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Theist, atheist, or apatheist? I’m John Stonestreet, and this is The Point.

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If you think there is a God, you’re a theist. If you think there’s no God, you’re an atheist. But a growing segment of the population, according to a recent USA Today article are being called apatheists -- they don’t think it matters. For example, 44% of respondents told the Baylor University Religion Survey they spend no time seeking eternal wisdom. 46% told LifeWay Research they never wonder whether they’ll go to heaven or not.

Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde thinks this is sad because, “the whole purpose of faith is to be a source of guidance, strength, and perspective in difficult times.”

But, that’s not the whole purpose of faith and the Bishop’s statement is part of the problem. Faith that’s just about feelings and experience becomes an afterthought when we have no felt needs for it.  The real point of faith is whether it is actually true. God is not a belief that you can pick up and put down. His existence changes everything, and we encourage apatheism when we allow faith to be reduced to narcissism. For thePointRadio.org, I’m John Stonestreet.