Testimony is Evidence

[bennyboy]

If in my youth a particularly sexy girl said "I'd sleep with you if you became a Christian" I would have instantly became the bestest Christian you could have imagined, on the outside. There is no way I would actualy believe that shit, but I could sure fake it to get laid.

hehe, you and everyone who ever met a Catholic schoolgirl!

To be fair, though, I don't think alpha's talking about when people would be willing to say they were Christian. He's talking about the fact that some non-Christians do in fact become Christians, and he thinks there's a rational reason for it.

I, personally, think there's almost NEVER a rational reason for a conversion. There's friendship and community, comfort for loss, bolstering against fear, a sense of hope for the future. There are plenty of reasons why suspension of disbelief might have real emotional or social benefits for a person. And to be fair to you, I think it's not really that uncommon for either sex to convert to ANY religion if it will satisfy the requirements for marriage and potentially spending a life with someone they appreciate.

But I think there are almost zero people sitting around with a Bible thinking, hmmmmm. . . I'm curious, but is there sufficient evidence for the ideas and stories told in this collection of texts? And if there is, I don't think the enthusiastic testimonials of existing Christians are likely to persuade them much.