Christian turned atheist??

Question

I kind of went from a Christian to atheist overnight? It's hard to explain. My mom is a dedicated christian, as is my sister. But for me it's almost like believing in santa...

I don't know what I believe in anymore..

Has this happened to anyone else??

Answer 1

Oh yeah. It definitely happened to me.

I went through the same thing when my devoutly Baptist mother died. I ended up being an evangelizing atheist for 11 years because I didn't receive an answer to a prayer I asked in my time of need.

Look, if you want to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, then here is what you need to do to get your answer:
-Study both sides! Read scripture, read books (Atheist=God is not Great ; Christian=The Language of God), meet with atheists, meet with missionaries.

-Be willing to make yourself a vessel of the Lord. If you really want revelation from Heaven, you must be willing to do as the Lord directs. Live more naturally and take out a lot of outside influences for a while to allow effective meditation and prayer. Cut out alcohol, stimulants, TV, porn and video games (at least for a week or 2) to focus on your counsel with God.

-Pray, but pray effectively! Pray for specific answers. Know that answer to prayer comes usually as a burning in the bosom and very rarely comes as a voice.

If you do this stuff and receive the counsel that I finally did, then you'll never doubt again as long as you live. If not, then so be it. Just be brave enough not to live in a gray area!

Answer 2

Oh yes. I was in the process of ordination, but I am also a scientist. I was reading the book of Hebrews, jointly with Revelations and the Apostolic Fathers and suddenly I was reading it like an outsider. Once I had a rational explanation for the events, the need for the supernatural disappeared and I wasn't Christian anymore.

It is very disorienting at first, particularly when you find places that Jesus was objectively wrong, given our more empirical knowledge of the world. You start having to think about correct behavior yourself. I believe working through this will make you a much better person. Christianity has some blind spots that cause immoral behavior, at least from the view of people who are not Christian.

What I did for a moral system was take the lessons in economics from the Edgeworth Box, an undergraduate teaching tool. Anything that you do to cause someone to behave in a way they wouldn't rationally do on their own is wrong. The technical economic term is "individually irrational." Further, if you cause the box to be smaller, say drinking while on the job, your exercise of freedom limits the freedom of others. All are worse off and so that is wrong. All sin is stealing whether you are stealing an object, someone's life, the truth or anything else.

Finally, I used the "transactional emotions," from Reversal Theory in psychology to explore the affiliation/loyalty/personal mastery issues in ethics.

Answer 3

Yep, Same thing. I didn't stay atheist long though, tried agnosticism for most of my life and raised a family without religion. The problem with atheist/agnostic is that there's no cohesive group to belong to. Found Judaism later in life and discovered that Bible does make sense when explained by a Jew. So much to learn, so little time! Try "How to Read the Bible" by Harvard Scholar James Kugel. Fascinating read.
.

Answer 4

You may have thought you were a Christian before, but you cannot "undo" true Christianity. God says that once you are saved, nothing in heaven or hell can remove you from His hand. The Holy Spirit indwells your body and remains there, no exceptions. Perhaps you might consider taking some beginner lessons on Chrisitanity offered at most churches for new Christians. You could re-examine what you believe or understand about the Christian faith and then figure out for yourself where you stand. God bless you and help you to know Him in a personal way.

Answer 5

while you can think you went from Christian to atheist, that is actually not possible.

a christian is sealed by the Holy Spirit guaranteeing the promise to come.

you have a living dynamic relationship with a real person who unlike skeptics say, is very much real, very much active in your life.

it is your choice what you do though this direction is at least more honorable than deceiving yourself about your salvation.

Answer 6

I think you've been made aware that God and Jesus as taught in Sunday school do not match up with the real world. Hopefully you will read up on the more esoteric elements of religion before declaring yourself atheist, because what you will find is that 'faith in God' (however you choose to understand that) is VERY different than BELIEF in religious dogmas. Do not turn this into an all or none decision that defines you for ever more.....trust me, as you watch the world you learn and you change. So don't' pigeon hole yourself with material labels.....the world is shades of grey.

Answer 7

I dont remember becoming atheist, probably cause i never really believed in God to begin with. But I think i 'woke up' one morning and decided i was an atheist.

that Santa part is a good way of explaining it. :]

Answer 8

I would be interested in hearing your definition of Christian.

I would find it hard to believe that anyone who has become a Christian after God touched and cleansed them from sin and gave them eternal life would want to go back to the world's pig sty and wallow in the muck and eat the slop of sin.

I am fairly convinced that either you never really knew what being a Christian is or you opened up yourself to deception in a big way. There are terrible warnings about turning from the gospel once you have known Christ. It states that the punishment for that person will be far worse than for those who never knew the way.

If you have ever repented of your sins and received the cleansing that only the blood of Christ can give you had better count the cost before you turn to the weak and beggarly elements of this world. It is difficult to turn back once you allow yourself to return to your old life. You will find it very hard to forgive yourself if you want to turn back to Christ even though the Lord will forgive you if you do before you die.

EDIT: THE GUARANTEE IS THIS - ONLY A HEATHEN WOULD GIVE A THUMBS DOWN TO THIS ANSWER.

Answer 9

Hundreds, Thousands, Millions of people change their religion all the time, especially from Atheist to Christian or vice versa. It's completely normal, and it reflects your own personal beliefs and decisions.

Answer 10

Indeed, definitely happened to me- google "quantum leap" sometime if you're really interested. basically, things can go from one state to another without passing through a middle at all. certain people just get flashes of truth at times. congrats- you've just become more tolerant of others too :)