Have any christians turned atheist? respectful question please no flaming.?

Question

Just curious as I've seen many turn to christianity, but never heard any cases where people turn to atheism, or some other religion.
So i'm curious to see if that has happened and what made them do it?

And again it's a serious question please TREAT IT as one...for the sake of sides i'm not saying what I am so just answer the question for what it is.

Answer 1

oh wow, you've never heard of people leaving christianity for another faith or atheism? That happens all the time.

I was a die-hard christian for 20 years.. and I believed with all my heart that Jesus was God in the flesh, died for my sins and rose again on the third day. I believed in my heart and confessed with my mouth, just as the bible said. I read my bible every day.. 20 chapters, the proverb of the day and 5 Psalms.. faithfully.

In witnessing to a non-believing friend one day, he said to me, "If you can show me cave writings or extra-biblical stories of a god-man who died for his people and was resurrected, etc.. then I'll consider believing." His issue was with the idea that tribal people or those who lived before Jesus, who have never heard of Jesus would be condemned to hell. He also wanted proof outside biblical accounts of Jesus' existence.

So, off I went to prove him wrong..

In my exhaustive search to find historical evidence of Jesus' existence, and to reconcile things within the bible that were contradictory, I found the many god-man myths.. I found no historical evidence of Jesus' existence. I had always just assumed, like so many people do, that he existed. I always thought the question was, "Was he the Messiah?" I found the historical evidence of the pagan emperor Constantine who never actually had a conversion experience taking over the church for political gain.. I read about the horrors and atrocities committed in the name of Jesus upon millions of people throughout its young history. The "convert or die" mantra of the Inquisition and the Crusades.. needless to say I had a wake-up call. How could I reconcile the deeds of a church with the teachings of someone who, by all historical evidence, is a conglomerate of many pagan beliefs with some monotheism thrown in? There is a scripture that says "By their fruit you shall know them." If the fruit of this tree is war, hatred for those who are not like you, forced conversions, murder, rape, et al.. all based on fear of eternal torture, what is this that I am following?

I could not, in all good conscience, ignore what I had discovered.

I began to understand things from a different point of view, and earnestly searched for what I believed to be right for me and found it in the old ways of paganism. I highly respect the majority of atheists I know. They have done their own search and found what is right for them. Many of them have also come out of the church from a search similar to mine.
I actually understand christians from their point of view, and I don't try to "win" them away from their beliefs. I do, however, find it appalling when they insult others who have come out of christianity by saying there is no way we could've been real christians because we turned away from the faith (and oh yes, I know the scriptures concerning this quite well)

I know plenty of former christians who were just as faithful if not moreso than ones I've encountered in my post-christian days. Many of them, pagan, atheist, agnostic, spiritualist et al still behave more like Jesus was portrayed than those who scream at us that we're going to bust hell wide open for our non-belief.

Answer 2

Yes me. I was a xtian for many more yrs. than I have been an Atheist. I was a member of the Baptist church for several of my adult yrs. Then I heard about a religion that observed Sat. as the Sabbath instead of Sun. If I were still a believer I would be doing it that way. It was the closest to what is in the bible than any other that I found. However, I had an opportunity to be unemployed for a few years and during this time I read a lot of books about history, war, religion, philosophy and science. I learned what the holocaust, slavery and war was like for those who have gone through those things. I learned a lot about the cosmos and archeology. I came to the conclusion that no loving god could allow the atrocities that innocent people have had to endure and still are to this moment to happen. The scientific evidence has confirmed evolution for me as well as all that I learned about the cosmos. I am 52 and I have been an Atheist for about 5 yrs. It was for me an easy decision. Well not a decision really. It seemed that my heart and mind had no other choice. I will continue to be an Atheist with peace of mind.

Answer 3

YEs but it has always been obviously fake and sanctimonious love, since they all on further questioning maintain the belief that an all loving god, who cannot by definition be wrong, will torture me for eternity if I don't change my mind and agree with them. Since this is obviously impossible for an all-loving and all-powerful god, I conclude that either the god they worship is not really the way they claim he is and they are therefore mistaken enough to become no longer credible, or they are simply making it up and obviously still no longer credible.. EDIT for the dios el sempre poster: Which is worse - being pissed on in the face (unpleasant but not harmful let alone fatal. Some sexually adventurous types even like it although I'm not sure why) or being burned forever in eternal agony. Since you lot threaten us with that and have done for centuries (even burning some of us in real life to punctuate the sentence effectively) why are you too blind to see the rtaliation is the other way round from the way you claim, and that believers not only insult us but threaten us daily with far worse things than golden showers?

Answer 4

Yes, I did, about two years ago.

Why? I had been brought up as an anglican, indoctrinated from an early age, but when I went through a rough patch it opened my eyes about my religion and I saw it for what it was. That combined with studies in philosophy gave me the grounding i needed to finally let go of what I saw to be false. Turning atheistic can be initially scary since you're losing the comfort of a religion, a nice cosy afterlife and someone up in the sky who loves you. But the truth is more important than hollow lies.

Answer 5

Yes, I fit that category.
And (to react to earlier comments) I reject any insinuation or overt statement that in some way I did not understand or accept Christianity fully, or was in any way not a "real" Christian. (e-mail is open to take this up)
I became a Christian as an adult, not through any childhood habit or indoctrination. It was fifteen years later that I reluctantly concluded, through intense study prompted by my desire to know and practice Christianity properly, that at core Christianity was not what it claimed to be.
Study of the bible, its history, and church history, the implications of certain scientific findings...
Developing awareness of epistemology, and social dynamics... And more. The whole framework of thinking, feeling had to grow more and more contrived, forced, in order to hang together.
Amidst these difficulties, I discovered that of those I was close enough to approach confidentially (at the bible believing evangelical church I attended) about a third were not believers at all, but valued the community, the friendship and the belonging to the extent that they were prepared to do and say the "right things" even though they did not hold them as true, in order to stay.
I understand this, but it was not an option I could follow. So I left, though it cost me most of my friends, and all of my social life.

Answer 6

I was raised as a Presbyterian and read the bible and all that. My family wasn't crazy religious but believed in God. I however, at age ten while listening to my Sunday school classmates talk about Jonah and the whale as if it really happened realized that I didn't believe in God. I considered myself an athiest for years but have come to realization that I'm closer to being Shinto and Buddhist in my beliefs. I'm part Cherokee and respect for nature was a big part of my upbringing. Shintoism is not really a religion but more like nature/ancestor worship which I find to be very similar to Native American belief systems.

Answer 7

I am a Jw, I have read much of the atheists' post here, I might say most of them, if not all, knew the bible and what it says but they have been disillusioned by false teachings. To these I say that they are people who do not just believe what they are told. I am a writer, I research first before I write especially if what I write have topics that needs to tell out the truth. Atheists are better than people who believe without even thinking or really looking into it.

Some of the false teachings that made them disillusioned:

-Triune God
-Soul's immortality
-Hellfire

Answer 8

I am a catholic, Personally I see more people turning Agnostic vs. becoming atheistic.

Most of my friends fall in to that category. They still believe in a higher power, just not necessarily in the message one particular religion teaches.

I am sure a number do become Atheists for various reasons, but I haven't met any. Although I know one atheist who turned Agnostic.

Answer 9

Any atheist I have ever known including myself, my father and my brother were brought up Christian before they figured out that the concept of God or gods doesn't make any sense and became atheist.

Edit: And don't say we never were true Christians to start with. My father seriously thought about becoming a priest when he was a teenager.

Answer 10

I would presume there has been some just as there has been some atheists that has turned Christian. I know of some that has went back out into the world, But to me, this Christian life has been good enough that it has kept me for over 36 yrs. as a Christian, & I myself, have nothing to turn back to,

Answer 11

I have heard of chrstians turning their back on God because of hard times and I think it is sad. I have had hard times and have never turned my back on God. It is 4:26 Christmas morning and am scared for my grandaughter who is 22 months. The mother does not care about her but hte father under duress had to take the baby to be with mom for Christmas and the baby is going to be upset and confused. I just recently got the beby out of aq depression caused by the mother nd the baby does not like being around her. I am scared for her but I know I have to trust God to protect her right now. Everyone Merry Christmas