Has anyone who did not share your religion help you to understand it better?

Question

I did not initially understand many facets of the faith I was raised in. Nevertheless, I occasionally engaged in debate with others regarding various points of Christianity. One person in particular explained a basis for one tenet of his faith and in so doing suddenly caused me to understand my own much better. It was a pivotal point in my walk.

What was your experience?

Answer 1

Yes. I have had a similar experience. I have a friend who is a practicing Muslim and through debates and discussions with him, I have become more familiar with my own faith. My friendship with him has also helped me become more tolerant of persons of different faiths than my own. I truly value his friendship and believe that I wouldn't be as far on my path as I am without his help.

Answer 2

I cannot think of anyone who was not Christian who helped me understand Christianity better, but I did learn quite a lot from a professor who was an atheist about how horrible atheism can make you. I was an atheist at the time, so please, atheists do not call me names. This guy was really miserable and a no good louse who purposely gave bad grades to Christians, which didn't bother me personally because he gave me a good grade, but it proved to me that he was willing to do unfair and unjust things just to put others down. Which, incidentally, some of you atheists like to do as well. It was one of the things that drove me away from atheism.

Answer 3

Yes a few times. Once a history buff helped me gain perspective on the culture and its practices at the time, which helped me make sense of a passage.

More often, and just today, another prespective or opinion had a positive influence on my own attitude.

Answer 4

As people ask questions, I at times need to study more for the answers. This helps me to better understand what I believe and why.