"I used to be an atheist"

{{atheism}}
'''"I used to be an atheist"''' is a [[PRATT|trope]], often used by [[Apologist|religious apologists]] 
usually so they can make lots of money selling books on how they allegedly "saw the light"
, in which the speaker asserts that they were previously an [[atheist]] before converting to the [[religion]] they currently follow.<ref>[http://thoughtcatalog.com/austin-wiggins/2016/02/the-religious-journey-of-a-rational-man-away-from-atheism/ I Used To Be An Atheist Until I Could No Longer Rationally Defend It], [[Thought Catalog]].</ref> The [[argument]] is usually that since they were once like you, the arguments and/or experiences that convinced them will likely convince you as well, and that you should follow the same path that they took.

==Flaws==
In essence, it’s just the [[friend argument]], but made in reference towards one's (former) self rather than a current friend. The trope is fallacious because since the person making this argument now thinks differently than they once did, it is virtually impossible for them to reliably describe the way they once were, due to the [[bias]] that the person now has that their current view is correct. This often makes their opinion of their former [[atheist]] self at least somewhat [[Straw_man|straw-manned]]. Indeed, said opinion is often ''extremely'' strawmanned, to the point of making the apologist's claim to have once been an atheist appear dubious.

When someone claims to have once been an atheist, it is usually pretty clear from the way they describe their former selves that their "atheism" was at least somewhat less than well grounded, if not outright made up. Frequently, they seem to define "atheism" as actions like not attending church, using porn, lashing out at authority figures, or other things that are not atheism, but which their religion teaches are wrong. This is sometimes accompanied by comments like "I did all that because I was angry at my pastor", "I refused to accept that I need [[God]] in my life", or for bonus points, "because I [[Atheists hate god|didn't want to follow God's rules]]".<ref>[https://creation.com/atheist-god-hate Why do atheists hate God?]</ref> Other times, their commitment to the idea appears to have been founded on rather shaky ground, such as teenage rebellion (rarely), or abuse at the hands of a religious authority.

Oftentimes, they claim that their "conversion" had come about upon meeting someone who didn't trigger the same reaction from them ("I befriended a Christian who told me that Christians weren't all like that, that my abuser would be punished after death, and that I could be free of all this anger by embracing [[Jesus]].").{{cn}} For obvious reasons, such a situation is very unlikely in most countries, where they would be more likely to encounter different types of people who are [[religious]], since theists are currently the majority almost everywhere on [[Earth|the planet]].

==History==
The trope is almost as old as Christianity itself, with Paul playing up his hatred and persecution of Christians before he himself converted. In his case, though, he converted from Judaism, another religion.

The "I am the best at repenting because I used to be the biggest sinner" line of argument also crops up with [[Augustine]], who gives us the sob story that he converted to Christianity when he — despite being illiterate at the time — was commanded by an angel "Tolle! Lege!" and pointed towards a Bible, which he — [[miracle]] of miracles — [[Bullshit|read, devoured, understood, and which made him convert on the spot]].

In more recent times, Christian [[apologists]] like [[C.S. Lewis]], [[Kirk Cameron]], and [[Lee Strobel]] have used their conversion stories in their writings. It also appears to be very popular on Christian websites, who try to convince others that their experiences (like [[near-death experience]]s) prove the existence of (the locally popular) God. In addition, they also seem to be very popular on anti-atheist websites, like the [[Freedom From Atheism Foundation]], a 
[[webshite]]
 website/[[Facebook]] page on which right-wing Christians [[Persecution complex|whine about nonexistent injustices]] done to them by [[atheists]] and how [[Reductio ad Stalinum|all atheists are a bunch of little Joseph Stalin clones]],<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/FFAF.International Freedom From Atheism Foundation (FFAF)]</ref> in a fashion not unlike [[MGTOW]] with women.

==See also==
*[[Zeal of the convert]]
*[[Straw man]] - what often happens after you change your views

{{otherlang
|fr=« J'étais athée autrefois »}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:I used to be an atheist}}
[[Category:Fallacious arguments]]
[[Category:Clichéed sayings]]

Categories: Fallacious arguments, Clichéed sayings