This has always been one of my pet peeves. Most of the Christians that post in this forum have claimed to be "former atheists". I have frequently posted this in response to the claim:
"So when you were an atheist, 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 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 factually 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, and I think you are making that claim as some lame attempt at an appeal to authority. I say bullshit."
I certainly don't want to be guilty of the "no true atheist" fallacy, but when the "former atheist" starts spewing things like "your atheist beliefs are blah blah blah" or "your atheist worldview blah blah blah", I know that they are full of shit. Hell, one of the clowns that posts here claims that he was atheist, then Christian, then back to atheist, then back to Christian. WTF?
"So when you were an atheist, 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 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 factually 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, and I think you are making that claim as some lame attempt at an appeal to authority. I say bullshit."
I certainly don't want to be guilty of the "no true atheist" fallacy, but when the "former atheist" starts spewing things like "your atheist beliefs are blah blah blah" or "your atheist worldview blah blah blah", I know that they are full of shit. Hell, one of the clowns that posts here claims that he was atheist, then Christian, then back to atheist, then back to Christian. WTF?
"If there are gaps they are in our knowledge, not in things themselves." Chapman Cohen
"Shit-apples don't fall far from the shit-tree, Randy." Mr. Lahey
"Shit-apples don't fall far from the shit-tree, Randy." Mr. Lahey
