Any former nonbelievers find religion later in life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jesus billboard poster here...would love to hear skeptics' and atheists' thoughts on what I'm claiming. Did not occur in the Bible Belt. Wasn't under the influence of substances or withdrawing. No history of visual\auditory hallucinations.

There are many coincidences in life. what you describe is one of them. Also, it's possible that if you had not called out to God at that moment, you would not have noticed or interpreted all the same "signs" that were there for anyone passing by to see.

I say this not to disagree with or diminish the profound emotional experience you had, but rather to respond to your request for another interpretation of it.

By the way, many atheists/agnostics do not consider themselves "just worm food," but instead have a vast appreciation for the one life they've been given. They also don't "believe" in atheism, the way some people believe in god. It's a simple lack of belief in gods.

[Anonymous]

By the way, many atheists/agnostics do not consider themselves "just worm food," but instead have a vast appreciation for the one life they've been given. They also don't "believe" in atheism, the way some people believe in god. It's a simple lack of belief in gods.

My apologies for generalizing. When i viewed the world as an atheist, I agreed with just appreciating the one life I have and doing my best to help and not to harm others while here.

[Anonymous]

There are many coincidences in life. what you describe is one of them. Also, it's possible that if you had not called out to God at that moment, you would not have noticed or interpreted all the same "signs" that were there for anyone passing by to see. 

I say this not to disagree with or diminish the profound emotional experience you had, but rather to respond to your request for another interpretation of it.

Interesting point/perspective. 50/50 chance that at that precise moment I would or would not have seen something in my field of vision that I could have interpreted as coming from a divine source. Billboard for walmart, Red Roof Inn, McDonalds etc i would NOT have interpreted as diivine. I could have seen what looked like an apparition of jesus in the dirt on my windshield or heard a random love song on the radio and thrown "it must be from God Im saved!" onto those things. Could argue that people who are in despair will grasp onto anything as a way of making their pain more palatable. To me, billboard seemed pretty unambiguous. And if it had been a song on the radio, a "vision of Mary" on my leftover pizza or a gust of wind I would, now that Im no longer in despair, take those to mean that I was so desperate at that time to believe in a benevolent God that anything would have looked like a sign.

Heres a thought...if I end up sick with cancer some day or lose a child or my husband...what will happen then if I ask for divine intervention and dont get it? I miscarried at five weeks on my daughters birthday...so whats the "god talks to us through coincidences" logic of that? And people go through s hittier circumstances than divorce...what about all the people who asked or proof of Gods existence during Hurricane Katrina, on 9/11 or when repeated losses and tragedies happen in a single life and those people ask for proof and dont get it?

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the wrong formatting with quotes everyone....

[Anonymous]

.if I end up sick with cancer some day or lose a child or my husband...what will happen then if I ask for divine intervention and dont get it?

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time,
not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.--Hebrews 9:27

All people are destined to die. No prayer will allow you to live to be 500 years old in this day and age.


For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.--Matthew 5:45

What this says is that God allows events to occur to all people. Prayer will not stop the hurricane or tornado. Not that it cannot just that is is unlikely. Your genetics at birth, you may have a defect. Prayer
will not prevent it. God has set things to unwind naturally without intervention.

So rather than say "God let this happen so must either be evil or not exist" you should acknowledge that there is no guarantee other than death. It is a fallen world. Know that Jesus will return and then
things will be set to right.

Why God allows it to unwind for thousands of years I do not know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

.if I end up sick with cancer some day or lose a child or my husband...what will happen then if I ask for divine intervention and dont get it?

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time,
not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.--Hebrews 9:27

All people are destined to die. No prayer will allow you to live to be 500 years old in this day and age.


For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.--Matthew 5:45

What this says is that God allows events to occur to all people. Prayer will not stop the hurricane or tornado. Not that it cannot just that is is unlikely. Your genetics at birth, you may have a defect. Prayer
will not prevent it. God has set things to unwind naturally without intervention.

So rather than say "God let this happen so must either be evil or not exist" you should acknowledge that there is no guarantee other than death. It is a fallen world. Know that Jesus will return and then
things will be set to right.

Why God allows it to unwind for thousands of years I do not know.

Perhaps because the writings in the bible simply reflect the hopes, feeling and fears of the ordinary humans who wrote them thousands of years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[



Perhaps because the writings in the bible simply reflect the hopes, feeling and fears of the ordinary humans who wrote them thousands of years ago.

You see, there is the problem. There are so many concepts in the Bible that can't be written by ordinary people.

The concept of forgiving someone who abused you -- it is contradictory to the human nature. But in the end, you learn that only after forgiving someone who did wrong to you, you can move on with your life. Only after changing your own feeling toward the abuser you can live your life fully. Millions of people go to therapists for years to apprehend something simple as this. They spend $$$ to learn this. And all that they have to do is to open Bible to figure out how to do it.

Same thing is with the concept of loving your enemy -- it is irrational at the first glance and not in human nature. But only after long analysis you start to understand why is loving your enemy is actually benefit you as a human.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, faith does cleanse you.

Do you think, then, that people who do not believe in god are less clean than people who do? and that you were not as cleansed when you were a non-believer>

Absolutely! Once you with God, you have a better feeling for people. You feel their emotions better. You resonate better with them. I don't know how to explain it properly. It is like you know that some people don't get regular sex -- they don't talk about it, but you just know it from their look, behaivior, etc. that they don't get laid regularly.

Same thing you just feel it about human souls -- the heaviness, mild depression (even though outside everything looks fine and successful). This people smile, laugh, have successful carreers, married with kids -- but I can feel how superficial it is. Most of them either in counseling or on some type of meds. I always feel like they are missing something, no matter how self confident they are.

When people live their life to the fullest and happy -- you know it, you feel the vibration. You feel the love is radiates from them. You see the light in their eyes. That is the God.

It may sound confusing the way I am describing, but it is more on subconscious level that I feel "cleansing" in another people. Maybe it is wrong choice of word, but this is how i feel it. I've met a lot of people in my life, I travelled large part of this world and lived in many countries before, but never met any single person who is truly happy and live without God in his heart.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps because the writings in the bible simply reflect the hopes, feeling and fears of the ordinary humans who wrote them thousands of years ago.

The bible declares unto humans that it is wrong to lie, cheat, murder, and steal. This not a reflection of human hopes whose very nature is to do those wicked things so as to have the best life possible, to be the "fittest" to survive.

Thousands of years ago, people were murdering, stealing, as they are today. Despite sensitivity training, despite education, humans still do these things, some when drunk, some, the clelver ones, hiding behind religion
so people won't suspect them of being evil.

The bible thoroughly documents human nature, beginning when Noah (and probably his wife) got drunk on wine and Ham went in and had sex with his own mother producing the in-bred child Canaan. People wanting themselves to look good don't write such things about themselves. They destroy any evidence of it whenever they can.

This tells me, in the very least, the bible is an accurate, historical record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, faith does cleanse you.

Do you think, then, that people who do not believe in god are less clean than people who do? and that you were not as cleansed when you were a non-believer>

Absolutely! Once you with God, you have a better feeling for people. You feel their emotions better. You resonate better with them. I don't know how to explain it properly. It is like you know that some people don't get regular sex -- they don't talk about it, but you just know it from their look, behaivior, etc. that they don't get laid regularly.

Same thing you just feel it about human souls -- the heaviness, mild depression (even though outside everything looks fine and successful). This people smile, laugh, have successful carreers, married with kids -- but I can feel how superficial it is. Most of them either in counseling or on some type of meds. I always feel like they are missing something, no matter how self confident they are.

When people live their life to the fullest and happy -- you know it, you feel the vibration. You feel the love is radiates from them. You see the light in their eyes. That is the God.

It may sound confusing the way I am describing, but it is more on subconscious level that I feel "cleansing" in another people. Maybe it is wrong choice of word, but this is how i feel it. I've met a lot of people in my life, I travelled large part of this world and lived in many countries before, but never met any single person who is truly happy and live without God in his heart.

You write as though what you experienced happens to everyone in the same way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:old people become more fearful, and it is that fear that turns them to such a crutch.

Fear of what? Death? Christians don't fear death.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Perhaps because the writings in the bible simply reflect the hopes, feeling and fears of the ordinary humans who wrote them thousands of years ago.

The bible declares unto humans that it is wrong to lie, cheat, murder, and steal. This not a reflection of human hopes whose very nature is to do those wicked things so as to have the best life possible, to be the "fittest" to survive.

Thousands of years ago, people were murdering, stealing, as they are today. Despite sensitivity training, despite education, humans still do these things, some when drunk, some, the clelver ones, hiding behind religion
so people won't suspect them of being evil.

The bible thoroughly documents human nature, beginning when Noah (and probably his wife) got drunk on wine and Ham went in and had sex with his own mother producing the in-bred child Canaan. People wanting themselves to look good don't write such things about themselves. They destroy any evidence of it whenever they can.

This tells me, in the very least, the bible is an accurate, historical record.

The Bible, and earlier books, depict life as it was in the days the book was written -- some of what is written about is human nature, which is remarkably the same, although much around us has changed, including technology and what we find societally acceptable (e.g. slavery, treatment of women, children, animals). Basic human morals predate the bible and to some extent predate homo sapiens --moral behavior is being studied in other mammals. The bible and other earlier and later books may accurately reflect human nature, but that's different from being an accurate, historical record of events during that time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[



Perhaps because the writings in the bible simply reflect the hopes, feeling and fears of the ordinary humans who wrote them thousands of years ago.

You see, there is the problem. There are so many concepts in the Bible that can't be written by ordinary people.

The concept of forgiving someone who abused you -- it is contradictory to the human nature. But in the end, you learn that only after forgiving someone who did wrong to you, you can move on with your life. Only after changing your own feeling toward the abuser you can live your life fully. Millions of people go to therapists for years to apprehend something simple as this. They spend $$$ to learn this. And all that they have to do is to open Bible to figure out how to do it.

Same thing is with the concept of loving your enemy -- it is irrational at the first glance and not in human nature. But only after long analysis you start to understand why is loving your enemy is actually benefit you as a human.

As noted elsewhere, these are not new concepts, first written in the bible -- they have been written about in other cultures with no knowledge of Jesus or Judaism. Some of the concepts may be complex and not immediately understood by many average people, whenever they are presented with these ideas, but they are simply not original to the bible.

I think it's possible to appreciation what wisdom there is in the Bible, without trying to present it as a one-of-a-kind breakthrough book containing wisdom never thought of before or since.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[



Perhaps because the writings in the bible simply reflect the hopes, feeling and fears of the ordinary humans who wrote them thousands of years ago.

You see, there is the problem. There are so many concepts in the Bible that can't be written by ordinary people.

The concept of forgiving someone who abused you -- it is contradictory to the human nature. But in the end, you learn that only after forgiving someone who did wrong to you, you can move on with your life. Only after changing your own feeling toward the abuser you can live your life fully. Millions of people go to therapists for years to apprehend something simple as this. They spend $$$ to learn this. And all that they have to do is to open Bible to figure out how to do it.

Same thing is with the concept of loving your enemy -- it is irrational at the first glance and not in human nature. But only after long analysis you start to understand why is loving your enemy is actually benefit you as a human.

As noted elsewhere, these are not new concepts, first written in the bible -- they have been written about in other cultures with no knowledge of Jesus or Judaism. Some of the concepts may be complex and not immediately understood by many average people, whenever they are presented with these ideas, but they are simply not original to the bible.

I think it's possible to appreciation what wisdom there is in the Bible, without trying to present it as a one-of-a-kind breakthrough book containing wisdom never thought of before or since.

correction: to appreciate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, faith does cleanse you.

Do you think, then, that people who do not believe in god are less clean than people who do? and that you were not as cleansed when you were a non-believer>

Absolutely! Once you with God, you have a better feeling for people. You feel their emotions better. You resonate better with them. I don't know how to explain it properly. It is like you know that some people don't get regular sex -- they don't talk about it, but you just know it from their look, behaivior, etc. that they don't get laid regularly.

Same thing you just feel it about human souls -- the heaviness, mild depression (even though outside everything looks fine and successful). This people smile, laugh, have successful carreers, married with kids -- but I can feel how superficial it is. Most of them either in counseling or on some type of meds. I always feel like they are missing something, no matter how self confident they are.

When people live their life to the fullest and happy -- you know it, you feel the vibration. You feel the love is radiates from them. You see the light in their eyes. That is the God.

It may sound confusing the way I am describing, but it is more on subconscious level that I feel "cleansing" in another people. Maybe it is wrong choice of word, but this is how i feel it. I've met a lot of people in my life, I travelled large part of this world and lived in many countries before, but never met any single person who is truly happy and live without God in his heart.

You write as though what you experienced happens to everyone in the same way.

No, the question above was addressed to me: "Do you think..", so I just answered what I am thinking. Please, do not project my thoughts and feeling to general public.