Atheist becomes a Christian after 40 years

[Trailblazer]

I listen to Christian radio on my bike and between songs people call in and tell stories. A few weeks ago a man called in with a story of how he had just become a Christian after 40 years of being an atheist.

Is it better that this man at least believes in God now? I am not so sure. I think it might be better for atheists to remain atheists rather than becoming Christians because I believe that the doctrines of the Church are false. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against belief in Jesus and all His wonderful parables and teachings, but that is not what Christianity teaches. It teaches that Jesus is God, original sin, being saved and forgiven by the cross sacrifice, and the bodily resurrection, ascension and return of Jesus from heaven on some poufy clouds.

Whereas I believe in the cross sacrifice, I do not believe in original sin, so I do not believe there is anything to be saved from except our attachment to selfish desires and the world. Moreover, I do not believe in heaven and hell as places we go to, contingent solely upon whether we accepted Jesus as our Savior. I believe that the Christian doctrines are false, and not what Jesus taught. They are concoctions of the Church which came about as the result of misinterpretations of scripture, not to mention the influences of Paul, which changed the course of Christianity.

So, in my opinion, Christianity as it is believed by most Christians is a false religion. At least there is hope that an atheist might someday find another pathway to God, and even if he didn’t, I think that if an atheist has good principles and characterand leads the life that Jesus taught, he can receive the mercy and pardon of God in the afterlife and come to believe in God.

I apologize if I hurt any Christian’s feelings but I have seen far too many atheists who have been damaged by the Bible and Christianity and I have empathy for them. Christianity is the primary reason there are atheists.

I cannot side with Christianity because it has hurt so many people. Some of these atheists are good friends I met on forums and I have known them for years. They escaped Christianity, so they are doing just fine, they are good people. There is no reason they have to believe that Jesus died for their sins in order to have a chance at heaven. Websites like the following are beyond disgusting…

How To Get To Heaven

How to get to heaven - Believe the truth!
The truth is that there is only one way for any human being to get to heaven and that is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[Rival]

If it works for him and makes him a better person I can see no problem.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I listen to Christian radio on my bike and between songs people call in and tell stories. A few weeks ago a man called in with a story of how he had just become a Christian after 40 years of being an atheist.

Is it better that this man at least believes in God now? I am not so sure. I think it might be better for atheists to remain atheists rather than becoming Christians because I believe that the doctrines of the Church are false. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against belief in Jesus and all His wonderful parables and teachings, but that is not what Christianity teaches. It teaches that Jesus is God, original sin, being saved and forgiven by the cross sacrifice, and the bodily resurrection, ascension and return of Jesus from heaven on some poufy clouds.

Whereas I believe in the cross sacrifice, I do not believe in original sin, so I do not believe there is anything to be saved from except our attachment to selfish desires and the world. Moreover, I do not believe in heaven and hell as places we go to, contingent solely upon whether we accepted Jesus as our Savior. I believe that the Christian doctrines are false, and not what Jesus taught. They are concoctions of the Church which came about as the result of misinterpretations of scripture, not to mention the influences of Paul, which changed the course of Christianity.

So, in my opinion, Christianity as it is believed by most Christians is a false religion. At least there is hope that an atheist might someday find another pathway to God, and even if he didn’t, I think that if an atheist has good principles and characterand leads the life that Jesus taught, he can receive the mercy and pardon of God in the afterlife and come to believe in God.

I apologize if I hurt any Christian’s feelings but I have seen far too many atheists who have been damaged by the Bible and Christianity and I have empathy for them. Christianity is the primary reason there are atheists.

I cannot side with Christianity because it has hurt so many people. Some of these atheists are good friends I met on forums and I have known them for years. They escaped Christianity, so they are doing just fine, they are good people. There is no reason they have to believe that Jesus died for their sins in order to have a chance at heaven. Websites like the following are beyond disgusting…

How To Get To Heaven

How to get to heaven - Believe the truth!
The truth is that there is only one way for any human being to get to heaven and that is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Great post. I want to hug you for it.

 

[Trailblazer]

If it works for him and makes him a better person I can see no problem.

Well maybe, but who is to assume he was not already a good person?
It might make him a better person if he just started to follow what Jesus taught, but not f he started following what the Church teaches, saved and forgiven by the blood of Jesus.

I guess what I was trying to say is that it is better to have no beliefs than false beliefs, because a person can go from no beliefs to true beliefs, but it is more difficult to go from false beliefs to true beliefs because people become attached to their beliefs. Once a person becomes a Christian, especially in older age, they rarely drop out. It is pretty much a belief system based upon emotion, not reason, and emotions are not easy to change. People want to believe that Jesus died for their sins, they want to feel loved by Jesus, and they want to have a guarantee of going to heaven. Many people also want to not have to earn their way to heaven. But if any or all of this is not true then what they want is not what they are going to get and I do see a danger in this.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

They escaped Christianity

That part especially moved me. Thats what it really feels like, that you escaped it. And instead of asking why, these Christians go on about how you never really had true faith and your own fault for falling into sin, and urge us to come back, all so they can feel better about themselves the next time they produce a damaged adult because they the traumatized and abused the adult as a child.

 

[osgart]

It is going to take me logical proof to lift me out of atheism.

I think the KCA argument is actually proof that some powerful eternal reality exists outside of our finite universe, but it most certainly isnt a God as of yet.

Life to me is evidence of a natural haphazard intelligence that is eternal.

I cannot make the giant leap to Supreme God though! And Christianity, Islam, and Judaism is far from rational.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I really wish I had never known God and religion. So I'm hoping the fact I have suffered because of him, gets me a good spot in an afterlife, but I doubt it.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

But if any or all of this is not true then what they want is not what they are going to get and I do see a danger in this.

I had a thought today, with the idea that "we killed christ," and I got to thinking, those who did the actual beatings and killing, they didnt do it because they had to and it was entrusted to them as a divine duty like Judas, it was all people who wanted to hurry up and slaughter the lamb to get that Messiah bit over with to save their own hides.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I really wish I had never known God and religion. So I'm hoping the fact I have suffered because of him, gets me a good spot in an afterlife, but I doubt it.

Theres a few members here do believe god takes such things into consideration (they arent numerous and often not popular with more mainstream Christians, but a god who hears things out and realizes some of the people who worship him are terrible people makes more sense than a god who runs strictly by rules chisseled in stone).

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

And while I'm sure my posts will be used against me later on this matter, sometimes the tears do seep out.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

There was a recent study saying that some people were developing bone spurs on their head from looking down at electronic devices too much. It's a bad enough subject as it is. But my mom, for some reason, thinks that God is punishing society for LGBTQ+ by having them evolve to develop devil horns on like the back of their head as punishment, even though she doesn't believe in evolution. Do I get upset with her, or just get upset at the Christian show that led her to believe that this was anything but a medical issue (if the reported news was even true)?

 

[Trailblazer]

That part especially moved me. Thats what it really feels like, that you escaped it. And instead of asking why, these Christians go on about how you never really had true faith and your own fault for falling into sin, and urge us to come back, all so they can feel better about themselves the next time they produce a damaged adult because they the traumatized and abused the adult as a child.

What can I say? This is what my atheist friends keep telling me, they escaped Christianity, but some of them now believe that there is probably a God, after posting to me for several years.... It took that long to undo the damage that Christianity did, and they are not even fully recovered yet... They say God probably exists, but not the God of the Bible.

I can only imagine what it would be like to be caught in that yoke, because I was not raised as a Christian so I was never a Christian... but it sounds really painful. That is why I do not mind listening to them talk about it, over and over. Maybe that trauma never really goes way, kind of like PTSD.

 

[Trailblazer]

I really wish I had never known God and religion. So I'm hoping the fact I have suffered because of him, gets me a good spot in an afterlife, but I doubt it.

So that is what Christianity did to you? It did it to lots of people. I believe that God knows your plight because God is All-Knowing and that God cares because God is truly compassionate. Then again, I never believed in the Bible God.

When will all this end, how many people have to become atheists before the Christians understand what they are doing?

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I even wish there weren't so many religions. Sometimes I can't tell whether I'm an atheist, a Progressive Christian, or a Panentheist. Depends on how convicted I feel that day.

Only some things are more sure for me. That I support LGBTQ+ and am left-leaning politically.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

(if the reported news was even true)?

Might be as its been an acknowlwedged problem among those who read a lot.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I even wish there weren't so many religions. Sometimes I can't tell whether I'm an atheist, a Progressive Christian, or a Panentheist. Depends on how convicted I feel that day.

Sir, do you have time to talk about our savior of no labels?

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

Sir, do you have time to talk about our savior of no labels?

I'm not sure who you mean. Do you mean you?

 

[Trailblazer]

It is going to take me logical proof to lift me out of atheism.

That is as it should be... Nobody should believe in God based upon emotion, but rather upon reason.
That is why God gave us a rational mind.

I think the KCA argument is actually proof that some powerful eternal reality exists outside of our finite universe, but it most certainly isnt a God as of yet.

What is that argument?

Life to me is evidence of a natural haphazard intelligence that is eternal.

I cannot make the giant leap to Supreme God though! And Christianity, Islam, and Judaism is far from rational.

I cannot see those religions as they are practiced as rational either. Their scriptures contain the eternal spiritual truths but the way they have been interpreted distorted that truth for the religions...

I can only believe in God because of what the Bab and Baha'u'llah wrote about God, as it makes logical sense to me... Nothing mushy and gushy for me, I have no real loving feelings towards God, as this Earth he created is not something I am too fond of... but I am compelled to believe in God because it makes sense that God exists and that God is as Baha'u'llah portrayed Him, lock, stock and barrel...

 

[lukethethird]

Atheist becomes a Christian after 40 years
Probably one of those new age atheists.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I can only imagine what it would be like to be caught in that yoke, because I was not raised as a Christian so I was never a Christian.

I probably cant say anything you havemt heard before (such as having periods of hatred amd resentment towards the Church and Christians following thier escape). Really, I do wish more people would listen because Richard Dawkins is one of the main spokes people of the damage the church can do to people, and he does tend to come off as stand offish towards religion in general and not reflecting everyone who has escaped Christianity (myself, for example, am not an atheist but believe nothing specific because I truly dont know what to believe). This really doesnt help because it gives weight to the claim ex-Christians are god hating atheists.