Say someone... pfffff, any random atheist, not calling out anyone... converted to Christianity. How did this happen? Anybody else... er, I mean anybody here been there, done that?

I confess I'm skeptical to this. First thing to pop into my head is that this is just another fundie trying to save souls by fitting in then sticking the hook down the throat.
Granted I could be wrong. Show me.

No idea, but I don't think it's that far-fetched. Many people seek out a deeper spiritual meaning to life, and since most folks are raised believers in god, they either stick with their pre-selected religion or find another that fits them better. For someone raised without god, that drive to fill the "god-sized hole" could lead them anywhere. For others it might be a period of great grief or stress which leads them to seek answers they thought they always had.

People make changes like this from time to time. The unpredictability of people is one of the things that makes us so interesting, in general.

(December 26, 2013 at 7:05 am)Ivy Wrote: Say someone... pfffff, any random atheist, not calling out anyone... converted to Christianity. How did this happen? Anybody else... er, I mean anybody here been there, done that?

I confess I'm skeptical to this. First thing to pop into my head is that this is just another fundie trying to save souls by fitting in then sticking the hook down the throat.
Granted I could be wrong. Show me.

Since this topic just coincidently appeared, I suppose I will give my testimony. First off, I don't expect anyone to be convinced by what I am going to say. Most likely you'll think I had some kind of psychotic break, and that's okay, so long as you think I'm crazy in a good way. My journey is actually atheism to new age to christianity, by the way

Well, I was raised secular and the subject of God was never brought up in my home. All I really knew about Christianity is what I heard on television, so my knowledge of Christianity was pretty poor at this point. In my late 20s I started to have supernatural experiences. At that point I started to believe there was a spiritual reality and I began to pursue different religions and philosophies. A few years down the road I started to experience things which led me to believe there is an all powerful God controlling everything.

On that basis I believed in the all purpose God of love you hear about the new age. I didn't know anything about Jesus at this point. It took several years of exploring basically everything that I finally read the bible. On the basis of some revelation I had received prior to reading the bible, I began to believe the bible was Gods revelation to mankind. This is when I started to seriously consider that Jesus is the Messiah. After a few years of searching that out, I became convinced that He is the Messiah, and is still alive. That's when I became a Christian.

I can imagine what any rationalist might think when reading this, because it is utterly irrational on the worlds terms. You could call it a psychotic break, or confirmation bias, or any number of things. What I can testify to is the change in my life because I am a completely different person now. I am not problem free, but, I used to be depressed and now I am happy. I used to have a lot of fear and now I am at peace. I used to be addicted to many things and now I am sober. I used to use the internet too much..and I still use the internet too much. You get the picture..

So that's my story and I am sticking to it.

(December 26, 2013 at 7:05 am)Ivy Wrote: Say someone... pfffff, any random atheist, not calling out anyone... converted to Christianity. How did this happen? Anybody else... er, I mean anybody here been there, done that?

I confess I'm skeptical to this. First thing to pop into my head is that this is just another fundie trying to save souls by fitting in then sticking the hook down the throat.
Granted I could be wrong. Show me.

Didnt chadwooters say he used to be an atheist

(December 26, 2013 at 7:24 am)agapelove Wrote:

(December 26, 2013 at 7:05 am)Ivy Wrote: Say someone... pfffff, any random atheist, not calling out anyone... converted to Christianity. How did this happen? Anybody else... er, I mean anybody here been there, done that?

I confess I'm skeptical to this. First thing to pop into my head is that this is just another fundie trying to save souls by fitting in then sticking the hook down the throat.
Granted I could be wrong. Show me.

Since this topic just coincidently appeared, I suppose I will give my testimony. First off, I don't expect anyone to be convinced by what I am going to say. Most likely you'll think I had some kind of psychotic break, and that's okay, so long as you think I'm crazy in a good way. My journey is actually atheism to new age to christianity, by the way

Well, I was raised secular and the subject of God was never brought up in my home. All I really knew about Christianity is what I heard on television, so my knowledge of Christianity was pretty poor at this point. In my late 20s I started to have supernatural experiences. At that point I started to believe there was a spiritual reality and I began to pursue different religions and philosophies. A few years down the road I started to experience things which led me to believe there is an all powerful God controlling everything.

On that basis I believed in the all purpose God of love you hear about the new age. I didn't know anything about Jesus at this point. It took several years of exploring basically everything that I finally read the bible. On the basis of some revelation I had received prior to reading the bible, I began to believe the bible was Gods revelation to mankind. This is when I started to seriously consider that Jesus is the Messiah. After a few years of searching that out, I became convinced that He is the Messiah, and is still alive. That's when I became a Christian.

I can imagine what any rationalist might think when reading this, because it is utterly irrational on the worlds terms. You could call it a psychotic break, or confirmation bias, or any number of things. What I can testify to is the change in my life because I am a completely different person now. I am not problem free, but, I used to be depressed and now I am happy. I used to have a lot of fear and now I am at peace. I used to be addicted to many things and now I am sober. I used to use the internet too much..and I still use the internet too much. You get the picture..

So that's my story and I am sticking to it.

I take it you are still in your early 20s? Anyway, not to be cruel about it, but this sounds a lot like, "I used to be hooked on drugs, but now i'm hooked on Jesus." In time, you may recover from this unhealthy dependency as well.

This reminds me of the "Say No to Drugs" campaign.

So "Say No to Jesus/Mohammad/God" campaign.

(December 26, 2013 at 8:04 am)NonXNonExX Wrote:

(December 26, 2013 at 7:24 am)agapelove Wrote: Since this topic just coincidently appeared, I suppose I will give my testimony. First off, I don't expect anyone to be convinced by what I am going to say. Most likely you'll think I had some kind of psychotic break, and that's okay, so long as you think I'm crazy in a good way. My journey is actually atheism to new age to christianity, by the way

Well, I was raised secular and the subject of God was never brought up in my home. All I really knew about Christianity is what I heard on television, so my knowledge of Christianity was pretty poor at this point. In my late 20s I started to have supernatural experiences. At that point I started to believe there was a spiritual reality and I began to pursue different religions and philosophies. A few years down the road I started to experience things which led me to believe there is an all powerful God controlling everything.

On that basis I believed in the all purpose God of love you hear about the new age. I didn't know anything about Jesus at this point. It took several years of exploring basically everything that I finally read the bible. On the basis of some revelation I had received prior to reading the bible, I began to believe the bible was Gods revelation to mankind. This is when I started to seriously consider that Jesus is the Messiah. After a few years of searching that out, I became convinced that He is the Messiah, and is still alive. That's when I became a Christian.

I can imagine what any rationalist might think when reading this, because it is utterly irrational on the worlds terms. You could call it a psychotic break, or confirmation bias, or any number of things. What I can testify to is the change in my life because I am a completely different person now. I am not problem free, but, I used to be depressed and now I am happy. I used to have a lot of fear and now I am at peace. I used to be addicted to many things and now I am sober. I used to use the internet too much..and I still use the internet too much. You get the picture..

So that's my story and I am sticking to it.

I take it you are still in your early 20s? Anyway, not to be cruel about it, but this sounds a lot like, "I used to be hooked on drugs, but now i'm hooked on Jesus." In time, you may recover from this unhealthy dependency as well.

If so there are far worse methadone analogues! Seems a win to me.

(December 26, 2013 at 7:24 am)agapelove Wrote:

(December 26, 2013 at 7:05 am)Ivy Wrote: Say someone... pfffff, any random atheist, not calling out anyone... converted to Christianity. How did this happen? Anybody else... er, I mean anybody here been there, done that?

I confess I'm skeptical to this. First thing to pop into my head is that this is just another fundie trying to save souls by fitting in then sticking the hook down the throat.
Granted I could be wrong. Show me.

Since this topic just coincidently appeared, I suppose I will give my testimony. First off, I don't expect anyone to be convinced by what I am going to say. Most likely you'll think I had some kind of psychotic break, and that's okay, so long as you think I'm crazy in a good way. My journey is actually atheism to new age to christianity, by the way

Well, I was raised secular and the subject of God was never brought up in my home. All I really knew about Christianity is what I heard on television, so my knowledge of Christianity was pretty poor at this point. In my late 20s I started to have supernatural experiences. At that point I started to believe there was a spiritual reality and I began to pursue different religions and philosophies. A few years down the road I started to experience things which led me to believe there is an all powerful God controlling everything.

On that basis I believed in the all purpose God of love you hear about the new age. I didn't know anything about Jesus at this point. It took several years of exploring basically everything that I finally read the bible. On the basis of some revelation I had received prior to reading the bible, I began to believe the bible was Gods revelation to mankind. This is when I started to seriously consider that Jesus is the Messiah. After a few years of searching that out, I became convinced that He is the Messiah, and is still alive. That's when I became a Christian.

I can imagine what any rationalist might think when reading this, because it is utterly irrational on the worlds terms. You could call it a psychotic break, or confirmation bias, or any number of things. What I can testify to is the change in my life because I am a completely different person now. I am not problem free, but, I used to be depressed and now I am happy. I used to have a lot of fear and now I am at peace. I used to be addicted to many things and now I am sober. I used to use the internet too much..and I still use the internet too much. You get the picture..

So that's my story and I am sticking to it.

Out of curiosity (I won't try to deconvert you, promise ), what sort of supernatural experiences? And what religions did you explore prior to xtianity and why were you looking for a Messiah (you said you became convinced that "Jesus is the Messiah"), many religions do not hint at a messiah.

(December 26, 2013 at 7:05 am)Ivy Wrote: Say someone... pfffff, any random atheist, not calling out anyone... converted to Christianity. How did this happen? Anybody else... er, I mean anybody here been there, done that?

I confess I'm skeptical to this. First thing to pop into my head is that this is just another fundie trying to save souls by fitting in then sticking the hook down the throat.
Granted I could be wrong. Show me.

The same way ordinary citizens join cults.

Quote:How did this happen?

I'm inclined to think a mini-stroke...or maybe a brain tumor. They can impact personality in serious ways.