Theology 101: Stop treating atheists like enemies in a war

Photo: Christoph Wagener via Wikimedia Commons.

My faith is built on the rigorous logic of my tradition and the saving grace of Christ alone. Yet I find myself in wholehearted agreement with the teaching toward atheism expressed by Pope Francis.

I believe it is time for those of us who hold firm to the Gospel to stop treating the non-believer as an enemy in a spiritual war. That rhetoric is not just unproductive it actively hinders our shared human mission.

The central pillar of Pope Francis's message, the one that deeply resonates with my own understanding of a merciful God, is the emphasis on conscience.

In a letter to an Italian newspaper editor who described himself as a non-believer, Francis addressed the question of God's forgiveness for those who do not seek faith.

He wrote, “Given—and this is the fundamental thing—that God’s mercy has no limits... the issue for those who do not believe in God is to abide by their own conscience.”

He continued stating that sin exists for the non-believer, “In going against one's conscience. Listening to it and abiding by it means making up one's mind about what is good and evil.”

This teaching is profoundly freeing. It affirms that the moral compass we all possess is a powerful universal guide. It means that an atheist striving to live a life of integrity and goodness acting according to the deepest dictates of their moral sense is already walking a path that is fundamentally right. It strips away the presumption that only those who use the right theological words are capable of doing good in the world.

And here is where my Christian heritage actually provides a robust foundation for this very idea. This notion of an inherent moral sense known even by those without faith is the theological concept of Natural Law, a truth that has been a cornerstone of Christian thought since the beginning.

John Calvin, the great Reformer, spoke of this in his reading of Romans 2:14-15 where Paul writes that Gentiles, “Who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves.”

Calvin argued that the moral law is, “Nothing else than the testimony of natural law, and of that conscience which God has engraven on the minds of men.”

He explicitly states that this knowledge of the difference between good and evil, this “glimmering of natural light,” remains in all humanity since the Fall.

Furthermore in his Institutes, Calvin insisted that the Spirit of God establishes all human competence in the arts and sciences “for the common good of mankind.” And that even when we find truth or goodness manifested in an unbeliever, "We shall neither reject the truth itself, nor despise it wherever it appears, unless we wish to dishonor the Spirit of God."

This is the doctrine of Common Grace, that God is actively sustaining and producing goodness even in those who do not acknowledge him.

This means we must recognize the objective goodness of an atheist's philanthropic work or a non-believing scientist's discovery as a gift from God's hand for the benefit of us all.

This idea of a shared moral reality is powerfully amplified by a statement Francis made in a sermon where he explicitly extended the scope of Christ's sacrifice.

He declared, “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! 'Father, the atheists?' Even the atheists. Everyone!”

For me, a Christian believer, this doesn't necessitate a debate on salvation by works or an automatic ticket to heaven for all. Instead, it speaks to the universal and encompassing nature of Christ’s redemptive act.

If the work of Christ on the cross was truly for all of creation, then every person, believer or not, stands within the scope of God’s love and mercy.

The twentieth-century theologian Karl Barth, whose work is often seen as strictly focused on God’s exclusive revelation in Christ, also provided a powerful echo to this universal scope.

Barth taught that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all the world and that this includes non-Christians. He argues that by the power of the Holy Spirit non-Christians can and do “exhibit many graces and gifts that are often unmatched by Christians in their charity and love for others.”

He concludes that the positive sign of Jesus applies also to the non-Christian, meaning Christ remains their hope despite their current disbelief.

While a non-believer may not yet see or know Christ as the light, this reality cannot change the fact that Christ is for them. It is simply the difference between the redeemed who know their redemption and the redeemed who do not yet know it.

This perspective requires us to approach the atheist not as a lost cause or a theological blank slate but as one already included in Christ’s ultimate work yet awaiting the knowledge of that truth.

This profound perspective was most beautifully distilled in a public moment that went beyond theological debate and spoke directly to the core of Christian love. In fact, I always cry watching this on YouTube.

During a 2018 meeting with children in a Roman church, a little boy named Emanuele, tears streaming down his face, struggled to ask Pope Francis if his deceased father would be in heaven.

His father was an atheist. But as the child explained, he was a good man. He never criticized faith and he had all four of his children baptized.

Francis responded by first drawing the boy close and then reflecting on the tears saying, “That man was able to weep because he had the heart of a good man. He was a good man... God is proud of your father, because it is easier for God to recognize a non-believer who has this desire to have their children baptized than for a believer.”

He asked the audience, “Does God abandon his children when they are good?”

The crowd of children and their parents yelled, "No!"

Francis then stated with moving tenderness, "God is the one who chooses and God surely was proud of your father, because he was a good man, a truly good man. And God does not abandon him, God surely did not abandon him.”

This was not a doctrinal lecture. It was a pastoral embrace assuring a weeping child that a life lived in goodness and love is never wasted in the eyes of a merciful God.

Francis uses this foundational point to shift the focus from doctrinal exclusion to communal engagement.

He said that if believers and non-believers “do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter we need that so much.”

The Pope’s statements supported by the deep-seated concepts of Natural Law and Common Grace, and embodied by his compassionate response to Emanuele, provide the theological and practical permission we need to abandon the hostile "culture war" mentality.

By affirming the dignity of conscience for all people, he reminds us that the image of God is not erased by disbelief. We are all fundamentally called to do good and avoid evil and this shared moral duty is a place of encounter not enmity.

Francis pushes us to consider the value of good works. When a non-believer works tirelessly for justice for the poor or for the earth, that work is objectively good. And as Francis says, "We will meet one another there.”

This shifts the engagement from an antagonistic argument over belief to a cooperative effort on shared ethical goals.

Finally, the Pope as the leader of the world’s largest Christian body, has called for a "sincere and rigorous dialogue" with non-believers, stressing that truth leads to humility not inflexibility. This is a call to believers to step down from the defensive self-righteous walls we often build and to listen honestly.

My tradition teaches that grace is sovereign and unmerited. The Pope's statements do not violate that truth. They simply remind us that the breadth of God's unmerited love extends far beyond the confines of our own religious circles.

It’s time to stop framing atheists as opponents and to start recognizing them as partners in the universal human duty to do good.