Question

“What does the way Christianity is practiced today have to do with the handful of words and deeds uttered by a man who walked the earth two thousand years ago?”

Makes you think doesn’t it? And I have to say it is a fair question for the world to ask when they look at Christianity. “Just what are we doing brothers and sisters in the Lord?” Now what if I told you this question was posed by a church-going Atheist? That’s right you read it correctly.

This question comes from the lips of Matt Casper the co-author of “Jim & Casper Go to Church.” Casper and his co-author Jim Henderson wrote a book about exactly what the title states, going to church. This book is special and insightful because it brings together two things that one would assume were opposed, a Christian minister and an Atheist. (Jim & Casper - this cap’s for you).

My friend Rob Yackley had read the book prior to our bumping into each other in South Africa and I have to say that it made me think and ponder in a way that I truly enjoyed and I would recommend it to anyone who calls himself or herself spiritual and thinks they are familiar with what is commonly referred in Christian circles as Church.

In this book our subjects go to churches unannounced to rate and discuss them. Because they give the names of the churches they attended, it was interesting for me to hear an objective opinion on many places I have attended or visited. Sometimes I was vindicated but other times I was challenged or embarrassed. I learned so much about from the receiver’s point of view when Christians might engage people regarding spiritual matters. There were not many shocking things said but the way that Casper the Friendly Atheist questioned and stated things could not be easily discredited because they often hit at the core Christianity. I think Casper asked many questions, like the aforementioned that the Global Body of Christ needs to reconcile and speak on. Plus both men encourage a much-needed dialogue between those who believe and those who do not. Jim and Casper’s dedication to be open to conversation created space for exploration and they often discovered they had the same questions or thoughts. Jim and Casper respected and honoured each other even when they were critically opposed and they learned that each of their perspectives could lend value to their own.

I have a warning though; if you a person who is “convinced that you know the all the facts,” then you might find their opinions discomforting and confrontational. I urge you to work past your reactions and consider this a tremendous opportunity. Let me encourage you to step away from your position of certainty for a moment and see things from another point of view, just for the sake of learning something new and fresh even if you might not agree. Now read it with an open-heart and desire to find out what a person might experience when he (in their case) walks into a Christian church for the first time no matter what their affiliation is towards a Judeo-Christian perspective of God. I have to say this book will challenge you not to pass judgement or defend your position and see it as a collection of conversations between two men; one believes there is a God and the other does not.

Just to give you a taste: At the back of the book they included some questions that people raised when they read Jim and Casper’s book. Here is a question and the response that made me laugh, smile and say, “Preach it Atheist.”

Q. Casper seemed somewhat offended by the apparent wealth displayed in Saddleback’s congregation. Why is that? Does he believe that wealthy people are somehow less worthy or can’t be true Christians? What lesson ought Christians take from this observation?

Casper Says: I’d like to answer this with a quote: “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again-it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God! (Matthew 19:23-24).

And there was something said by the visiting pastor at Imago Dei that stuck with me: “Giving is not really giving until it interrupts your lifestyle.” How many of the neatly coiffed, SUV-driving attendees of Saddleback can say that they have given until their lifestyles were interrupted? If people who keep their wealth think they are going to heaven, I’d suggest they find a teeny, tiny camel to help make their case.

From pages 156-7, “Jim and Casper Go to Church,” by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper.