at each other with expressions ranging from the hostile and scornful to the friendly and sympathetic. In some ways it is the most interesting place in contemporary religion. Mountford has an extensive knowledge of this borderland, and in the interviews and reflections in this book he explores it in the company of some eloquent and thoughtful contemporaries. --(Philip Pullman, author and self-confessed Christian Atheist)
Product Description
The key to the book is a set of interviews with people who fall broadly into the Christian Atheist category; some are more agnostic and less sceptical than others, but what they have in common is the rejection of traditional belief in God, counterbalanced by an admiration for the aesthetic genius of Christianity (leading to a sense of deeper value), the Christian moral compass, and in some cases the community aspect of Christian life. As one of his interviewees points out, you can?t have Christian atheism without mainstream, traditional Christianity, so Brian Mountford sets their comments within a broader discussion of the issues: God, aesthetics, orthodoxy, doubt and belief, ethics and communal values. His purpose is threefold: to validate and affirm the Christian atheist position within the broad spectrum of Christianity to say to the Church, you ignore this phenomenon at your peril to show that the distinction between atheist and religious adherent is rarely black and white, and that the ground between the two is a fertile source of meaning and value
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
A very welcome book exploring exactly the position I find myself in. Brian Mountford, through interviews with other Christian atheists, suggests there might still be a place for all those of us who have been brought up in the Christian faith but who find it impossible to beleive in a Christian deity.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a generous and engaging book that works well as a broad introduction and exploration of Christian Atheism. Christian Atheism is broadly defined in the book and it is to the credit of the author that he allows his interviewees and subjects to do much of the defining. The term covers a broad range of positions and the book includes interviews and quotes from people formed in the Christian tradition e.g. Phillip Pullman (who describes himself as a Book of Common Prayer Atheist) and atheists who are keen to engage with the church and Christian traditions. Particularly fascinating are those people who contributed to the author's research who regularly attend church services and events, in some cases even being members of the choir and PCC. The overall theme of the book is call for honest admission and hospitality on the part of the church to recognise the presence of atheists who wish to engage with Christianity on a variety of levels, and to recognise their important contribution to the development of church life and thought.
The book is only intended as an introduction and for a short text (c.130 pages) it manages to cover a wide range of themes. However, I did find that this could be frustrating as important points were alluded to then left undeveloped. Overall I found that the book's structure to be somewhat disjointed, perhaps as a result of the author trying to explore a broad phenomenon rather than articulate a closed argument. Given the subject matter of the book it is perhaps no surprise that the focus is on Christian orthopraxy (doing the right thing) rather than orthodoxy (believing the right thing), and whilst the author stops short of saying Christianity is essentially about what you do rather than what you believe it is very much the direction of travel. Whilst there is a brief comment to the effect that believe and practice cannot be separated, the interplay and connection between the two feels largely unexplored - perhaps as this would steer the discussion into more divisive waters. There are limitations with the interview sample being both small and seeming to consist largely of well-educated middle class Oxford denizens. As an introduction this is fine, but limits the extent to which the author's findings can be safely extrapolated.
The question I kept asking myself in the course of reading this book was whether Christian Atheism could be seen an energetic movement within the broad and dynamic sweep of the Christian story, or whether it is something more transitional, vestigial even, a position for those who cannot quite kick the habit Christianity in one go. My sense on reading the book is perhaps that it is more the latter, a symbiotic position dependent on Christian theism, which in itself is capable of containing a wide range of beliefs and doubts. The author's intent is to push for both greater honesty and openness, and it is certainly a pertinent text for our times (if you happen to live in Western Europe or areas of similar culture). However, a more comprehensive and wide-ranging study would be required in order to ask whether the phenomenon of Christian Atheism is a small and passing phase, or whether it represents something more substantial and game-changing.
The book is only intended as an introduction and for a short text (c.130 pages) it manages to cover a wide range of themes. However, I did find that this could be frustrating as important points were alluded to then left undeveloped. Overall I found that the book's structure to be somewhat disjointed, perhaps as a result of the author trying to explore a broad phenomenon rather than articulate a closed argument. Given the subject matter of the book it is perhaps no surprise that the focus is on Christian orthopraxy (doing the right thing) rather than orthodoxy (believing the right thing), and whilst the author stops short of saying Christianity is essentially about what you do rather than what you believe it is very much the direction of travel. Whilst there is a brief comment to the effect that believe and practice cannot be separated, the interplay and connection between the two feels largely unexplored - perhaps as this would steer the discussion into more divisive waters. There are limitations with the interview sample being both small and seeming to consist largely of well-educated middle class Oxford denizens. As an introduction this is fine, but limits the extent to which the author's findings can be safely extrapolated.
The question I kept asking myself in the course of reading this book was whether Christian Atheism could be seen an energetic movement within the broad and dynamic sweep of the Christian story, or whether it is something more transitional, vestigial even, a position for those who cannot quite kick the habit Christianity in one go. My sense on reading the book is perhaps that it is more the latter, a symbiotic position dependent on Christian theism, which in itself is capable of containing a wide range of beliefs and doubts. The author's intent is to push for both greater honesty and openness, and it is certainly a pertinent text for our times (if you happen to live in Western Europe or areas of similar culture). However, a more comprehensive and wide-ranging study would be required in order to ask whether the phenomenon of Christian Atheism is a small and passing phase, or whether it represents something more substantial and game-changing.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The title of this book may seem startling. But if you are no longer sure about Christian beliefs such as a literal incarnation or resurrection, yet still find church services aesthetically uplifting and being part of a community important, you may find this book a great help and comfort. Similarly, if you want to understand how it is possible to be pro-Christianity while not holding any supernatural beliefs, the interviews with various types of "Christian Atheist" will give you an insight into their thought processes. Mountford argues that there is much to be gained for the Church by embracing those in the grey area between ingroup and outgroup, that actually most of us can be found there, and that there are many shared values. These are not your hard line, reductionist atheists, but ones who have a "religious temperament": an interest in questions about the nature of reality, and a taste for what might be called transcendent (but not necessarily supernatural) experiences.
There are useful discussions about the relationship between faith and action, about the role of personality in faith, about the parallels between art and theology. I particularly liked a description of what is distinctive about Christian morals, and the conclusion that while Christianity may not provide a unique basis for ethics, I can still be proud of the traditions of Christ, such as loving your enemy, valuing the dignity of all human life, selling all you have and giving to the poor, the first being last, and so on.
Having read the book, I feel happier that the ongoing journey is about questions more than answers, about suffering more than solutions, and about change rather than preserving the status quo. And knowing that an Anglican priest, as well as fellow churchgoers, are happy with a metaphorical interpretation of the Bible and doctrine is very helpful.
There are useful discussions about the relationship between faith and action, about the role of personality in faith, about the parallels between art and theology. I particularly liked a description of what is distinctive about Christian morals, and the conclusion that while Christianity may not provide a unique basis for ethics, I can still be proud of the traditions of Christ, such as loving your enemy, valuing the dignity of all human life, selling all you have and giving to the poor, the first being last, and so on.
Having read the book, I feel happier that the ongoing journey is about questions more than answers, about suffering more than solutions, and about change rather than preserving the status quo. And knowing that an Anglican priest, as well as fellow churchgoers, are happy with a metaphorical interpretation of the Bible and doctrine is very helpful.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Intelligent and lively
What does it mean to enjoy attending church; the tradition, the music, the architecture, the sense of community, even when you don't want or believe in god, or believe only in... Read more
Published 1 month ago by charlesb10
Striking a Chord---
Dear Brian, Just a brief note to say how very much I appreciated and enjoyed your exploration of "Belonging without Believing". Read more
Published 2 months ago by E. Henson
A very welcome more inclusive Christianity
There is already an embryonic but strong interest in the theme of atheist spirituality, eg André Comte-Sponville's 'The Book of Atheist Spirituality', Alain de Botton's... Read more
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One of the best things about Brian Mountford's book, Christian Atheist, is that it is as relevant to people with a religious faith as to those who don't believe in God at all: it... Read more
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The only problem is the title "Atheist". It will be applauded by those to whom the Christian faith is hokum but to those who find significance in the transcendent, yet find the... Read more
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Blessed liberation
This book has had a profound effect.
Having been Catholic convent educated from age 5 until 18, I, like so many others, have lived with an uneasy conscience all my... Read more
Having been Catholic convent educated from age 5 until 18, I, like so many others, have lived with an uneasy conscience all my... Read more
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How many people does the theme of this book apply to?
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