NOT A DEBATE THREAD
My journey has been different but follows a somewhat similar path. My parents were not strong atheist communists. For example, my parents went to Temple for weddings and funerals. So their atheism was not obvious but it was there. I did go to Hebrew school to learn about my ethnic heritage. A couple of things resonate for me. One is that my science background came into play as I was becoming open to the spiritual path. Another is that I don't see science and spirituality necessarily in opposition.
There are two articles of his published noted below. A book, "Science and Faith in Harmony" is forthcoming. I'm of course not a Christian but this is basically my view. There are a number of people on RF who draw a hard line and either post "science is wrong" diatribes or attack believers as people who refuse to face facts.
I was indoctrinated to despise Christians. Then I became one is the first. Dr. Garte gives a biographical answer to how someone raised as a atheist communist became a Christian.
What was it like growing up in a communist, atheist household in 1950s and 60s New York? At best, tricky. At worst, it was terrifying. Almost all the kids I knew were either Catholic - and so went to something called “mass” - or Jewish - and so went to “Hebrew school.” I didn’t know what either of those things were.
...
My scientific training led me to question my assumptions of rationalist materialism as the only path to truth, and I became curious about this thing called spirituality.
...
Thus, I began a long journey from the strictest atheism to agnosticism. And then onto a sort of hopeful theism. It took decades but I finally crossed a threshold (or was dragged over it by the Holy Spirit), and was baptised a Christian in my 60s.
...
I hated the people who bullied me. When a Christian told me to forgive, it made me angry. But God had a plan is the second.
I found myself targeted by my neighbours, and a nightmare of physical and emotional bullying began (and the subsequent fear that went with it) that lasted for over two years.
...
As I grew up, that fear turned to hatred and, one day, I fought back against my tormentors, allowing that hate to power my body into brutality.
I was never attacked again. But the hatred and bitterness of those days stayed with me. It became a defining part of my character. I was never afraid of anyone again, and I felt that those horrible experiences had given me a strength I had always craved.
Decades later, when I told this story to a Christian woman, she said something that at first surprised me, and then made me very angry. “You need to forgive them,” she said.
...
Then, for the first time in a long while, I began to cry. “I forgive them,” I said, and the world changed.
...
The legacy of rage and hatred was the first thing I let go of, and the world did turn for me. Later I would let go of other things, like my indoctrination into atheistic materialism, my distrust of religion, my refusal to accept the free gift of faith, and my belief that God’s love was something I did not deserve and could never know.
@Kenny you might enjoy this thread.
My journey has been different but follows a somewhat similar path. My parents were not strong atheist communists. For example, my parents went to Temple for weddings and funerals. So their atheism was not obvious but it was there. I did go to Hebrew school to learn about my ethnic heritage. A couple of things resonate for me. One is that my science background came into play as I was becoming open to the spiritual path. Another is that I don't see science and spirituality necessarily in opposition.
There are two articles of his published noted below. A book, "Science and Faith in Harmony" is forthcoming. I'm of course not a Christian but this is basically my view. There are a number of people on RF who draw a hard line and either post "science is wrong" diatribes or attack believers as people who refuse to face facts.
I was indoctrinated to despise Christians. Then I became one is the first. Dr. Garte gives a biographical answer to how someone raised as a atheist communist became a Christian.
What was it like growing up in a communist, atheist household in 1950s and 60s New York? At best, tricky. At worst, it was terrifying. Almost all the kids I knew were either Catholic - and so went to something called “mass” - or Jewish - and so went to “Hebrew school.” I didn’t know what either of those things were.
...
My scientific training led me to question my assumptions of rationalist materialism as the only path to truth, and I became curious about this thing called spirituality.
...
Thus, I began a long journey from the strictest atheism to agnosticism. And then onto a sort of hopeful theism. It took decades but I finally crossed a threshold (or was dragged over it by the Holy Spirit), and was baptised a Christian in my 60s.
...
I hated the people who bullied me. When a Christian told me to forgive, it made me angry. But God had a plan is the second.
I found myself targeted by my neighbours, and a nightmare of physical and emotional bullying began (and the subsequent fear that went with it) that lasted for over two years.
...
As I grew up, that fear turned to hatred and, one day, I fought back against my tormentors, allowing that hate to power my body into brutality.
I was never attacked again. But the hatred and bitterness of those days stayed with me. It became a defining part of my character. I was never afraid of anyone again, and I felt that those horrible experiences had given me a strength I had always craved.
Decades later, when I told this story to a Christian woman, she said something that at first surprised me, and then made me very angry. “You need to forgive them,” she said.
...
Then, for the first time in a long while, I began to cry. “I forgive them,” I said, and the world changed.
...
The legacy of rage and hatred was the first thing I let go of, and the world did turn for me. Later I would let go of other things, like my indoctrination into atheistic materialism, my distrust of religion, my refusal to accept the free gift of faith, and my belief that God’s love was something I did not deserve and could never know.
@Kenny you might enjoy this thread.