Turning Point USA, an American nonprofit organization founded by Charlie Kirk that advocates for conservative values on high school, college, and university campuses, is hosting its first annual Pastors Summit, and atheist James A Lindsay is headlining it.
Lindsay is perhaps best known for being “part of the trio of left-wing academics that published several intentionally absurd papers in leading scholarly journals in what has become known as ‘The Grievance Studies Affair’ including a paper that claimed to address rape culture by monitoring dog-humping incidents at parks in Portland, Oregon. He’s also been a fierce critic of woke culture and the adoption of critical race theory in the church and the SBC. He’s been promoted by Tom Ascol Founders Ministries, Michael O’Fallon of Sovereign Nations, and even Albert Mohler of SBTS.
Despite being frequently lauded by conservatives, he is an avowed atheist, writing in his books Dot Dot Dot and Everybody is Wrong about God:”
My claim here is that “God” is an abstract notion, not a real one, and whatever real-world utility that idea has, it certainly is not an active agent that causes or does things in the universe. The “God” that we often hear about is a conflation of the abstract with the numinous, the numinous with the real, and then a personification of the ideal on top of that.”
Theism means belief in the existence of gods or, especially, the God of the major monotheistic religions, and it is time that we put these superstitions away.”
According to the promo material for the event. :
“Pastors who attend this retreat will hear from incredible guest speakers, receive first-class training, and participate in a series of networking events with Faith and political leaders from across the nation. Following the summit, you’ll return to your congregation energized and equipped to boldly stand for liberty and The Kingdom.
Along with the atheist are a host of pastors of a very outwardly political stripe, conservative and political talking heads, motivational speakers, and a Christian lawyer for a conservative law firm that litigated high-profile cases.
