When his wife unexpectedly became a Christian, his anger against God only grew. During the next 20 years, he developed strong arguments to support his emotional resistance to belief. His deep pain fueled a vitriolic hatred against God and instability in his own life. He became an atheist following a childhood tragedy where he lost two brothers in a house fire. For me, though, what stands out most are the stories of coming to faith against seemingly insurmountable odds. Is there a conversion story that you found particularly surprising or moving?Įvery story of conversion is surprising and moving. It was difficult.” Even so, his newfound joy and peace in Christ sustained him in his new faith. But just saying, ‘We’re going to church this Sunday’ or ‘Jesus is God’ meant a lot of people hated us and wouldn’t even talk to us anymore because of that. Even then our beliefs were very liberal and, in some sense, more closely aligned with atheism than with Christianity on all sorts of issues. One former atheist recalled, “We lost a lot of friends, honestly. They found their newfound faith to be socially frowned upon, embarrassing, and relationally alienating. Nearly one-third of respondents reported negative responses or rejection from friends and family. Within that context, conversion to Christianity came at great social cost. ![]() Unfavorable cultural stereotypes of Christians abound in Western culture. What were some of the challenges your interview subjects faced after embracing Christian belief? Disruptive longings can grow in someone as they look for better explanations to understand the world around them or their own lives. Dissatisfaction can prompt searching for something more than our worldview has to offer. We all want to make sense of the world and be satisfied in our lives. And in these cases, there was some catalyst, some form of dissatisfaction that caused them to question their own atheism or begin looking more closely at Christianity. ![]() So what breached their walls of resistance? In general, people are not comfortable questioning their own views until something disrupts the status quo. They were not looking for God or interested in spiritual conversations. Nearly two-thirds of the former atheists I spoke with thought they would never leave their atheistic identity and perspective. Others held understandable objections to belief, to the Bible, to a perceived irreconcilability of science and faith, to “bad” religion and religious people, and to various Christian claims about morality.ĭid you detect any patterns in the circumstances that led these skeptics to reconsider Christianity? They simply presumed a settled perspective based upon what they heard around them in the surrounding culture or by esteemed authorities.įor many former atheists, difficult life experiences had convinced them there could not be a good, present, or powerful God. Many had readily dismissed God and faith out of hand without thoughtful analysis of exactly what they were rejecting or what they were embracing. They seemed to know what they were against much more than what they were for. Interestingly, not nearly as many of these former atheists had good reasons to justify their own godless perspective. Christians were often seen as intolerant, bigoted, judgmental, and hypocritical. ![]() ![]() Faith was often painted as superstitious, delusional, and uneducated, irreconcilable with science and contemporary ways of thinking and living. Or, for those who had some contact with religion or religious people, they found Christianity to be wanting and unattractive. Lacking exposure to genuine forms of belief, many developed their perception of Christianity through an unfriendly, distanced cultural perspective, which led to reductionistic caricatures and stereotypes. Generally speaking, they viewed Christian belief and believers through a negative lens. What were some of the commonly held beliefs of the atheists you interviewed before their conversions? Christopher Reese, editor of The Worldview Bulletin, spoke with Harmon about her research and its implications for sharing the gospel with skeptics. Harmon presents findings from her conversations with 50 atheists who came to faith. Lewis Institute teaching fellow and Side B Stories podcast host Jana S. In Atheists Finding God: Unlikely Stories of Conversions to Christianity in the Contemporary West, C. Unless we know the skeptic personally, we rarely get a detailed picture of what brought about an openness to faith. Christians rejoice when atheists give their lives to Christ, but typically we only see the end result.
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