This thread was prompted by the similar thread we're having on "deconversion". I could have titled this thread "Are there any believers here who were once atheists?" to match the similar thread on the reverse situation, but that would be too unoriginal, so... I'm interested in hearing the "conversion" stories from people who have either adopted a religious belief or who have converted from one religion to another. That is, if you were once a non-believer, then you got religion, I want to know what did it for you. Or, if you were raised Christian, but later converted to Islam, or Buddhism or Scientology, again I want to know what prompted your conversion. Equally, if you were once a wishy-washy, not-really-believer-but-going-through-the-motions type, then you became a real, genuine, hard-core believer, I want to know what made you change. I'm not interested (in this thread, anyway) in your story of how you were raised a Jehovah's witness by your parents, then you were baptised into the Jehovah's witnesses when you came of age, or those kinds of stories. That's what is expected. I want to hear the unexpected. So, religious people, tell me why you became religious, or why you switched beliefs.
I was religious . Discussion on the forum with science oriented people and atheists , it reinforced my views and strengthen my faith . Science is impartial, it is the individual that is choosing the tool ( science ) for his own conviction , Science is a process to study nature in were we live and we are continually searching to understand our surroundings and how we are formed and what we are and how our organism function . As on the present we do not have the answers . As for me chemically we definitively know not much , the current hypothesis are just a joke . As fat the universe we have models , they are not consistent and they change with new information. So since I do not know about me and the world , I prefer my spiritual journey
I was never raised around religion, unlike a lot of atheists I meet. My parents were atheists themselves, so I was just never around religion in the first place. I learned about it later, and it weirded me out that people still believed in deity in the 20th century. Though Judaism was fascinating, if only for the cultural differences. So, I was pretty much atheistic most of my life, and in my Middle School years was actually quite militant about it. Then I mellowed out in High School as I learned more about other belief systems and religions that weren't Abrahamic, since most of my critiques had been pointed against Abrahamism. I'd always had an interest in ancient mythology and during High School I found out that people today were practising the revival of polytheism, which I thought was pretty nifty. I researched it a shit-ton and began to consider myself Pagan sometime during the summer between Junior and Senior year. I sat around in a general Neopaganism for a while before dedicating myself as a Wiccan. I still wasn't really theistic during that time, though; I still thought of the gods as Jungian archetypes and thought-forms. It wasn't until College that I began having mystical experiences and seriously became polytheistic. It never really felt like a "conversion" to me. It was more gradual than that. It just kinda felt like "coming home", if anything. I was returning to the myths and gods that I had been so interested in all my life. I felt like I had just found something that fit me and I could be comfortable in. And, eventually, it was something I felt could transform me spiritually.
Why! What did it for you? That is just a rant about you not liking science it doesn't answer the questions posed. What did it for you? Particularly So you're religious because it's cosy. What did it for you? What convinced you that theism was correct? Here are the questions James posed again. 1, I want to know what did it for you. 2, I want to know what prompted your conversion. 3, I want to know what made you change. So you're saying there was not just one thing that caused the change, you just wanted to be accepted. What made you change? What did it for you? What convinced you that theism was correct?
Go through BCS thread from the start again and listen to the music and the YouTubes I think you will get the answers you need.
You must be Australian also . Your thinking is upside down. 1 ) The experience in prophesy since 1943 , what was Prophesied through my mother it materialized not one time but many situations . My mother was not an educated person , but she looked for the presence of Gods holly spirit. 2) there was no conversion of mine , but reinforcement of the entity God . 3) No change but solidifying by looking into science Is that what you want ? Now what bases do you have to be an atheist ? Us your turn to answer your question
I'll have you know it is the Northern Hemisphere which is upside down! (There is more mass on the Northern Hemisphere so it would naturally sink in the warped spacetime around the Sun.) I wanted you to write about your Mother's prophecy before. Can you share the entire statement please?
Did you come to the conclusion that these "gods" are real personalities, or do you see them as allegories for the forces of nature?
James also stated "I'm not interested in your story of how you were raised an X (input religious affiliation here) by your parents, then you were baptised into the same faith when you came of age, or those kinds of stories. That's what is expected. I want to hear the unexpected." So that reply is irrelevant. The reason your religious is because of your parents. Yes for your parents, but that is not relevant to the original questions asked. James did not want to know that. Ok yet you still haven't answered the question. What exactly convinced you from science that god was correct? Nearly yet you still haven't answered James' questions. and What convinced you that theism was correct? This was written in 2008 by a member of another site it say it all. With many thanks to Mr Friday.
Can you print that and send it to me? I need toilet paper. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
You are like a leach, Or you don't know what you want . Or you just like to BS That is it . I asked you. why don't you dish out your self.
Arauca, it's not their fault that they have no heart and no soul. Atheists are lifeless lumps that think that asking questions is hard work. They don't care about religious experience because nothing is sacred to them. They are the soulless robots that they hope to invent. Atheists are lifeless globs of cells, they are philosophical zombies. They are to be pitied.
Interesting thread topic, James! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I'm always intrigued by what draws people to or away from spirituality and religion. Hapsburg, your story is neat.
Why are you rude, there is no need for it and why did you reply to the thread in the first place if you are not prepared to answer James' questions.
I am not rude I answered to you, but since you are part of the conversation , you should answer my question.
geeser answered that: James R constructed this like a test scenario, to collect the reasons people convert. So far it looks like we have only one data point, from Hapsburg: After all, this is a science board, and James R--even more than the average contributor--is fully capable of formulating a thoughtfully constructed OP. It's a core question that gets thrown around recklessly in the other threads. Here we have a chance to treat it objectively, without the BS and polemics. How many people actually convert from atheism (or another religion)? And why. That's the focus here, not the retreat to the polemic you're encouraging geeser to take. Maybe Hapsburg will come back and explain what a mystical experience is. Sometimes these are drug induced, or caused by sleep deprivation (both common in college) or illness or injury. But normal healthy brains don't have mystical experiences under normal conditions. Of course the other thing worth noticing is that, other than Hapsburg, no one is yet offering any evidence that conversion from atheism is more than rare event. Conversion from other religions is another thing. I guess time will tell but I suspect there will be very few people who will be offering narratives similar to Hapsburg, and their reasons for converting remain to be seen. Did you convert, arauca and if so, why? My guess is that you did.
The Beautiful Christian Song thread is about a conversion experience that goes on. The description of conversion is captured in the second verse of the Gospel of Thomas " THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/thomas.htm 1) And He said, "Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death." 2) Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All."
I was born into it. but at some point through my study I started to question . but as I looked more into chemistry and biology ,and my experience in my relation with God my faith was reinforced
