Any former Christians that converted to Atheism?

Question

Just wanna know if it's common or not.

You don't have to post all these links and deconverting sites because following this path is far my mind. It's just a good friend of mine was Christian and started hanging around with other people. She doesn't admit to being an atheist but she is starting to question why she is Christian. I think she has been influenced some how by these other people. I just thought once someone was Christian, they would always be Christian, thats all. But I guess not.

Answer 1

I am a reformed Minister, I was a christian for almost 19 years. So I know how it feels to argue with Atheists and try so hard to justify my beliefs, But after I really tried to see their point of view and educate myself in all aspects of science and history and archeology then I realized that Christianity has as much substance as Greek mythology or the old gods of the Ancient Egyptians. It just gets really frustrating that people can overlook so much evidence and just keep pretending insane things like " the devil put dinosaur bones on earth to confuse mankind." I swear I have heard that one before.

Answer 2

Yup! Former Lutheran, now atheist. Don't know how common it is, but I seem to come across more former religious people that are now atheists than those who have been so all their lives.

Won't get any deconverting sites from me, heh, doesn't pertain to your question and I'm not that kind of atheist anyways. Had too many believers aggressively and meanly trying to convert me(no, not every believer has done this, just the majority that have tried to convert me, were unfortunately not very nice about it), so I'm not going to do it back.

But as far as the once Christian, always Christian thing, I've never really heard that before, not like that anyways. I've heard a couple of people on here say something to the effect of "once saved, always saved", but it's not something I grew up hearing when I was still Lutheran.

I suppose it doesn't matter either way, heh, I don't believe it at any rate. Don't even believe in the whole salvation thing to begin with. Hard to believe a person can be saved when it always came across to me that you could get saved, yet still end up burning forever for being human and making human mistakes. *shrug* Ah well, to each their own.

Answer 3

Yes, after many years of taking Christianity very seriously. (Up to training bible study leaders and evangelism teams). It was in studying the bible and the history of the church in order to be sure of what I could rightly teach others that I became slowly convinced that at its core Christianity was not what it claimed to be. I investigated the theology of other churches and modes of interpretation. I prayed, with tears on occasion. All in trying to find a version of the faith I could believe.

It was no light decision, but I am now an atheist.

And an ironical "Thank you" to David T for assuming my motivation. Selfish? It was the most costly personal choice I have ever made. If I was being selfish I would have stayed where I was and simply lied.

Answer 4

Left Christianity in early 20s, flirted with atheism and became agnostic leaning toward reincarnation. Found Judaism many years later and am now a Jew-by-Choice.

L'shalom
.

Answer 5

I think it happens but usually its because people feel they cant ask questions, or they get angry at God and think "How can God exist and let all these bad things happen" I think its very common for everyone to feel like this at some point, and also I believe at some point every Atheist thinks "what if there IS a God?" I dont think there is anyone who has been a hardcore believer since day 1 with never any doubt, and I dont think there is an Atheist who has never wondered if there really might be a God. What happens after these thoughts is where things change.

Answer 6

Yes, I am another ex-Christian. I figured out in my teens that what I was being taught didn't make sense. It took a lot of time to fully recover from the indoctrination. I'm so happy that I'm now free of that delusion and can live this one life I have free of guilt, bigotry & ignorance.

Answer 7

Yes. When I was younger I attended church weekly, prayed almost every day, and felt that I was actually in direct contact with God. I was more religious than my parents, which is very rare.

But then I made a crucial error: I sat down and actually read the whole Bible, cover to cover. By the time I was finished, I was no longer a Christian. My rational mind could not tolerate the contradictions, scientific inaccuracies, and simply absurd statements (God, for example, is weaker than iron chariots, Judges 1:18-19).

So I went online looking for answers to my doubts, but instead I found the next worse thing to the Bible itself: the history of the Bible. So much political scheming, manipulation, and so on, for the Bible to possibly be authentic. How could it be the word of God if human hands have done so much to it? It can't. It's a book of laws and fairy tales from an ancient, Middle Eastern tribe of farmers and peasants who stole most of their stories from older pagan sources. The original Semites were polytheistic. The story of the pagan god Mithra contains Mithra's miraculous birth of a virgin, his miracles including walking on water, his execution by the government, and his resurrection three days later. And so on.

I drifted to Eastern religions, Islam, the Thelema cult, whatever. Now I am an atheist, and now I am much happier than I ever was as a Christian.

Answer 8

Yes, although convert isn't the right word. More like "drifted slowly away from Christianity" from my teens to early 20s. For a great story of another person with that kind of conversion, (later in life,) check out Julia Sweeney's "Letting Go of God" on CD.

Answer 9

I did. i pass to a brainwashing Catholic college, yet i all started coming near Yahoo! solutions some 365 days in the past. i became into fairly interested in the religion & Spirituality area, because of the fact it made me question what i assumed and what i became into being taught. It puzzled my faith lots, yet i became into scared to end calling myself a Christian, because of the fact like maximum, i became into brainwashed into being petrified of spending eternity in hell, if i did not have confidence. i don't understand what the precise turning element became into, yet i'm an Atheist now. Questions and solutions in Yahoo! solutions, actual contributed to that. I haven't any doubts in what i've got confidence anymore, which purely happens to be that a god isn't real. i don't concern existence and loss of existence anymore, that's variety of a extensive burden has been lifted off my shoulders. I nonetheless pass to that school, yet purely take what they say with a pinch of salt now. i'm lots happier now, that i don't could stay my existence, fearing a magic sky fairy. i'm loose. i'm loose to stay my existence the way i choose. I nonetheless have morals and standards, in all likelihood greater now than I did as a Christian, because of the fact i understand i'm the only one that could forgive myself. I could answer for my own strikes, somewhat of believing that as long as I pray, all would be forgiven. It scares me to think of that i assumed in a faith that became into meant to be approximately love, basically out of outrage of what might happen if i did not. It made me know faith isn't surely approximately love in any respect, yet approximately controlling the masses. i like existence lots greater, because of the fact that I grew to grow to be an atheist too, because of the fact I know you basically have one and could income on it. the terrific element is purely being waiting to stay, somewhat of making waiting for an eternity that's on no account going to happen.

Answer 10

You can't be a TRUE Christian and become atheist. You can study Christianity and choose to turn away. Once your a Christian you don't want to go backwards. Once you are truly saved you can't undo it. The people that say so are not truthful. That one that has switched religions forty times is so confused and still seems to struggle spiritually. It's not worth it to drift from religion to religion. Either you believe what the Bible says or not. Either you believe that Jesus saved you from your sins or you don't. Good luck.