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Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
#1
Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
Here we have another story (on fox news of course) about a believer who claims to have been a former Atheist.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/03/2...to-me.html

We see this sort of thing a lot.  Like with Howard Storm.  Only whenever we get these Atheists, they never seem to really know what it's like to be an atheist.  It's easy to make the claim that you were once an atheist.  Because we don't really have any qualifiers other than "Doesn't believe in God"  But none of these people ever seem to really get what being an atheist is like. 

First:  She states that her father's new found faith threatened her.  This reminds me much of when Howard Storm proclaimed he used to believe there was no god because 'that's how really smart people thought'.  How did her father's faith threaten her?  This REEKS of her having never been an atheist.  MAYBE she was raised non-religious and considered that enough to consider herself an atheist.  (In which case, she wasn't).  But I have to question her claim having ever been an atheist when she says things from such a Christian point of view, when at the time it occurred, she would have seen them from an Atheist Point of View.  And of course she goes on to be the stereotypical atheist who 'mocks religion outwardly'  but reflects inwardly.  Cause you know... that's all we atheists do.  Mock religion!  And of course she goes on to say family members tried to draw her back to being godless (cause you know us Atheists!  We like to indoctrinate people.  Oh wait, sorry that's Christians.)

Second: Her test.  Apparently she can command God to make a bird fly.  She never tries to see if it'll happen again.  Just once is enough to convince her.  And she never commands God to do anything ever again.  She never tells him "GOD!  IF YOU ARE REAL!  LET THIS MAN REGROW HIS LEGS!"  I mean what a selfish bitch, right?  So her bird story is rather dubious.

Third:  She instantly fell in love with the bible.  You know a book that makes even some Christians uncomfortable.  Yet as a former atheist, she instantly falls in love with this book that condones slavery, includes genocide, and infanticide.  She wasn't even remotely troubled by any of the passages?  Even a lot of the Christians I know are troubled by some of the passages!  And these are people who think Atheists are the worst!

Now is it possible she's not lying?  Sure.  But that doesn't mean I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt here.  Or any of these other folks.  It's easy to claim to have been an atheist.  I always find it weird how so many of these former atheists sound nothing like you'd expect an atheist to sound like.  (Obviously we all sound pretty different, so there's a wide number of ways that could sound, and yet so many of them don't even hit that LARGE range).  I guess it's easier to sell books about god if you present them as "I Didn't believe, but then I did!"  than if you just present it as "I always believed."
The whole tone of Church teaching in regard to woman is, to the last degree, contemptuous and degrading. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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#2
RE: Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
To piss me off.

Nah, in all seriousness, what they describe often tends to be the Bible's view of a doubting thomas, which is nothing like atheism.

They'll often talk about how they used to be angry at God and stuff, lol. That can't be genuine atheism, and this isn't the No True Atheist fallacy as it's fucking impossible to be angry at something you genuinely believe is non-existent lol. And the point is, claming to have been something doesn't make it so. I could claim to have previously been Alexander the Great's chief eunuch in a past life... but that wouldn't make it so.
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#3
RE: Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
I will not say it is impossible to go from the "off" position to the position of Jesus being the one son of the one God of the bible position.

But, when you listen to these "former" atheists, they are not really defining the word in the same way. "Atheist" for most who claim to be former, is more along the lines of anyone who does not buy their new position. "Atheist" to most atheist means "off" on all deity claims, not just the Christian one.

It can be due to having an "oh shit I should have died in that accident " or from my addiction" or "life has pretty things in it". It can also be as mundane as a slick apologist stumping them, and throwing their hands up and saying, "This theist got me, they must be right".

But the more educated you are on religious arguments knowing the traps in logical fallacies and scientific absurdities, and the more you see that every religion in the world ultimately makes the same arguments the harder it is for an apologist to get you to fall for their arguments.

What is more important in combating this bad argument, isn't by looking it in terms of one religion. Humans can also go from being former Christians to Muslim, or former Muslim to Christian, or even go from those to Buddhists. Point is people leave one club for another in every direction all the time. The only thing they are proving is that they changed their position, it is still not evidence that their new position is fact.
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#4
RE: Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
I think it's to try and gain credibility with atheists. Playing both sides.

If these people were atheists before, they weren't sceptics. Just people who hadn't put a lot of thought into it, I guess.
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#5
RE: Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
(April 1, 2018 at 12:05 pm)Cecelia Wrote: Here we have another story (on fox news of course) about a believer who claims to have been a former Atheist.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/03/2...to-me.html

We see this sort of thing a lot.  Like with Howard Storm.  Only whenever we get these Atheists, they never seem to really know what it's like to be an atheist.  It's easy to make the claim that you were once an atheist.  Because we don't really have any qualifiers other than "Doesn't believe in God"  But none of these people ever seem to really get what being an atheist is like. 

First:  She states that her father's new found faith threatened her.  This reminds me much of when Howard Storm proclaimed he used to believe there was no god because 'that's how really smart people thought'.  How did her father's faith threaten her?  This REEKS of her having never been an atheist.  MAYBE she was raised non-religious and considered that enough to consider herself an atheist.  (In which case, she wasn't).  But I have to question her claim having ever been an atheist when she says things from such a Christian point of view, when at the time it occurred, she would have seen them from an Atheist Point of View.  And of course she goes on to be the stereotypical atheist who 'mocks religion outwardly'  but reflects inwardly.  Cause you know... that's all we atheists do.  Mock religion!  And of course she goes on to say family members tried to draw her back to being godless (cause you know us Atheists!  We like to indoctrinate people.  Oh wait, sorry that's Christians.)

Second: Her test.  Apparently she can command God to make a bird fly.  She never tries to see if it'll happen again.  Just once is enough to convince her.  And she never commands God to do anything ever again.  She never tells him "GOD!  IF YOU ARE REAL!  LET THIS MAN REGROW HIS LEGS!"  I mean what a selfish bitch, right?  So her bird story is rather dubious.

Third:  She instantly fell in love with the bible.  You know a book that makes even some Christians uncomfortable.  Yet as a former atheist, she instantly falls in love with this book that condones slavery, includes genocide, and infanticide.  She wasn't even remotely troubled by any of the passages?  Even a lot of the Christians I know are troubled by some of the passages!  And these are people who think Atheists are the worst!

Now is it possible she's not lying?  Sure.  But that doesn't mean I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt here.  Or any of these other folks.  It's easy to claim to have been an atheist.  I always find it weird how so many of these former atheists sound nothing like you'd expect an atheist to sound like.  (Obviously we all sound pretty different, so there's a wide number of ways that could sound, and yet so many of them don't even hit that LARGE range).  I guess it's easier to sell books about god if you present them as "I Didn't believe, but then I did!"  than if you just present it as "I always believed."

Unexpected silver lining: By embracing this nitwit, Fox News is actually exhibiting more intellectual integrity than usual. Nowhere to go but up, but still . . . .
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#6
RE: Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
(April 1, 2018 at 12:22 pm)robvalue Wrote: I think it's to try and gain credibility with atheists. Playing both sides.

If these people were atheists before, they weren't sceptics. Just people who hadn't put a lot of thought into it, I guess.

You said it better than I did. Certainly not impossible to be a "former atheist" but like I said, for the reasons I said, it is harder to fool a well armed atheist.
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#7
RE: Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
Oh, I have no doubt there are atheists who converted to Christianity/Islam/Hinudism/Scientology. I just find it weird that so many of them sound exactly like the stereotypical atheists Christians envision that I've never really discovered anywhere.
The whole tone of Church teaching in regard to woman is, to the last degree, contemptuous and degrading. - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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#8
RE: Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
God, if you're out there let the next words I type be mespelled.

Of Shat!
I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem.
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#9
Video 
RE: Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
(April 1, 2018 at 12:22 pm)robvalue Wrote: I think it's to try and gain credibility with atheists. Playing both sides.

If these people were atheists before, they weren't sceptics. Just people who hadn't put a lot of thought into it, I guess.

That's it. Lack of belief equals atheist.  No scepticism required.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god.  If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
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#10
RE: Why do so many Christians claim to be former Atheists?
Maybe she got tired of working and wanted her piece of the collection plate. The faithful are easy targets.
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