Atheists, try and be honest about it, if you had...............?

Question

an experience that made you change your mind and start believing in god, would you then try and convert the rest of us atheists.
concidering how you now feel about people trying to convince you fiction is fact, but also concidering that if you got turned to the dark side it would have to be something pretty impressive that did it, would you try and preach? even if you had no proof.

This is obviously hyperthetical (there is no god) but use your imagination, what would you do?

there have been some very good answers, its going to be hard choosing a best one, keep it up folks ;-)

Answer 1

Too many good answers already - I can't improve on them. Thank you for restoring my faith in my fellow human beings. So, instead, here's an old joke some of you might appreciate. Sorry in advance.
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The Atheist and the Bear

An atheist was walking through the woods.
"What majestic trees!" "What powerful rivers!" "What beautiful animals!" He said to himself.

As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly charge towards him.

He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing in on him.

He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.

At that instant the Atheist cried out, "Oh my God, Help!"

Time Stopped.

The bear froze.

The forest was silent.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky.

"You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer"?

The atheist looked directly into the light, "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian"?

"Very Well," said the voice.

The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke:

"Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen."

Answer 2

No, I don't think I would preach. I've been through many different religious phases, and never was a preacher about any of them. I share what I believe, but generally with an understanding that it's my point of view, not one other people would necessarily appreciate. After all, I have had experiences different from others, and no reason to assume they are sufficiently similar to others that I can tell them what to believe.

I think the 12-step programs have the right idea on this. They tell their own experiences, but they do not give advice or advocate a particular behavior. At least that's the principle; we all know it doesn't always work so well in practice. People need to LEARN respect for other viewpoints; it doesn't come naturally.

Answer 3

It's pretty hard to imagine how I would act in that situation. It would take such a fundamental change in my entire being for me to become a believer that I can't tell what I would do.

But generally, I don't "prostelytize" now. I never try to convice believers there is no god. I defend my own position and I attack the awful things that some believers DO, not what they BELIEVE. So if I have to imagine, I think that if I were a believer, I would not try to convert others except maybe to stress what my belief did for ME. That is all that anyone is qualified to talk about, really.

Answer 4

I won't convert anyone even if I have proof. One of the people I absolutely detest are people who stop you on the streets or come knocking on your door. I rather drill a hole in my head than join them.

If someone wanted to discuss religion though, I'd try and convince them but I wouldn't push it. That's purely because I know I wouldn't make a very convincing argument considering the quality of proof and all the physical evidence pointing the other way.

Answer 5

Agree with vishal. If I had such an experience but no objective evidence to offer in support of my story, then I wouldn't expect anyone to accept it as reality nor to change their beliefs because of it. I would hope for opportunities to tell the story, though.

Such an experience would have to be very impressive indeed. I'm not a particularly brave person, but even when I've been sick and lonely and distraught, I've never prayed. I wonder what could scare me to my knees.

Answer 6

i come across wish and inner peace interior the certainty that there's no loopy vengeful god who is going to ever punish myself or any of the folk i admire or shield in simple terms as a results of fact we are too clever to purchase right into a lie that preys on the susceptible and cowardly sheeple of this international. i can't even fathom eternity not to show have a desire to adventure it, even with what it may entail. i became into not alive for an eternity and that i don't subject approximately repeating the non-adventure. This existence is infinitely short in endurance in assessment to the enormous image. it incredibly is totally an adventure. some awesome and a few poor. it incredibly is genuine, and yet incomprehensible. faith and god trivialize the adventure for my section. i can't understand how all of us for the period of at present of age are nevertheless so superstitious. that they had an excuse hundreds of years in the past, yet, with all the scientific wisdom attainable at present there's no excuse. faith breeds immorality. the terrific people from a ethical and ethical point of view are the Atheists and the Agnostics for my section.

Answer 7

I would absolutely never ever ever try to convince anyone of any religion that I believed in based on some warm and fuzzy experience, regardless of how profound. In fact, even if I had undeniable proof that some god existed, I still wouldn't try to convince anyone else. I'd live my life exactly as I do now--without butting into and trying to mold other people's philosophies.

Answer 8

If I somehow obtained physical proof that a God existed I would show people it. If I just had an experience and God showed himself to me alone, then no. I wouldn't expect anyone to believe my story as there would be no proof I saw him.

Answer 9

No, I don't think I would try to convert other people. The reason is that belief in god is based on subjective evidence, and my personal subjective evidence wouldn't be sufficient to convince anybody else.

Answer 10

I don't think there is any chance in the universe I would ever start believing in a punishing god. Therefore, needing to "save" anyone else would be unnecessary.
A supernatural deity that showed him/herself to me would be fine, but I wouldn't expect others to take my own personal experience as any proof for them...unless I videotaped it with 100 witnesses....