It's amazing the number of Christians who assume that atheists must not really know about Christianity, much less that many atheists used to be Christians. This stems from the assumption, I think, that anyone who really knows about Christianity will therefore become a Christian - they can't conceive of someone hearing about Christianity but then rejecting it.

According to Amplified Me, writing about a debate with an atheist:

I know that most Christians commit themselves because of an experience that can only be explained by God's presence, or on faith first, and later recieving that experience. So, while I will continue to be enthralled by the study of Apologetics and History, I have effectively quit arguing my faith in an effort to evangelize to people.

Why don't more Christians adopt this attitude? It's the only one consistent with the Christian position on faith. After all, if you produce an argument that proves the existence of God or truth of Christianity, it can't be a "faith" anymore. Unfortunately, what starts out being reasonable doesn’t continue that way...

Now, I merely tell people, "test and see." If Christianity is a sham, you can prove it by taking it for a test-drive, right? Try it out. Read the Bible, pray to God, live the way that Jesus taught, and I guarantee you that it will be impossible for you to walk away unchanged and unconvinced.

Why does the author assume that atheists haven't already "tested" Christianity? I'll even go further an argue that "testing" Christianity is wrong from the Christian perspective because that assumes one is always holding on to the thought that it might not be true. That's not really faith. That's not really giving yourself over to God and Jesus.

A significant percentage of all the atheists I have know — and I include myself here — haven't "tested" Christianity, they've been Christians. We've lead lives that were every bit as Christian as this author's. We've been church members, church leaders, and even ministers, pastors, priests. We've been active in our churches, active in our religious communities, and even active evangelists in defense of our religious faith.

Now, however, we're atheists. Often we became atheists precisely because of our study of Christianity. The more we read the Bible and prayed to God, the more we realized that it was all just a sham. Who is the above person to arrogantly assume to tell us just to "test" Christianity when we may know more about it and lived it more than he has?

The evidence isn't what's in question. It's there, and it always has been.

No, it's not. There are only rationalizations by people whose faith is too weak to support the aging and infirm religion of their forefathers.

What's in question is whether or not you have the desire to know God. What would you have to give up by believing in God? Is it worth turning your back on truth for? THAT is the crucial choice that every person has to make. I urge you to choose wisely.

I wouldn't have to give up anything in order to believe in any gods — I'd simply have to be presented with good reason to do so. That's why this isn't the "choice" that this writer makes it out to be. I no more "choose" to disbelieve in gods than I do to disbelieve in pink elves — disbelief in such things is the only viable option available to me given the information I have. Belief in a god also wouldn't be any more of a choice than belief in the existence of my computer, if there are good enough reasons to do so.

It's annoying when people like the above write about atheism when they clearly have no idea what they are talking about.

 

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