A Christian walks into a Church for Atheists…
January 11, 2013
By Jason Morehead
In recent years, there has been something of a trend in some unbelieving circles to not throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to religion. While atheists disparage the supernatural aspects of religion, some are beginning to see value in its other aspects, such as its ability to build community and support structures for people, or to encourage people to approach life more contemplatively and selflessly. Perhaps the most famous recent example of this is Alain de Botton’s Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion. As de Botton explains in an interview:
It is up to all of us to look at religion and see what bits we can steal and place into the modern world. We might all contribute to the construction of new temples, not the government, but the concerned, interested individual. The salvation of the individual soul remains a serious problem — even when we dismiss the idea of God. In the 20th century, capitalism has really solved (in the rich West) the material problems of a significant portion of mankind. But the spiritual needs are still in chaos, with religion ceasing to answer the need. This is why I wrote my book, to show that there remains a new way: a way of filling the modern world with so many important lessons from religion, and yet not needing to return to any kind of occult spirituality.
Simon Jenkins recently wrote of his experience with an attempt to “[fill] the modern world with so many important lessons from religion” minus the “occult spirituality”: a church for atheists. Or, more specifically, The Sunday Assembly, the brainchild of comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans.
The Sunday Assembly, which is intended to be “a service for anyone who wants to live better, help often and wonder more”, recently held its first meeting in a deconsecrated Christian church. What Jenkins found there was not too dissimilar from what you’d see in a typical Christian service: there was a worship band (which, instead of singing hymns, sang such songs as Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World” and Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger”), some “scripture” readings (Teddy Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena” speech), a quiet time for personal reflection, and even a collection.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christandpopculture/2013/01/a-christian-walks-into-a-church-for-atheists/
Here is Jenkins' original post:
http://simonjenkins.com/blog/entry/church_for_atheists
= new reply since forum marked as read
