Can anyone here honestly say that reading the answer to a question has changed the way they believe?

Question

For instance if you once considered yourself an athiest to become a Christian or vice-versa. Be serious, if we're not helping each other understand then we are all wasting our time.

Answer 1

no no one could change my mind about god, i believe in him and i always will.
and no homosexual will get me to change my mind about that either. they are so desperate to get people to accept their homosexual lifestyle. and it just ain't happening.

Answer 2

That would be a gigantic change in belief, and such things essentially never happen in any realm. But I do think that there's a reasonable chance that smaller belief changes can happen as a result of good answers to some of these questions, and that those changes may have an important long-term impact.

For one important (to me...) example, I think that someone who has not heard some of the bad creationist arguments before might be dissuaded from parroting them after seeing them answered effectively on an internet forum. Someone recently asked the old "if we came from apes why are there still apes?" question. I hope that people reading that one come away aware of the inanity of that question, and perhaps that as a result they will not make fools of themselves by repeating it.

Out in the real world, _something_ causes numerous Christians to become atheists (and on rare occasions, cause atheists to become Christian). I don't know if it's ever reasoned argument that does it, but something does.

Answer 3

No. But I don't think the purpose of answering the questions posed here is to get people to change their minds so much as to share ideas. I don't care if people don't think like me...other people are not me and are therefore entitled to their own opinions, especially if their lives prove them out. BUT, I have noticed that the things I know as fact are confirmed or put into a slightly more accurate context, and I guess ultimately, that's the real benefit of a forum such as this.

I have also noticed that we have a long way to go as far as fostering understanding between people of radically different backgrounds, faiths, and experiences...but at least some of us now have a tally of what needs fixing and what ain't broke.

Answer 4

When I heard about The Flying Spaghetti Monster I researched and decided to convert. I am now a Pastafarian.

Answer 5

Through reading questions and answers to questions I have asked on here, Christianity has become all the more absurd and wacked out in my eyes.

Answer 6

Sure , sometimes I have to read something in order to answer a question.Moreover I am trying to improve my second language which is English.so I have found it very helpfull.

Answer 7

It has helped change my thinking but not my faith. I have been pleasantly surprised by some and changed how I look or think about another faith or lack of it but nothing I have found can change my mind about Catholicism.

Answer 8

Well not really. It makes you think a little harder and explore your own convictions a little..well some of them.. ok a few...

Answer 9

Well no, but then I wouldn't expect that to happen, because I'm right already.

Answer 10

“And remember Allah took a covenant form the people of the Book to make it known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it…” (Qur’an 3:187)

“The believing men and women are each other’s protectors; they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.” While, “the hypocrite men and women are each other’s protectors, they enjoin what is wrong and forbid what is right.” (9:71)

“Say (O Muhammad) this is my way I do invite unto Allah, on evidence clear as the seeing with one’s eyes, - I and whoever follows me. Glory to Allah! And never will I be of those who associate partners to Allah.” (Al-Qur’an 12:108)

“O you who believe! You are responsible for your own souls. The misguided one will not harm you if you are guided on the right path.” (5:105)

read this real story:

After Seeing Deedat-Swaggart Debate, Mr Kenneth L. Jenkins, a US Former Minister, Became Muslim



As a young boy I was raised with a deep fear of God. Having been partially raised by a grandmother who was a Pentecostal fundamentalist, the church became an integral part of my life at a very early age. By the time I had reached the age of six, I knew all too well the benefits awaiting me in Heaven for being a good little boy and the punishment awaiting in Hell for little boys who are naughty. I was taught by my grandmother that all liars were doomed to go to the Hellfire, where they would burn forever and ever.

My mother worked two full-time jobs and continued to remind me of the teachings given to me by her mother. My younger brother and older sister did not seem to take our grandmother's warnings of the Hereafter as seriously as I did. I recall seeing the full moon when it would take on a deep reddish hue, and I would begin to weep because I was taught that one of the signs of the end of the world would be that the moon would become red like blood. As an eight-year old child I began to develop such a fear at what I thought were signs in the heavens and on earth of Doomsday that I actually had nightmares of what the Day of Judgement would be like.

Every Sunday we would go to church dressed in all of our finery. My grandfather was our means of transportation. Church would last for what seemed to me like hours. We would arrive at around eleven in the morning and not leave until sometimes three in the afternoon. I remember falling asleep in my grandmother's lap on many occasions. For a time my brother and I were permitted to leave church in between the conclusion of Sunday school and morning worship service to sit with our grandfather at the railway yard and watch the trains pass.

At age sixteen I began attending the church of a friend whose father was the pastor. This went on for only several months before the church closed down. After graduating from high school and entering the university I rediscovered my religious commitment and became fully immersed in Pentecostal teachings. I was baptized and "filled with the Holy Ghost," as the experience was then called. As a college student, I quickly became the pride of the church. Everyone had high hopes for me, and I was happy to once again be "on the road to salvation. "

I attended church every time its doors would open. I studied the Bible for days and weeks at a time. I attended lectures given by the Christian scholars of my day, and I acknowledged my call to the ministry at the age of 20. I began preaching and became well known very quickly. I was extremely dogmatic and believed that no one could receive salvation unless they were of my church group. I categorically condemned everyone who had not come to know God the way I had come to know Him.

Welcome to the Real Church World

I soon discovered that there was a great deal of jealousy prevalent in the ministerial hierarchy. Things had changed from that to which I was accustomed. Women wore clothing that I thought was shameful. People dressed in order to attract attention, usually from the opposite sex. I discovered just how great a part money and greed play in the operation of church activities. There were many small churches struggling, and they called upon us to hold meetings to help raise money for them.

I was told that if a church did not have a certain number of members, then I was not to waste my time preaching there because I would not receive ample financial compensation. I then explained that I was not in it for the money and that I would preach even if there was only one member present... and I'd do it for free! This caused a disturbance. I started questioning those whom I thought had wisdom, only to find that they had been putting on a show. I learned that money, power and position were more important than teaching the truth about the Bible.

Cases of adultery and fornication went unpunished. Some preachers were hooked on drugs and had destroyed their lives and the lives of their families. Leaders of some churches were found to be homosexuals. There were pastors even guilty of committing adultery with the young daughters of other church members. All of this coupled with a failure to receive answers to what I thought were valid questions was enough to make me seek a change. That change came when I accepted a job in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

A New Beginning

It was not long after arriving in Saudi Arabia that I saw an immediate difference in the life style of the Muslim people. They were different from the followers of Elijah Muhammad and Minister Louis Farrakhan in that they were of all nationalities, colors and languages. I immediately expressed a desire to learn more about this peculiar brand of religion. I was amazed with the life of Prophet Muhammad and wanted to know more. I requested books from one of the brothers who was active in calling people to Islam.

I was supplied with all of the books that I could possibly want. I read each and every one. I was then given the Holy Qur'an and read it completely several times within four months. I asked question after question and received satisfactory answers. What appealed to me was that the brothers were not keen on impressing me with their knowledge. If a brother did not know how to answer a question, he would tell me that he simply did not know and would have to check with someone who did. The next day he would always bring the answer. I noticed how humility played such a great role in the lives of these mysterious people of the Middle East.

I was amazed to see the women covering themselves from face to foot. I did not see any religious hierarchy. No one was competing for any religious position. All of this was wonderful, but how could I entertain the thought of abandoning a teaching that had followed me since childhood? What about the Bible? I knew that there is some truth in it even though it had been changed and revised countless numbers of times. I was then given a videocassette of a debate between Shaykh Ahmed Deedat and Reverend Jimmy Swaggart. After seeing the debate I immediately became a Muslim.

I was taken to the office of Shaykh 'Abdullah bin 'Abdul-'Azeez bin Baz to officially declare my acceptance of Islam. It was there that I was given sound advice on how to prepare myself for the long journey ahead. It was truly a birth from darkness into light. I wondered what my peers from the Church would think when they heard that I had embraced Islam.

It was not long before I found out. I went back to the United States for vacation and was severely criticized for my "lack of faith." I was stamped with many labels - from renegade to reprobate. People were told by so-called church leaders not to even remember me in prayer. As strange as it may seem, I was not bothered in the least. I was so happy that Almighty God, Allah, had chosen to guide me aright that nothing else mattered.

Now I only wanted to become as dedicated a Muslim as I was a Christian. This, of course, meant study. I realized that a person could grow as much as they wanted to in Islam. There is no monopoly of knowledge - it is free to all who wish to avail themselves of the opportunities to learn. I was given a set of Saheeh Muslim as a gift from my Qur'an teacher. It was then that I realized the need to learn about the life, sayings and practices of Prophet Muhammad.

I read and studied as many of the hadith collections available in English as possible. I realized that my knowledge of the Bible was an asset that is now quite useful in dealing with those of Christian backgrounds. Life for me has taken on an entirely new meaning. One of the most profound attitude changes is a result of knowing that this life must actually be spent in preparation for life in the Hereafter.