It seems that, as a society, we are finding it harder and harder to have a meaningful dialogue with someone who has a wholly different viewpoint than our own. I’m not just referring to those with whom we adamantly disagree; I’m also referring to those who hold a different opinion from us on some minor issue.

I’ll blame social media for much of this. Social media has given us a platform to say things in a way we’d never say to someone’s face. Social media has made it easy for us to block those whose opinions and viewpoints differ from ours. At the same time social media has made it easy for us to focus solely on those who think just like we do.

With that selective approach to the people we choose to interact with, how will we ever show the love and grace of God to others outside our comfort zone? As Christ followers, if we do not interact with them, who will?

Carrie Fisher

I recently read some quotes from some celebrities who are atheists and agnostics. While I disagree with their conclusions, I have to consider how I would respond if we ever ran into each other at a Waffle House.

For example, Carrie Fisher once said, “I love the idea of God, but it’s not stylistically in keeping with the way I function. I would describe myself as an enthusiastic agnostic who would be happy to be shown that there is a God.”

Carrie reflects the way most people approach God or spiritual matters in general. They embrace that which is “stylistically in keeping with the way I function.” In other words, they don’t base their lives on their beliefs; they base their beliefs on how they want to live. Over a pecan waffle at Waffle House, I’d confess I don’t trust myself enough to know what is always best for me. I mean, look at the fact that I’m eating at a Waffle House! But since Carrie would be happy to be shown there is a God, I’d ask if I could tell her why I’ve come to believe in God.

By the way, Lifeway Research discovered that over half of Americans are curious about your faith, so we shouldn’t assume a person like Carrie Fisher would turn up her nose at a conversation about God. She might turn up her nose at the Waffle House hash browns, but not a conversation.

Uma Thurman said, “What I have learned is that I like all religions, but only parts of them.” Uma’s agnostic approach is quite akin to Carrie’s. She likes those parts of different religions that, as Carrie Fisher would say, are “stylistically in keeping with the way I function.”

We could go back a couple of generations to Phyllis Diller. (You youngsters ask your grandparents who she was.) This comedienne was also an atheist, and she said, “We were not created by a deity. We created the deity in our image.” She’s partially right. Although we were created by God, we have attempted to create a deity in our own image. That’s why we have so many religions. Instead of looking to the God who has revealed Himself in Scripture and ultimately in Jesus Christ, we look for a deity who fits what we want God to be. That means either embracing one of these lesser religions or we fall in line with Carrier Fisher and Uma Thurman, creating our own religion that fits us “stylistically.”

Bruce Willis said, “Organized religions in general, in my opinion, are dying forms. They were important when we didn’t know why the sun moved, why weather changed, why hurricanes occurred. Modern religion is the end trail of modern mythology. But there are people who interpret the Bible literally. Literally! I choose not to believe that’s the way.”

Bruce Willis’s statement deals with two different issues: organized religion and mythology. I join Bruce in not being a fan of organized religion. Even within Christianity, many denominations have institutionalized what should be a living, vibrant faith and walk with God. In the process they made doctrine dry and God boring.

However, I’d love to talk to Mr. Willis about faith. Yes, we can cast aside ancient mythologies, but I can’t cast aside the Bible. The Bible was never intended to be a science book, but the Bible is quite compatible with scientific fact. (Scientific facts, not necessarily all scientific theories.) I can’t explain everything—no one can!—and I can’t fully explain God. But I don’t want to follow a God I can fully explain. A God I can explain is not much of a God.

Jack Nicholson

Let me close with a quote from Jack Nicholson from 1992. “I don’t believe in God now. I can still work up an envy for someone who has a faith. I can see how that could be a deeply soothing experience.” My heart goes out to a person like this. He envies those with faith! If he would join Carrie and me for the Waffle House conversation, I’d love to share how my faith is far more than a “deeply soothing experience.” Sometimes it doesn’t feel soothing, but it is nonetheless real. My whole life—not just my feelings—have been transformed. There’s a reality there I can’t fully explain, but I would invite him to trust. That’s what I did. I took God at His word, believed Him, and trusted Him to work.

That’s faith. And it’s made all the difference for me.

Check, please.

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