From: ss6349@csc.albany.edu (Steven H. Schimmrich)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Atheism -> Christianity
Date: 16 Dec 92 08:20:26 GMT
Organization: Department of Geological Sciences, SUNY at Albany

In message <Dec.13.00.17.26.1992.1004@geneva.rutgers.edu>,
bill@cac.washington.edu (Bill Whitson) writes:

> Hi.  This is for any of you out there that were once atheists but
> are now Christians.  I have a friend who up until about three weeks
> ago was an atheist.  One weekend he suddenly started going to a
> local church.  I am an atheist (please don't comment directly on
> this. I'm not trying to change anyone. I tend to be very tolerant and
> I'm not going to change.) and I have questioned him on his change of
> mind.  He seems to avoid the questions and generally be hostile
> about the subject.  He also seems to try to avoid me now when we
> were good friends before.
>
> So the question is, if you have had a similar change of mind, what
> prompted it.  I'm just curious about this sudden unexplained change.

Bill, 

   I used to be an agnostic (I believed that there was no compelling
evidence for or against the existence of God).  I thought that most
Christians were people of sub-average intelligence and turned to
Christianity because they were unable to cope with the pressures in the
real world.  I thought the Bible to be an absurd collection of myths
developed by a bunch of goat-herding nomads which had no relevance for
modern people.
   Well, I'm not of sub-average intelligence (I'm working on a PhD in
geology and I have an IQ of ~150).  I do believe that I'm able to cope
with the pressures of the real world (want pressure - try taking advanced
science and math courses, writing a thesis, teaching labs, holding two
part-time jobs, and planning a marriage all at the same time!).  And,
unlike most atheists or agnostics (and sad to say, many Christians), I did
read the Bible before I criticized it.
   So what happened?  Well, I became a born-again Christian.  For me, it
wasn't an overnight development.  It may, however, have seemed that way
to people who know me.  It was a very difficult thing for me to "come
out" and let the world know what I believe.  That's because there are
a lot of people in this world who will put you down and think you're
stupid for being a believing Christian.  It took time for me to overcome my
own pride and not to worry so much about what everyone else would think.
    In my case, I didn't consciously choose to come to God.  God chose
to call me to Him.  It was a slow, painful, gradual process which is still
going on.  For a long time, to the outside world, I looked like the same
old agnostic cynic while inside I was gradually coming to the point where I
openly renounced my old ways and embraced Christ Jesus as my savior.
    I'll bet if you had a serious talk with your friend, you'll see that
it wasn't an overnight conversion (although such things may happen) but
instead something that grew in him for some time which he simply didn't
acknowledge to you.
   As for avoiding old friends, I think that the problem is that he feels
that you disapprove of his choice and that perhaps you put him too much on
the defensive by quizzing him about why he has changed.  
   I am also growing apart from my old friends due to my becoming a
Christian.  The reason is because we now have a lot less in common.  Their
ideas of fun are to go out drinking and trying to pick up women.  I have no
desire to do that kind of stuff anymore but when I'm around them, I find
myself slipping into my old behavior patterns (using profanity, talking
about people, being talked into going out for a couple of beers that turns
into 6 or 7, etc.) and I don't like that.  My political views have also
become generally more conservative while most of them are aggressively
liberal in their politics.  We've simply grown apart and have different
interests.
   If you want to stay close with your friend, try not talking religion when
you're with him for a while (it sounds as if you might be giving him the
third degree in your quest to understand what happened to him).  No one
likes always having to defend his beliefs to someone who doesn't share them.
Accept him for who he is, respect the choices he's made, and realize that he
may now be uncomfortable being in certain situations or with certain people.
   I hope this helps a little and I apologize for the length of this post.

--
Steven H. Schimmrich     Department of Geological Sciences         "Non semper
ss6349@csc.albany.edu    State University of New York at Albany   ea sunt quae
ss6349@albnyvms.bitnet   Albany, New York 12222  (518) 442-4466   videntur."