“ Everyone has some set of religious beliefs … even those who are devoutly agnostic or indifferent have taken a religious position .”
Everyone is religious . Did you ever notice that people often give their opinions about religion but then caveat it by saying , “ But I ’ m not a theologian ”? Well , the truth is everyone ’ s a theologian . Some are more informed theologians than others , but everyone has some set of religious beliefs . If we define religion as someone ’ s explanation of ultimate reality - the origin , operation , meaning , and destiny of all things - then everyone is religious , including atheists .
Before I attended Seminary , I took a class in Constitutional law at The George Washington University . The class was taught by a very liberal law professor who made it known she was an atheist . When we got to the so-called “ separation of church and state ” issue , the professor realized I was a Christian and began to grill me .
“ Frank , are you a fundamentalist ?” she barked , the contempt clear in her tone . “ Are you so religious that you believe the Bible is actually true ?”
I tentatively answered yes , but I was stammering in my response . I hardly knew how to support my beliefs with any facts . Like most other Christian college students , I didn ’ t know much about the evidence in support of the Bible and Christianity , and I didn ’ t know how to turn the tables on her to reveal that she too was a religious fundamentalist who had a lot of faith .
What ? She was an atheist - how could she be a religious fundamentalist with faith ? It may sound counterintuitive , but I think it ’ s true . Just like everyone else , she was religious , had her own fundamentals , and needed faith to believe them . In fact , I ’ d like to offer a three-point news bulletin for the mocking critics of Christianity .
While some people devoutly believe that God is the cause of all this , others are just as devout in support of an atheistic explanation or that of some other religious worldview . Even those who are devoutly agnostic or indifferent have taken a religious position . It ’ s not that they ’ ve never thought about an explanation for ultimate reality , it ’ s that they believe the question is unknowable , undecided , or irrelevant . That ’ s still a religious position .
Everyone is a fundamentalist While Christians are often mocked for being fundamentalists , everyone has fundamental beliefs about why things are the way they are and how we should live in light of that . Atheists , for example , believe that there is no God ; that life arose from non-life without any intelligent intervention ; that there is no afterlife ; and that science is the supreme if not exclusive source of all truth . Those fundamental beliefs usually result in moral fundamentals such as tolerance for everything ( except for those who don ’ t tolerate everything ). So the question is not who is or isn ’ t a fundamentalist - everyone is . The question is “ whose fundamentals are true ?” ➜
“ Everyone has some set of religious beliefs … even those who are devoutly agnostic or indifferent have taken a religious position .”
Revival Times February 2017 17