Have you known any atheists which got converted?

[fr0d0]

I was an atheist twice and converted twice

I certainly didn't want it either time

*opens can* So when you were an atheist, (twice) you:

• Believed that ALL religions were contrived by men, and ALL were works of fiction
• Could not accept the claims made by religious people or their “holy” books
• Believed that religious people, of all “faiths” were misguided at best, and delusional at worst
• Believed that physical reality was all that there was, and stories of “creation”, deities, spirits, angels, demons, souls, etc., were merely fantasies

And then somehow you became convinced (on two separate occasions) that Christianity was no longer to be grouped as a falsehood with all other religions, because it is actually the one religion that is true. That the god you now “believe in” is actually real, and that he really did create the universe, and that he really does rule over it. That angels, demons, spirits, etc., are actually real. And that after your death you will be resurrected and you will live forever in the presence of this god.

For some reason, I don’t believe you were ever an atheist (twice), and you are making that claim as some lame attempt at an appeal to authority. I say bullshit. *closes can*

What authority is that?!

I grew into atheism as a teenager discussing it with friends. My family weren't religious. They were shocked that I knew hymns from school when we went to church for a christening. That was the only time I remember going to church with my family actually. My mum was atheist. My dad just took the mik.

I remember the moment I chose to disbelieve. It was a kind of relief, but not as revolutionary as my conversion to Christianity the first time. I had a problem then of hating Christians, especially from my denomination. Even people I didn't know. I imagined stabbing them for being nice to me. I married my wife as a Christian and she took the brunt of my vitriol. She's remained with my original denomination throughout. That's probably the biggest contributor to our separation.

When I came to faith again I'd mellowed a lot. I'd had ~15 years to think about it. It was actually discussing atheist clichés like those repeated here that took me down that road. Presenting the logic of why Christians believe what they do against the usual ignorance. I came to a point, for the 2nd time, that my personal reasoning was at odds with my state of belief, so I had no choice but to change it. I chose to believe again.