What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?

This radical Christian's ministry for the poor, The Simple Way, has gotten him in some trouble with his fellow Evangelicals. We asked him to address those who don't believe.

By Shane Claiborne

I was out as both an atheist and a bisexual while I worked at the Salvation Army, and had co-workers who were lesbian, heterosexual, Mennonite, Catholic, atheist -- all across the spectrum. We rarely talked religion in our time laughing, working, and hanging out together. Occasionally though, the volunteers I worked with would sheepishly ask me if I'd be willing to answer some questions they had about atheism. These were great conversations. I found that many of them were familiar with the…

It's been a long time in the making, but I am an atheist. More specifically, I'm a nontheist with atheist, Humanist, and pantheist sways. I think religion is a part of human nature; it's our way to simplify the complexities of the universe, a way to enforce morality, and a way to fulfill our basic human need to see order in chaos. It helps us cope as we mourn and fear death, it gives us hope when things are tough, and it gives us comfort when we see the imbalance and chaos between good…