Christian Atheist: Belonging without Believing

By Brian Mountford

Christian Atheist examines the growing religious phenomenon of those who are drawn to Christianity without accepting its metaphysical claims or dogma. Throughout the history of the Church there have been many people like this who have sat differently to the central creedal claims, but in the contemporary 'god delusion' culture, more are coming out to claim acceptance for their views. The key to the book is a set of interviews with people who fall broadly into the 'Christian Atheist' category; some are more agnostic and less sceptical than others, but what they have in common is the rejection of traditional belief in God, counterbalanced by an admiration for the aesthetic genius of Christianity (leading to a sense of deeper value), the Christian moral compass, and in some cases the community aspect of Christian life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
• Release date: Jun 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9781846949296

Brian Mountford

Interested in the clash between traditional religious faith and the challenge of secularism, Brian Mountford is a Fellow of St Hilda's College and an established speaker on contemporary religious issues, leadership and literature. He is Publisher-at-Large for John Hunt Publishing's 'Christian Alternative' imprint and writer of the best-selling 'Christian Atheist - belonging without believing' and the anthology, 'Friday's Child - poems of suffering and redemption.' He lives in Islip, UK.

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Nigel Hamway Interview

Having learnt of my idea to write a book on ‘Christian Atheism,’ Nigel Hamway invites me round to talk about it. He’s just arrived back from London and a day at Charterhouse, the private equity firm of which he’s a director.

He wants to tell me the story of his journey of faith, or more precisely his journey from faith, since he has been an atheist from the age of fifteen. At King’s School, Canterbury, he was prepared for confirmation by the bushy eye-browed Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, but jacked out at the last minute on the grounds that he didn’t really believe in God after all. At school and Cambridge, being musical, he sang in the choir, attending evensong every week, until the worship of the Church of England had rubbed off on him leaving an indelible cultural mark which he now considers more an enhancement than disfiguring scar. ‘It’s hard,’ he says, ‘to have Canterbury Cathedral as your school chapel without being aware of the past strength and power of the