Id like to share what i REALLY liked about being 'an Atheist

[CallMeDave]

What i found appealing about atheism , at the time :

1. Nearly all my friends were atheists so i had much commaraderie .
2. If there were no binding absolute moral laws to live by, then it
offered great freedom of lifestyle choices (which i capitalized on) .
3. No one was in ultimate authority over me.
4. I wasnt owned by anyone higher than self which led to great
autonomy.
5. I was at the center of the Universe, figuratively speaking .
6. All my Teachers in school (whom i greatly respected and
enjoyed) taught atheistic ideologies / worldview .
7. As Evolutionist Julian Huxley said :' Having no personal Creator
(viz.God) , coincided with my sexual mores' .

What I found convincing about atheism , at the time :

1. I looked upon my Teachers and School Text Books as virtually
infallable and thus a very reliable truth source , so i accepted all
they taught without question .
2. Atheisms idelogies and constructs... from a worldview and from
sociology.... best fit in with my daily lifestyle choices and
philosophies for having fun.

What made me change my views about atheism :

1. Some atheistic ideologies were impossible to live out , truthfully
and without being hypocritical (ie: moral relativism) .
2. I became aware that the atheistic ideologies as represented by our
American Culture , were destructive and dangerous to people....and
this concerned me as i was getting deeper into them.
3. I found it took an incredible amount of faith to believe in
atheistic origins of the universe and first life on earth.
4. I found that an atheistic material universe (materialism) is not
capable of things like reason, logic, truth, love, freewill .
5. I found there are no logical atheistic explanations for the 150+
razor precise Life Enabling Constants and Physics Constants
(anthropics) which have been scientifically discovered and are
measurable to (in some cases) a 120th decimal point critical tolerance
otherwise our Cosmos is not here and niether are we. I could accept a
few by coincidental chance, but not over 150 which are all dependent
on each other.
6. I discovered in myself that I wanted to follow the truth
regardless of where it led, instead of patronizing myself into
following something I had no more confidence in.
7. I heavily investigated Theism from a scientific standpoint
including the remarkable design and engineering of things ...and
concluded that it is absurd to think it all just happened by chance
without a shred of purpose or reason.
8. I heavily investigated Christianity as well as all other major
world religions, and discovered the New Testament of the Bible to
offer more accurate historical evidences for Christ , his
ressurection, and what he claimed about himself....that it was very
compelling. I read about THE worlds most famous expert on Court of
Law evidential techniques who put the New Testament to a very
stringent test, who traded in his agnosticism to become a Christ
Follower based purely on the scientific and historical
evidences ...and I found this very compelling.
9. I discovered that modern scientific discoveries are proving the
Bible correct and are leading to a personal theistic Creator which the
Bible describes in great detail.

[PaulSacramento]

Were you always an atheist?

[ronjohn839]

I know what you mean when you say al your peers and teachers have atheistic worldviews. It can be tough to fit in as a christian, but if our God is for us then what can stop us, if God is for us what can stand against? (rom 8:31). Thank the "Great I Am" you took the time to evaluate where u were and searched for truth!

[Silvertusk]

What i found appealing about atheism , at the time :

1. Nearly all my friends were atheists so i had much commaraderie .
2. If there were no binding absolute moral laws to live by, then it
offered great freedom of lifestyle choices (which i capitalized on) .
3. No one was in ultimate authority over me.
4. I wasnt owned by anyone higher than self which led to great
autonomy.
5. I was at the center of the Universe, figuratively speaking .
6. All my Teachers in school (whom i greatly respected and
enjoyed) taught atheistic ideologies / worldview .
7. As Evolutionist Julian Huxley said :' Having no personal Creator
(viz.God) , coincided with my sexual mores' .

What I found convincing about atheism , at the time :

1. I looked upon my Teachers and School Text Books as virtually
infallable and thus a very reliable truth source , so i accepted all
they taught without question .
2. Atheisms idelogies and constructs... from a worldview and from
sociology.... best fit in with my daily lifestyle choices and
philosophies for having fun.

What made me change my views about atheism :

1. Some atheistic ideologies were impossible to live out , truthfully
and without being hypocritical (ie: moral relativism) .
2. I became aware that the atheistic ideologies as represented by our
American Culture , were destructive and dangerous to people....and
this concerned me as i was getting deeper into them.
3. I found it took an incredible amount of faith to believe in
atheistic origins of the universe and first life on earth.
4. I found that an atheistic material universe (materialism) is not
capable of things like reason, logic, truth, love, freewill .
5. I found there are no logical atheistic explanations for the 150+
razor precise Life Enabling Constants and Physics Constants
(anthropics) which have been scientifically discovered and are
measurable to (in some cases) a 120th decimal point critical tolerance
otherwise our Cosmos is not here and niether are we. I could accept a
few by coincidental chance, but not over 150 which are all dependent
on each other.
6. I discovered in myself that I wanted to follow the truth
regardless of where it led, instead of patronizing myself into
following something I had no more confidence in.
7. I heavily investigated Theism from a scientific standpoint
including the remarkable design and engineering of things ...and
concluded that it is absurd to think it all just happened by chance
without a shred of purpose or reason.
8. I heavily investigated Christianity as well as all other major
world religions, and discovered the New Testament of the Bible to
offer more accurate historical evidences for Christ , his
ressurection, and what he claimed about himself....that it was very
compelling. I read about THE worlds most famous expert on Court of
Law evidential techniques who put the New Testament to a very
stringent test, who traded in his agnosticism to become a Christ
Follower based purely on the scientific and historical
evidences ...and I found this very compelling.
9. I discovered that modern scientific discoveries are proving the
Bible correct and are leading to a personal theistic Creator which the
Bible describes in great detail.

Good post

[CazPerth]

6. I discovered in myself that I wanted to follow the truth
regardless of where it led, instead of patronizing myself into
following something I had no more confidence in.

There's the kicker!

I was an Atheist for 40 years but God spoke to me one day and my life changed. My friends and family are atheists or lapsed in their faith and atheism seems fashionable these days. I am now educating myself in the New Testament truth of Christ and Christian apologetics so I can counter atheistic arguments, if they arise. But mostly I just let love shine through me.

In Faith and Love
Caz

[Philip]

CallMeDave, you have posted a wonderful explanation of your journey into belief in Christ. Your logic, reasoning and self-effacing desire to follow the facts and to find the truth of wherever they might lead is inspiring. Most have their truth filters permanently set to catch/reject/deflect any truths that might point to the reality of God/Christ.

And yet I'm curious. Many on this forum have a lot of intellectual, logical/reasoning and understandings of God's existence. And, logically, these should also lead to embracing the Bible as being our spiritual road map, which leads to even more understandings of God. These are all good things. But I know as when I was a young kid of 18 and really doubting and questioning my (sincere) childhood faith in God, that, originally, I was brought back in touch with my childhood faith by 1) God opening my eyes and 2)through the reinforcement of what I already knew in my heart through logic, reason and realizing that God's Creation is so incredible and complex that atheism/agnosticism (ideas I'd previously started to entertain) were illogical and dangerous. My question is, how many (not saying this is true for you) have these rational/logical understandings of God, but yet never go far beyond them, into also personally experiencing God in a loving relationship and trust, understandings and constant communication? And that is the danger, that some whom are brought into belief in God, through apologetics and rational understandings, develop faith in God and Jesus but never go much beyond that.

For me, it took a serious, long illness for me to experience God in a much more powerful way, one that moved me beyond what I intellectually knew about Him. And that crisis moved me to constant prayer and understandings that only a relationship can produce. I experienced miraculous things that only God could have done - making my faith much more personal. Now my faith, intellectual/spiritual/scriptural understandings and my relationship with Jesus are all bound up together. Now, even when I doubt, the doubt is small and quickly passes, and is usually precipitated by me neglecting prayer and my time spent in communication with God. Nowadays, nothing I KNOW is as powerful as my relationship and spending time with God. And I have had to re-learn this over and over, as I so often want to read and explore apologetics and Christian-oriented commentaries, history, science, archaeology, etc - all of these THINGS - and yet they never compare to simple time spent in communication and relationship. And prayer is a discipline that I struggle to consistently pursue. But I do find God's fingerprints all over the world and universe in which I live - and they intellectually reinforce what I am personally/internally experiencing and learning through my relationship with God. And yet, what I know about God and His extraordinary, mind-boggling creation continues to be powerful witnesses for both myself and many who are also seeking truth.

I truly believe that if one truly wants to know if God exists and if His existence should matter to you - just ASK HIM! Do a simple experiment that only you and God will know about. If you sincerely want to know and sincerely seek the truth of whether He exists, then ask Him. He'll respond! It will be the single most powerful thing one can do. Yet don't expect a lightening bolt or an instant miracle, as HOW He responds and reveals Himself is different from person to person. But make no mistake, as THAT He will respond and that it will be unmistakable is certain (to the one who asks in SINCERITY)! And why would ANYONE not want to know the truth of God's existence? I'd say anyone who doesn't is: 1) not sincere in knowing and 2) desires to continue being their own little god.

[claysmithr]

Atheism just left me feeling... empty.

[B. W.]

Atheism just left me feeling... empty.

Yes, that is true but it takes a journey to discover just how empty!

Lost my atheism in a dramatic fashion but it was a journey nevertheless. I recall how I defended emptiness while at the same time ignoring it. Anyway, welcome to the forum!
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[abelcainsbrother]

Atheism just left me feeling... empty.

Welcome to the forum.
Dweebs. For you.
https://youtu.be/wVSvK7Kiohw

[claysmithr]

Atheism just left me feeling... empty.

Yes, that is true but it takes a journey to discover just how empty!

Lost my atheism in a dramatic fashion but it was a journey nevertheless. I recall how I defended emptiness while at the same time ignoring it. Anyway, welcome to the forum!
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I've read your book, and I believe in it too. It also explains why so many NDE's are all butterfly's and rainbows. That it is a deception used to shield the world of the truth of judgement of Christ and the trinity.

For me, the reason Atheism felt so empty, was because I believed that it matters what we do with our lives, and most people act like there is a God even if there isn't one. Also, the question of why there is SOMETHING rather than NOTHING. According to atheism, the universe shouldn't exist, because nothing can't come from something, it's not very scientific. How can an explosion create an ordered universe, ordered enough to allow something as complex as life? And why have scientists not been able to simulate conditions to create life in the lab? How come humans appear so suddenly onto the scene of Earth.

In my heart I knew atheism didn't really make sense, even though at the time it did intellectually. But, scientists try to explain things without God because they find no evidence for him.

Personally I'm looking forward very much on the journey to get to see God's face, and be with God for eternity, it's my greatest hope. I'm sure we'll all be well acquainted with each other on the new earth because we will have eternity to know everyone.

B.W., your book did help me on my journey. Why would an atheist be having hallucinations about Christ and demons, if there wasn't truth to them? It helped solidify me/scare me. I also like 23 Minutes in hell. I've also read the one by Mary K. Baxter, I would actually like to discuss this one with people, not sure how real it is.

What brought me to Christ, honestly, were seeds planted by Christ, later to be spring into a flower during a dramatic hospital experience where they tried to cast an evil spell on me or something, in the hospital. It was really weird and supernatural experience, and I posted it in christian testimonies. Here:

http://christessays.com/2016/02/25/story-2/

It was at that point that I realized I was doomed for all eternity and belonged to Satan, unless I came to Christ. In the hospital I pronounced Christ as Lord, but still was twisted in thinking. When one of my New Age friends was saying he could get baptized to get on God's "good side" (haha), I wanted to out do him and get baptized first. Then I was encouraged to at least go through my Churches "Bridge Course" http://www.bridgecourse.org (Think Alpha Course), and the scales finally fell off of my eyes, and I accepted Christ for real.

Anyway, thanks, you and ablecainsbrother for welcoming me!

I hope you all reading this have a blessed day!

[thatkidakayoungguy]

Why would an atheist be having hallucinations about Christ and demons, if there wasn't truth to them? It helped solidify me/scare me. I also like 23 Minutes in hell. I've also read the one by Mary K. Baxter, I would actually like to discuss this one with people, not sure how real it is.

Kinda off topic but it's related to this. Many Muslims have been dreaming about Jesus and are converting to Christianity in large numbers. I think maybe some Buddhists are too but I ain't sure. Anyways, it does help point to the truth of Christianity.

[IceMobster]

5. I found there are no logical atheistic explanations for the 150+
razor precise Life Enabling Constants and Physics Constants
(anthropics) which have been scientifically discovered and are
measurable to (in some cases) a 120th decimal point critical tolerance
otherwise our Cosmos is not here and niether are we. I could accept a
few by coincidental chance, but not over 150 which are all dependent
on each other.

This guy has been active last time 4 years ago, so, does anyone have a list of these? Would prove useful to me.

9. I discovered that modern scientific discoveries are proving the
Bible correct and are leading to a personal theistic Creator which the
Bible describes in great detail.

Uhhh.... Such as?

[Philip]

Ice: This guy has been active last time 4 years ago, so, does anyone have a list of these? Would prove useful to me.

There ya go, Ice Man! http://www.reasons.org/articles/fine-tu ... -june-2004

[thatkidakayoungguy]

Do u think Cavemen were atheists? Or some?

[claysmithr]

Do u think Cavemen were atheists? Or some?

Adam and Eve most certainly believed in God.