From atheism to Christianity? How so?

[agapelove]

I don't doubt your intelligence. It's not a true Scotsman fallacy in this case because the surmise is based on you having not been raised in a religion, not on the basis that 'no true atheist can become a Christian'. Sometimes things are just wrong, no fallacy needed. I'll take your word on the critical thinking, with the following caveat.

I mean something pretty specific by 'critical thinking'. Familiarity with the more common logical fallacies (like appeal to authority or appeal to pity), willingness to seriously consider the possibility of being wrong, understanding that wanting something to be true has no bearing on whether it actually IS true, and the ability to entertain multiple hypotheses without adopting any of them; would be a reasonable summay of what I mean by the term.

A freethinker or rational skeptic is committed to follow evidence and reason where they lead and to avoid appealing to the authority of persons, dogma, or texts. On this particular discussion board, most of the atheists (and maybe one or two of the theists) can reasonably be described as freethinkers in that specific sense. It's a philosophical position, and if you don't share that position, please don't take it as an insult, and saying you're not a rational skeptic doesn't mean you're not a (fairly) rational person and saying you're not a freethinker doesn't mean you're neither free nor a thinker.

I appreciate the benefit of the doubt, and thank you for the clarification. I think I understand what you are saying. I was heavily into philosophy before I converted, in fact in later years of my journey I would debate Christians on their philosophical predispositions. So, I do know about logical fallacies, and actually, I do consider all of the shortcoming as far empirical evidence goes with my faith. It's not so much about the evidence as it is about the relationship. I feel a personal connection to God and His very real presence in my life, and part of is the literally thousands and thousands of examples of His interaction and intervention and personal care. You could perhaps explain each one away individually but adding them all up there is a weight of evidence in favor of God. It's also because I have been born again and God has given me a completely new life.

I did consider many different possibilities, such as confirmation bias, or that I had something wrong with my brain, or even the idea that I was completely insane, but none of those were in any consistent with the reality I experienced. Insanity, as I have observed, is messy business but my life was becoming more well ordered and not disordered. I was gaining in character and virtue and not losing it. In the end, I don't mind being a fool for Christ. I understand everyone here thinks I am crazy, and that's okay; I love you anyway.