Any ex-atheists out there?

Question

Have you found god? What event in your life made you need religion? In what way were you an Atheist, in the first place? Were you brought up in a religion but lost your faith?

So far, those of you who have answered have found god whilst looking for help with personel problems. I thank you for your honesty and am pleased that you have found help, but didn't that help come from the people taking the time to listen to you? Being brought up 'non-religious' and being brought up as an Atheist are two completely different things. I was brought up in a loving family where religious beliefs were discussed constantly. My parents were both Atheist and remained so all through their lives. My brother, sister, and I have remained so too, as have all our own children. We have all had to deal with many problems. Our spouses, all believers, or who had been brought up as non-worshipping believers, have not coped as well and have, whenever faced with problems, returned to their childhood endoctrines for help.

Can I ask the question again with an emphasis on an Atheist childhood as apposed to a non-religious childhood?

Answer 1

i used to be an atheist, but when in college i enjoyed studying religions and philosophies. in my youth i assumed the christian God and bible where the only concepts out there. i realized by becoming an atheist i had simply exchanged one set of beliefs for another and began to seek the truth

Answer 2

I wasn't raised in any faith, never taken to church. I was invited to a friend's baptism and whilst there I just 'felt' God was there, and when I heard the pastor ask if anyone wanted to be blessed by Jesus, I raised my hand and was instantly baptised in the Holy Spirit. This was a beautiful experience, and no I wasn't brainwashed, I had laughed at my Christian friends beliefs up to that point, and I had never heard of baptism of the Spirit. In fact, I didn't know that's what had happened until a while later, weeks later.I was also healed of depression at that moment. After that I was a firm believer in Christ but I still needed convincing that the Bible was trustworthy and true, so I did the alpha course, read a lot about other faiths, and sought the truth for myself. Not easy, living with a husband who had been a Christian and given up his faith. Now I trust Jesus and the Bible, as someone who would never just accept what anyone else says I should believe.

Answer 3

My parents were atheists but did not force their views upon me, in fact the subject did not come up very often. However the question of the origin of existence has always fascinated me. I do not follow any Orthodox religion I find they are all too glib, dogmatic and anthropocentric. Bible bashers give me a headache. However having looked into science and philosophy and having had many instinctual moments of a different nature myself , I find I tend towards the idea of an intelligent hierarchy of which we humans are only on the first few rungs at present.

Answer 4

I was atheist in that I was very scientific and I had a hard time fitting in a "supreme being" until I had a good friend help me out. The only person to show me a way of looking at the world, so to speak, was my high school science teacher who is an atheist. I didn't decide I needed religion until everyone kept giving me options with how to deal with my depression and the "easiest" was also the most common suggestion--the Gospel. So I found God.

Answer 5

I was brought up in an Atheist home and was completely, and I mean completely Atheistic myself.

One day at Uni, I stumbled across the CU having their meeting as a picnic outside and stayed to listen for a couple of minutes.

What they were talking about made me pretty uncomfortable so I went to the front of the group and said "look you guys, there is no such person as God. He is a made up figment of your imaginations to make you feel better."

Then I looked up at the sky and said. "God, if you exist, strike me dead."

Nothing happened. I was still alive.

Then a guy about my own age stood up and came to stand next to me. He said "Yes, our God is a God of judgement but he is also a God of compassion. If a five year old boy told me to beat him up, would I do it? No. Not because I couldn't but because I wouldn't want to."

Then, as I had done, he looked to the sky and said. "God, I am ready to be with you. If it will help this girl believe, then strike me dead instead."

Two seconds later he was dead at my feet. The autopsy results gave no apparent cause of death.

To this day I believe in God with all my heart, not just because God struck someone dead but because that guy was so confident in his beliefs that he was not afraid to die. Brainwashed, you say? He was a post graduate with an honours degree in physics. He knew what he was talking about.

After what he did, how could I not believe?

Answer 6

I hold my hand up to that.
No religious upbringing or bible training until I turned 5o.
The a J.W. brother pointed out just what the Bible really teaches.
How it is scientifically accurate, but not a textbook.
How Almighty God has a personal name...YHWH/ Jehovah.
And how the world's religions have been hijacked by tradition.
I could go on, but you see my point.

Answer 7

I was brought up Christian but became one of the angriest, pot headiest drunkest teenagers ever so, like most rebels I rebelled against God and told myself He didn't exist. I'm not sure I really believed that. I'm not sure anyone can really ever. After my life was crap for too long and I needed help I prayed to "God" in general not the Christian God but after much reading and research I found it to be the Truth.

Answer 8

when i felt my life was in hell when i lost my first ex girlfrind to a marryed man i feel my soul died. so i called out for jesus.