For me, I became a Christian probably initially because I was around it all the time, but eventually I began to feel what I believed to be what the preacher at my former talked about: the Holy Spirit. So, I became a fundamentalist evangelical at age 13 until soon after my 19th birthday. I think that in hindsight, my transition away from Christianity was evident to myself. But first, I should perhaps talk of my childhood a bit.
Partially, it was a love for science (specifically astronomy and physics) that I got from my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Schulgen. She showed me some astronomy and physics books at the school library. They were small (maybe 40 pages on average, tops), but they had a range of interesting topics, from Big Bang cosmology to magnetism. In a few months I had read them all (a few dozen books).
So from an early age, the idea of massive time scales being supported by massive amounts of scientific evidence became something I thought was obviously true. I recall part of my reasoning at the time being "Well, science is largely to thank for the existence of my Sega Genesis, so I've little to no reason to doubt it's capability." 7-year old me was silly. :3
I don't know if there were many people near me that raged against science and evolution where I lived in Texas (near Dallas), but if there were I was oblivious to them. Heck, at this time I slept during the church service we went to at the Potter's House megachurch.
Anyway, after I was "born again" my disposition towards science didn't change. I recall one time around 14 where I Googled something like "Does God exist?", but I mostly got Young-Earth Creationist stuff, which I could only swallow for like a week, and soon forgot about it.
At the university I used to go to, I met an atheist (he commented on my Christian-y shirt), and I found him to be kind of funny. After we talked for a bit, he got around to asking why I was a Christian. I think I responded with something along the lines of seeing how God working in my life, and experiencing him. He responded by pointing out that people of other religions give that same answer, so I couldn't really have a monopoly on that move.
That conversation started to bug me in the coming weeks. After a while, I started to look online (mostly YouTube) to see the state of the conversation on the issue God's existence. I think it was initially Christopher Hitchens' rhetorical flair that convinced me to be more open to taking a look at what the non-theist side had to say. Eventually, I guess I just found the arguments more convincing than what the theist (specifically, Christian) side had to offer.
Partially, it was a love for science (specifically astronomy and physics) that I got from my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Schulgen. She showed me some astronomy and physics books at the school library. They were small (maybe 40 pages on average, tops), but they had a range of interesting topics, from Big Bang cosmology to magnetism. In a few months I had read them all (a few dozen books).
So from an early age, the idea of massive time scales being supported by massive amounts of scientific evidence became something I thought was obviously true. I recall part of my reasoning at the time being "Well, science is largely to thank for the existence of my Sega Genesis, so I've little to no reason to doubt it's capability." 7-year old me was silly. :3
I don't know if there were many people near me that raged against science and evolution where I lived in Texas (near Dallas), but if there were I was oblivious to them. Heck, at this time I slept during the church service we went to at the Potter's House megachurch.
Anyway, after I was "born again" my disposition towards science didn't change. I recall one time around 14 where I Googled something like "Does God exist?", but I mostly got Young-Earth Creationist stuff, which I could only swallow for like a week, and soon forgot about it.
At the university I used to go to, I met an atheist (he commented on my Christian-y shirt), and I found him to be kind of funny. After we talked for a bit, he got around to asking why I was a Christian. I think I responded with something along the lines of seeing how God working in my life, and experiencing him. He responded by pointing out that people of other religions give that same answer, so I couldn't really have a monopoly on that move.
That conversation started to bug me in the coming weeks. After a while, I started to look online (mostly YouTube) to see the state of the conversation on the issue God's existence. I think it was initially Christopher Hitchens' rhetorical flair that convinced me to be more open to taking a look at what the non-theist side had to say. Eventually, I guess I just found the arguments more convincing than what the theist (specifically, Christian) side had to offer.
