We Should All be Atheists?

"...In order to believe truly in the God of the kingdom, one must be actively atheistic with regard to the gods of the empire, and one's faith should be actively anti-idolatrous" _Jon Sobrino (No Salvation Outside the Poor, page 87.)

If it's taken seriously this quote may call into question the American Church's belief in God. What does it mean to be "actively atheistic"? Well at very least it means not being caught up in the identity of the empire. It means recognizing some words as imperial propaganda rather than accepting them (along with the empire's definitions) as virtuous and thereby being brain-washed by them. At very least, it means being a voice of prophetic challenge rather than of unwavering support. It means asking why the third world dies from hunger while Americans die of obesity. It means asking the question, "by what means?!" when words like "freedom" and "liberty" are thrown around. It means forsaking all but Christ and living only for his kingdom, not for any pseudo-kingdom. God bless America? Sure, but first God bless the poor... if it's even possible to do both at the same time.

We should all be Atheists... in the same way that the early church was atheist, calling out as fraud all the myths and words and values of the empire, subverting them, and proclaiming Christ as lord even in a land where perhaps war is lord, or money is lord, or "the red white and blue" is lord. Buy in only to God's kingdom, a kingdom of peace and true justice, and not into any other kingdom, those who gain and protect power through war and exploitation.

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