Current Events > Anyone else Atheist turn Christian?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I feel a lot more now
idk if i feel better but i just feel more

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What was the catalyst for the change, if you don't mind me asking?

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I did the opposite kinda.

Raised Catholic. In high school and into my 20s I dabbled in paganism. Now I'm not really religious.

I went to Catholic school for thirteen years, kindergarten to 12th grade. I already had doubts in my high school years, but have considered myself a hardcore atheist since I left. I don't think I could ever turn back to religion. There's just not enough proof that there's anything out there, and even supposing a God does exist, I don't think he is worth my time considering the amount of chaos and suffering of innocent people on the planet.

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No, but welcome to the fold.

*is Christian*
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*obligatory insulting cringy atheist post*

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Yup! Right here. God is so good!

@Scotty_Rogers

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Wii_Shaker posted...

What was the catalyst for the change, if you don't mind me asking?

i think drugs lead me to God
it was in steps tho
weed made me realize i was a shitty person to other people
edibles made me feel like i died and nothing mattered but how I treated people
acid made me feel like there was something greater than me

I dont feel alone anymore

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Im an atheist turned theist if it counts.

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armandro posted...

i think drugs lead me to God
it was in steps tho
weed made me realize i was a shitty person to other people
edibles made me feel like i died and nothing mattered but how I treated people
acid made me feel like there was something greater than me

I dont feel alone anymore

same here dude

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idk i joined a church group and I thought they would be very judgemental but they just said God calls people in different ways

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im genuinely happy that youve found a church group that seems to enrich your life.

I was raised religious (still am, mostly) but my experience with Christian organizations like schools and churches has left me a bit...jaded...towards the community.

Now I tend to avoid most church gatherings. If I go to church I just find a seat away from the crowd, listen to the message, then leave.


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AlisLandale posted...

im genuinely happy that youve found a church group that seems to enrich your life.

I was raised religious (still am, mostly) but my experience with Christian organizations like schools and churches has left me a bit...jaded...towards the community.

Now I tend to avoid most church gatherings. If I go to church I just find a seat away from the crowd, listen to the message, then leave.

thank you but i still have the atheist in me that talks to me and criticizes everything they say.

its really annoying I didnt realize it until I went on a retreat with everyone

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No.

But I use to be quite anti-Christian.

I was young and stupid.

Now I'm very sympathetic towards Christians.

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I need to get more involved tbh.
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CosmicShadows posted...

I need to get more involved tbh.

what is keeping you from getting more involved?

I need to get more involved too

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AlisLandale posted...

im genuinely happy that youve found a church group that seems to enrich your life.

I was raised religious (still am, mostly) but my experience with Christian organizations like schools and churches has left me a bit...jaded...towards the community.

This. I can't stand being around a lot of the Evangelical crowd since a lot of them are so judgmental, hypocritical, and anti-science. I'm glad TC found a good group of Christians to hang out with.

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A friend of mine is either atheist turned Muslim or Christian turned Muslim
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armandro posted...

i think drugs lead me to God
it was in steps tho
weed made me realize i was a shitty person to other people
edibles made me feel like i died and nothing mattered but how I treated people
acid made me feel like there was something greater than me

I dont feel alone anymore

Thats all fine and good

But how the fuck did all that shit lead you to specifically Christianity?

MICHALECOLE posted...

Thats all fine and good

But how the fuck did all that shit lead you to specifically Christianity?

I think because Christianity believes in 1 true God even thou its the trinity.

my favorite book growing up was like by CS Lewis and then I read Mere Christianity

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cuh posted...

I am a gay man who grew up Catholic (Mexican household) but quickly turned atheist due to the homophobia rampant in the church and community (my dad still conducts prays to God that He will one day turn me straight so that I may go to heaven).

I am definitely not considering returning to the Catholic faith, but recently I have been searching for some essence of spirituality in my life. I just think that without it, my life will turn meaningless, bleak, and futile

Ive turned to literature as a way to helpif I may not yet turn to the embrace of an omnipotent Creator who loves me, I can at least turn to authors towards whom my heart reaches out. But I think that one day I may find what Im looking for. Well see.

I recently bought this book the priest at the retreat recommended called "Love and Responsibility" by Pope John Paul II. I'll read it by the end of May and I'll let you know if its good.

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cuh posted...

I am a gay man who grew up Catholic (Mexican household) but quickly turned atheist due to the homophobia rampant in the church and community (my dad still prays to God that He will one day turn me straight so that I may go to heaven).

I am definitely not considering returning to the Catholic faith, but recently I have been searching for some essence of spirituality in my life. I just think that without it, my life will turn meaningless, bleak, and futile

Ive turned to literature as a way to helpif I may not yet turn to the embrace of an omnipotent Creator who loves me, I can at least turn to authors towards whom my heart reaches out. But I think that one day I may find what Im looking for. Well see.

I don't know if you like to use reddit, but r/openchristian is a sub that's friendly to gay Christians if you ever are in the mood for some fellowship.

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cuh posted...

Thank you both

My sister thought I was gay because I never had a SO

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I definitely can relate to fellow atheists that have grown to become more tolerant of those who practice religion.

I think many atheists find themselves rejecting religion for personal or ethical reasons. Some religions or at least denominations can come off as oppressive or manipulative. The amount of suffering that has been accomplished in the name of religion is unquantifiable. Though to completely write off entire groups of people based on what they believe is nothing short of bigotry.

Many atheists I see online tend to act as though they have the intellectual high ground without realizing the amount of good and cultural significance that has come from the structure religions can provide. Art, architecture, and countless points of inspiration.

Atheism is susceptible to the same follies that have plagued religion in the past and if modern atheists are not careful and responsible it, too will grow into a force that highlights the darker aspects of humanity.

I still identify as an atheist after many years but my understanding of atheism has changed dramatically as my world view has matured. There are also many things that I have experienced that cannot be explained through religion or science. To a degree, my own skepticism has allowed me to find cracks in my own beliefs and question it's very validity. Moving forward, I have found that acceptance of the people who hold strong beliefs has no impact on what I identify as my personal truth, whatever that may be or become.


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Yeah I grew up with it, rejected it by the time I was in the 5th grade and got back to it by the time I started playing guitar in the 11th grade

music became a real blessing for my life lol


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RedJackson posted...

Yeah I grew up with it, rejected it by the time I was in the 5th grade and got back to it by the time I started playing guitar in the 11th grade

music became a real blessing for my life lol

yeah i've seen a lot of people get into it because of music but I'm bad at music lol

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Yes. I became a believer a year and a half ago.

JimmyFraska posted...

Yes. I became a believer a year and a half ago.

do you feel comfortable talking about your experience?

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armandro posted...

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

My sister thought I was gay because I never had a SO

My dad thought this for me >_>
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armandro posted...

do you feel comfortable talking about your experience?

Yes but I may have to come back to this topic later today, im about to crash

Gruntling posted...

I went to Catholic school for thirteen years, kindergarten to 12th grade.

Same. The idea of a god, or an afterlife, or any of the other beliefs is just too nonsensical for me.

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Wii_Shaker posted...

I definitely can relate to fellow atheists that have grown to become more tolerant of those who practice religion.

I think many atheists find themselves rejecting religion for personal or ethical reasons. Some religions or at least denominations can come off as oppressive or manipulative. The amount of suffering that has been accomplished in the name of religion is unquantifiable. Though to completely write off entire groups of people based on what they believe is nothing short of bigotry.

Many atheists I see online tend to act as though they have the intellectual high ground without realizing the amount of good and cultural significance that has come from the structure religions can provide. Art, architecture, and countless points of inspiration.

Atheism is susceptible to the same follies that have plagued religion in the past and if modern atheists are not careful and responsible it, too will grow into a force that highlights the darker aspects of humanity.

I still identify as an atheist after many years but my understanding of atheism has changed dramatically as my world view has matured. There are also many things that I have experienced that cannot be explained through religion or science. To a degree, my own skepticism has allowed me to find cracks in my own beliefs and question it's very validity. Moving forward, I have found that acceptance of the people who hold strong beliefs has no impact on what I identify as my personal truth, whatever that may be or become.

Internet Atheism was just a response to how rampant Christianity was pre-internet. Before then, majority of the people we face were Christians and there would be ostracization if you were revealed to be a non-Christian (this was pretty common with many other atheists I met online). So with the internet allowing free exchange of thoughts, Atheism started having far more influence than it had before because lets face it, religion in general under scrutiny tends to fall apart the more you pick apart of it. Of course this led to the unfortunate side effect of being "edgy" and many internet Atheists having the asshole stigma with it. But yeah that was the internet in its infancy and now I think Internet Atheism definitely calmed down, and in its place are the "anti-sjws" that are following the exact same trend.

But yeah I'm in the same position with regards to having more tolerance to those who hold religious beliefs, hell my wife is Roman Catholic. Most of this is just talking to people outside of my circle and seeing how many people benefit with the thought of a higher being or an afterlife... even if its a placebo effect or not. Most of my closets friends are Christians... though I know most of them aren't "religious" in the sense of going to church every Sunday(or Saturday) or church gatherings. I think that's what we're seeing an increase of, Christians who are irreligious... which I think is only a good thing but I can understand why some Christians would have an issue with it.

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If you go from Atheist to Christian, then you clearly suffered some form of brain injury, or weren't much of an Atheist to begin with.

Ill never forgive Christianity for the destruction of Alexandria, which aside from the Mongol conquests of Kwarizm and Baghdad represents the single greatest loss of cultural and historical artifacts and records that would have helped us form a more clear picture of the past in the time before the Christian religious hegemony.

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I have a friend who I respect who did. His story was something along the lines of "I was taking a piss one day and it made sense"

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Wii_Shaker posted...

Many atheists I see online tend to act as though they have the intellectual high ground without realizing the amount of good and cultural significance that has come from the structure religions can provide. Art, architecture, and countless points of inspiration.

Atheism is susceptible to the same follies that have plagued religion in the past and if modern atheists are not careful and responsible it, too will grow into a force that highlights the darker aspects of humanity.

Good lord this is such horrendous logic

",Sure theres ',ethical ' issues like genocide, hated , war, oppression, anti-science/healthcare pushing fundamentally harmful ideology and laws... But the art is nice and all that horror is inspiring for me"

Even if true dude, that's a bad thing

and no, atheism isnt susceptible to any of that (which is quite an impressive false equivalence) because atheism isn't a belief, it's a rejection of beliefs other people impose. The identical one you do for every religion you don't believe in

There's no rules, no scripture, no infallible moral law, no prophets, no beings to offend,no money to be made

The proverbial "not collecting stamps as a hobby is the same as collecting stamps when you think about it"

Not collecting stamps I'd susceptible to the same risks as collecting stamps and if it grows will have the same problem!

Whether you like atheism or not or like religion or not, you automatically lose any point you're trying to make when you pretend they're the same thing as a lazy way to Doomsday or evade criticism

No atheist threw gays off a building because God wanted them too, no atheist flew planes into buildings without fear because they thought there was an afterlife , no atheist thinks surgeries or vaccinations or healthcare is wrong because God said so. No atheist supported or accepted war/genocide/slavery because they believed some form of higher power got off on it. No atheist murders their own daughter because she had sex and that upset God, no atheist based not only their life but yours and the world as a whole and all moral law on ancient philosophy books which are held as sacred

It just simply isn't comparable.


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armandro posted...

i think drugs lead me to God
it was in steps tho
weed made me realize i was a shitty person to other people
edibles made me feel like i died and nothing mattered but how I treated people
acid made me feel like there was something greater than me

I dont feel alone anymore

Share this story go help us get weed legalization support among Christians lol.

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UnfairRepresent posted...

and no, atheism isnt susceptible to any of that (which is quite an impressive false equivalence) because atheism isn't a belief, it's a rejection of beliefs other people impose. The identical one you do for every religion you don't believe in

There's no rules, no scripture, no infallible moral law, no prophets, no beings to offend,no money to be made

This is absolutely wrong - it IS a set of beliefs, just one whose premise is based on rejecting theism

UnfairRepresent posted...

No atheist threw gays off a building because God wanted them too, no atheist flew planes into buildings without fear because they thought there was an afterlife , no atheist thinks surgeries or vaccinations or healthcare is wrong because God said so. No atheist supported or accepted war/genocide/slavery because they believed some form of higher power got off on it. No atheist murders their own daughter because she had sex and that upset God, no atheist based not only their life but yours and the world as a whole and all moral law on ancient philosophy books which are held as sacred

How would you know? Lol. Give me a whole book of murderers, rapist, etc and Im sure youll find one


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armandro posted...

Wii_Shaker posted...

What was the catalyst for the change, if you don't mind me asking?

i think drugs lead me to God
it was in steps tho
weed made me realize i was a shitty person to other people
edibles made me feel like i died and nothing mattered but how I treated people
acid made me feel like there was something greater than me

I dont feel alone anymore

If you're a shitty person God isn't going to fix that. There are plenty of "Christians" who are terrible people.
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Opposite-ish. Though not really. I was baptized as a child and went to CCD, but never in my life did I believe in a God. The more I think about it, the happier I am to not feel like my mind is enslaved to this anti-science, pro-hate ideology outlined in a book as realistic as the Cat in the Hat.

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RedJackson posted...

This is absolutely wrong - it IS a set of beliefs, just one whose premise is based on rejecting theism

erm no

There is no beliefs In atheism, that's literally the point.

You run up and go "here's some shit I made up "

And they go "Oh ok." and then don't follow your shit. That's it

Atheism wouldn't exist without religion
Religion not only exists but thrives without atheism, that's why history is full of aggressive oppression and murder of non believers

And you do a disservice to reality and the dead when you pretend or deny that the only reason you're even capable of having this conversation is because non believers stood up to religious theocracy and challenged them

Me and you would be imprisoned or killed if whatever religious group you picked had unchallenged power.

I'm extremely disappointed in any theist who refuses to acknowledge or makes excuses for that fact

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In my experience, the vast majority of people that go from being an atheist to being a Christian never had a good reason to be an atheist to begin with. People in that situation rarely look at the academic perspective on the Bible that debunks the axioms perpetuated by various denominations.

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UnfairRepresent posted...

And you do a disservice to reality and the dead when you pretend or deny that the only reason you're even capable of having this conversation is because non believers stood up to religious theocracy and challenged them

Err.. stick to making polls bruh, or make the next one about religion if that makes you happy lol


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