So if there's no such thing as a "former" Christian...?

Question

A frequent comment here is that it's not possible to be a Christian and then NOT be a Christian (ie., people like me who were Christian and then became atheists).

I, for one (and I know MANY other atheists share this experience), believed as strongly in Christ as anyone. I wanted to be a Christian, to have a relationship with Christ, to be filled with the Holy Spirit...I wanted it so bad I could taste it. I read the Bible...I prayed...I listened for that small, still voice. I felt what I believed to be the presence of Christ, of the holy spirit, etc.

Yet now, I am not a Christian. I am an atheist.

According to many people here, I was never a "real" Christian, based on the fact that I am now an atheist. I wasn't doing it right, I didn't open my heart, I didn't open my mind...but at the time, I absolutely did.

So...if I wasn't "really" a Christian at that point, in spite of being absolutely certain that I was...how do you know YOU are a "real" Christian?

Captain Atheism -- EXACTLY. My journey from Christian to atheist was probably one of the most excruciating, frightening things I have ever endured. I wanted to be a Christian...and I did NOT want to be an atheist.

The moment I accepted that I was an atheist was incredibly liberating...but the journey to that moment was nothing short of a nightmare.

gary7infiltrator is right on the money with this one!!!

Answer 1

I think it's interesting that so many of the Christians in this thread aren't addressing your question at all. In fact, they're telling you exactly what you've said they always tell you. New material, please, Christians.

The few that are addressing your question are just touching on it - not actually answering *your question*: How do YOU know that you ARE a REAL Christian?

Madmax says:

"Because Christ gave me a new heart and spirit, hence the term born again.

Once a person truly is saved by the living God, there is no way his faith will leave him.

He is a new creature, the old one is dead and buried in baptism"

So you say. I was a born-again Christian. I believed with all my heart that he had given me a new heart and spirit. I didn't *want* to have a relationship with Christ - I was *certain* that I did - unshakably. I felt the Holy Spirit all the time. I was baptized. I truly, deeply believed that there was NO WAY my faith would EVER leave me.

Now I'm an atheist.

How arrogant of you and the rest to say that I never had a true or correct experience of Christianity, when from what I can tell, it was *precisely* the same as your experience. You have NO CLUE what others experience, so for you to make the snap judgment that beause they've grown beyond religious belief, they were somehow not really doing it right or were never faithful enough. Arrogant and sickening - get off your high horse, all of you. I was every inch as devoted and assured a born-again, saved Christian as you are.

Of course, I do understand why you have to retaliate against former Christians by telling them they were never REAL Christians, that if they'd had a TRUE experience with Christianity they never, ever, ever would have changed. I understand that it scares you to death that if it could happen to me, it can happen to you, too.

Don't be afraid. It's better on this side.

PTK says:

"You commited blasphomy (sp?) which is what a real christian wouldn't do. I do not know that i am a real christian, i only try"

If you're not sure you're a real Christian, then why are you qualified to state what a real Christian would or would not do? And how are you certain that War Games committed blasphemy? You have no idea whether she denied the holy spirit - you are just assuming she did, because you think you know how everybody thinks, feels, and behaves.

pigseatapples says:

"One cannot be born again as Jesus stated in his discussion with Nicodemus and then be unborn."

Then explain me.

Captain Atheism says:

"If I wasn't a true believer, losing my faith should have been as easy as switching off a light, and one would think I would have laughed it off and simply said "good riddance, god!"

The fact that I became an atheist, despite my best attempts not to do so, should tell anyone that I was in fact, a "true" Christian.

If I wasn't a god-fearing Christian, then no such thing exists."

RIGHT ON. This is just like the experience I had. The people who would brush off those like us are infuriating because they have NO IDEA what it feels like to go through this.

Now, all of you Christians, go back and edit your answers and actually ANSWER THE QUESTION. How do you KNOW that you are a REAL Christian, and not a "fake Christian" like War Games, Captain Atheism, and me - a Christian who CAN become an atheist.

Answer 2

The traumatic experience of losing my faith, after studying the facts about history, science, and the bible, nearly drove me insane. It was one of the most frightening and humbling experiences of my life. If I wasn't a true believer, losing my faith should have been as easy as switching off a light, and one would think I would have laughed it off and simply said "good riddance, god!"

The fact that I became an atheist, despite my best attempts not to do so, should tell anyone that I was in fact, a "true" Christian.

If I wasn't a god-fearing Christian, then no such thing exists.

Answer 3

This is a difficult argument. Jesus says when he returns many people will shout out "Lord, Lord" and he will say "I never knew you." I take that to mean all the self-satisfied Christians who thought they could observe the rituals without ever following the commandments Jesus gave to love and respect others will be in for a rude shock.
The flip side of that is Jesus said "He who keeps my commandments believes in me." That is we honor him with our actions of love and service to others, whether we consider ourselves to be Christians or not.
This old argument of "get saved, get a free pass into heaven no matter what you do after that" or "Get baptised or communion, go to heaven" I think would have made Jesus sick, based on every word he said in the Gospels.
Long story short, I think a lot of people who think they are "saved" are less saved than they think, and I think a lot of people the standard church would reject will be accepted into the kingdom of heaven, just as Jesus embraced people rejected by the religious authorities of the time.

Answer 4

Of course you were a christian, if thats what you believed at the time. You probably werent planning on being an Atheist.

I used to be a Christian but now im Buddhist. So i was both. Doesnt mean i never was christian.

Answer 5

What an interesting question. I have to agree with you. I desperatly searched for Jesus and God and he simply never came. While I didn't end up atheist, I did leave Christianity. I suppose I was never a "real" Christian. I WANTED to believe. I think I should at least get an A for effort. But you realize, you are speaking who believe sexual orientation is a choice, they are sure as hel going to think faith is a choice.

Answer 6

well, i was a very devout Christian and yet i am a Christian no more. i suppose the Christians who claim that a real Christian can not lose faith and become a non-Christian simply can't conceive of becoming so self honest as to be forced by truth to renounce Christianity or they're terrified that losing their faith could happen to them and they imagine they'd go to the hell in which they so fervently believe. it does take a lot of courage to face the truth of ones self delusions if you've been conditioned all your life to believe you'll suffer eternal damnation if you do.

Answer 7

I'm not sure how to answer this except that for me personally although I rejected God (while still believing in God - I never doubted God's existence), I can tell he was always there all along and never left me. It's like I can only go so far before he pulls me back to him again. No matter how much info I hear/read contrary to the Christian faith, at some point I eventually come back to it. I was baptized & raised Catholic.

Answer 8

I was also a "real" Christian for many years. I believed it with all my heart and soul. I even went to college and studied Theology. Now I am a real Atheist

Answer 9

Simple - just look at the people calling themselves Christian on here - they are all absolutely terrified of atheists!!!

Why? Because their faith is so weak they are threatened by anyone who does not believe as they do!

These people actually prove that those who were Christian and left have seen sense!!!!

Answer 10

I'm a former christian, only I never believed strongly, I had my doubts from the time I was 12.