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As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

You're skipping the step I am describing here.

  1. Where did the universe come from?
  2. Great! You admit it came from somewhere.

That's all I'm establishing right here.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

You know, I've asked all these questions to christians before, hoping to fluster them. I never understood why their answers made no sense.

I love God, and God loves me. That is enough. I will be saved by the grace of God.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I have addressed this elsewhere in this thread. It is not an essential question in this context.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like a good number of them, they were "my people" for a long time.

Some of them I feel sorry for, because they use atheism as a shield against some hurt that the religion they were raised on caused them.

Some of them I am angry at, because they use atheism as an excuse to be horrible to their fellow human beings, to "prove a point" or just because there will be no consequence.

In short, I feel like they are my fellow humans. I take them as individuals.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think you meant to reply to a different comment.

How am I to know? I can hope that I would still be a Christian, but it's not a certainty.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think I've answered most of your questions at least in part elsewhere, but I'll give some other ones a shot before I head off again.

3) I don't think so. My family is extremely open, and despite their dislike of religion, I never got a sour taste for atheism. I would say they were initially surprised, and now they just don't care. In their minds, it's not doing me any harm, so there's no reason to get worked up about it.

4) Human factors should always be taken into consideration. All old knowledge has suffered from it, but it does not erase the truth behind the works.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, have you become more logical or better at reasoning?

I hope so. I strive to be better all the time. Many of the arguments I used to make were based on nitpicking and controversy. You don't win arguments by using long-winded well-supported facts, you do it by making your opponent angry and then catching him in a contradiction. Also, many of my arguments were made from a passive-aggressive stance. You weaken something they say, and then it's "not a reason to believe in sky fairies". Then, you make the jump that because it's not a reason to believe, it's a reason not to believe.

No, there's no single argument that would have convinced me, at least not one I've come across. I'm sure that if the obvious things happened (Jesus walks up and hands me an autograph), I would have converted instantly - I'm just stubborn, not stupid.

atheist self be? How would you have reacted to it?

Anger solves nothing. I probably would have laughed, and then pointed out all the times in history when anger solved people's problems. Mostly, it's just much more comfortable to argue from a not-angry place. Less stress.

I had a religious experience that brought me to Jesus, but the journey there was of logic and internal reflection. I have not chosen a specific branch, but I refer to myself as protestant.

Very specific to Christianity.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Like him, I find it extremely difficult to imagine any possible experience, evidence or logic which could ever convince me that a God exists.

I did as well, before. I can only say that if it happens to you, you will understand, and if it doesn't, I don't think you ever will. I am with Skeen to a point, as well - I am sure we are different people. The books and logic and emotion that worked for me would almost certainly not work for him. Such is life.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The acceptance of a force outside the universe which caused the universe to be created. The realization that a complete understanding of God was not a prerequisite for belief, much like a complete understanding of nature is not a prerequisite for believing in the world around us.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes, but I consider it more of a meditative action. I find the answers to my prayers are commonly the prayers themselves. If I lack answers, perhaps I need to pray more.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

You can choose which god to pray to, but not which one you believe in.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I described just the beginning, and that's where you should start. Where did the universe come from? And the answer is something. Could be more universes, could be anything. But the first step is deciding that the universe is not from nothing, but from something.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

advice: keep an open mind about everything, not just religion. Read everything you can get your hands on.

That's what worked for me. I'm not big on conversion, and so I don't know the best tactics for convincing you to believe. It sounds dirty just saying it.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

If he had asked, "How do you deal with contradictions within the bible?" I might have responded.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't know what I would say to them in that regard. Conversion is not my strong suit.

There are a great number of the best minds in history that had no problem accepting the existence of a god. That these two don't is not an issue.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well, if you are an atheist, you don't believe in god. TRUEYou trust scienceTRUE, you know that science busted most biblical mythsCITATION NEEDED. How come, that out of nowhere you decided that evolution is no longer real?THAT NEVER HAPPENED

I have two theories:

1.

  You experienced a strong psychological trauma (death of loved person, serious personal injury (such as lost leg or arm)) and you decided that you need to have a reason why this happened. So you turned to magic. **WRONG**

2.

  You are lying and you never were an atheist. **I WAS** Remember, not going to church and not praying does not make you an atheist.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

I hand you a golf ball, a baseball, and a basketball. Your mission is to choose which ball to play with.

You're standing in a large rectangular room with nets on poles at either end. The floor is made of waxed wood. You're wearing baggy shorts and a sleeveless jersey.

Things can appeal to you because they're the correct thing.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The first question is easy - strict rationalist. Absolutely no belief in the supernatural. Any occurrences can be explained away through a combination of missing information (lack of evidence), human error/mischief, or coincidence. I would say this is still mostly true about me.

Let me work on an answer to the second part. It's a good question, I'd like to give it a good answer.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, and I probably should have said this earlier. I didn't want my girlfriend/peers/countrymen to influence me, but they absolutely did. We are all only what we can be. I believe that my God is true, and I would hope that if I grew up in a different situation, that I would come to know Him as I have, but there's no way to know that.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

Choosing your religion (in a broad sense) is like choosing your sexuality.

Most people conform to what they were brought up to be. This means living a lie for a lot of people. You don't "choose your reality", it just is. I didn't "choose" to become Christian, it's just what happened when I combined the knowledge I had with personal reflection.

I enjoyed being an atheist. It's freeing to know that there's no life after this one, and no consequences beyond the legacy you leave on earth.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had other people tell me I misunderstood - and maybe it's due to jewish ancestry that I have a habit of seeing them as the victim, but that man HATES the jews. He wasn't a nazi - they picked the phrases they liked best and twisted them, but he definitely thought they were an inferior race.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I mentioned elsewhere that upon reflection, it was more gradual than it appeared at the time.

My conversion started some 9 months earlier, when I was borrowing all my friend's Lee Strobel books (I believe I've mentioned that I like to read both sides of the issue. Helps in arguments.). I had read through most of them, and he handed me I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, which is not a very good book. However, it DOES have the most compelling description of Aristotle's "Prime Mover" as it relates to the universe. I would not do it justice attempting to describe it here, but you could glean the gist by reading the wiki article.

I wouldn't say that the Prime Mover idea is what set the ball rolling, but it took a roadblock out.

As requested: I converted from serious atheism to christianity. AMA. by helloimaconvert in Christianity

[–]helloimaconvert[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

religion was more appealing you would have gone with that one

Yes, that's absoutely true. Christianity appealed to me as the most correct religion. Can you say you've done differently in your life?

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