MERGED: The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (Part 1) & (Part 2)

[DeistPaladin]

Why did you abandon the faith?

Most atheists in America, particularly the more active ones in the free thought movement, are ex-Christians.

I was never a Christian. If you ran a poll among Americans on this forum, I'd probably be decisively in the minority.

If you ask them about their story, it's invariably a gradual process. Faith dies a long, drawn out death. No one is ever confident in their faith, one day learns about science or hear a good argument against their religion and *bang* they abandon their faith and become an atheist. If that has ever happened, I've never heard the story, and I have asked it of every ex-Christian.

The story I've always heard starts with nagging questions or doubts. They read some apologetics like Strobel, McDowell, Habermas, Craig, etc. and for a time were reassured (the only real purpose of these apologists is to bolster the faith of the wavering; they have never converted any atheist that I'm aware of). Then they realize the apologetic answers weren't really all that solid. Nagging doubts return a little stronger. They read other apologists. The cycle continues with doubts growing and faith shriveling. They adopt more and more compromises to their beliefs. They become Christians who accept evolution. They become Christians who allow certain Biblical events to be "metaphoric". They water down what they believe as needed to accommodate their new-found knowledge.

Very often, the ex-Christian can't even say for certain when exactly their faith died. It's like asking, "when did your child grow into an adult?"

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Does HM really think he is winning?

They always do.

Seriously, this is par for the course.

My first extended run-in with an apologist was on the issue of "morality and Christianity". I brought in all manner of heavy artillery, from rape in the Bible ordered and condoned by the Biblical god to philosophical arguments like pointing out his circular reasoning and special pleading. Finally, he lied. His lie was recorded and then exposed and I nailed him on it. He then started lying about his lie and I declared victory.

He insisted that he had won the argument and that I'd run off.

It doesn't matter how badly they humiliate themselves. It doesn't matter how devastating the counter-arguments are. It doesn't matter if you catch them in a lie. They always declare victory. And think it was a glorious, Bruce-Lee-kicking-ass-on-unnamed-characters kind of victory.

Always.