Articles
Why Atheists want to be Christians
This past week I watched Youtube video by a believer-turned-atheist whose family I worshipped with as a boy. In the video he explained why he wishes he could still be a Christian. The reasons he gave only reinforce the incredible blessings we, as believers, have in Christ.
How told his story of his journey to atheism. He grew up in a Christian household, got baptized at a young age, and served the Lord faithfully throughout most of his teenage years. At some point he began visiting a Baptist church, which he found to be more supportive and encouraging than the church of Christ (a lesson for us). After being confronted by his brethren for worshiping there, he began to question everything he had ever been taught. Eventually he rejected the Bible and, ultimately, God Himself.
Today he is a militant atheist with the goal of “saving” people from religion, which he views as evil. Despite this, he still wants to be a Christian. This leads to a perplexing question: Why would an avowed enemy of the cross wish he could believe in the Lord? Following are four reasons he gave.
1. A Support System. Before his transition to atheism, he had hundreds of friends and thousands of acquaintances in the church— a powerful 24/7 support system. Forsaking the Lord meant giving up this blessing and alienating himself from the spiritual family that loved him dearly.
2. Worship and Activities. As a Christian, he used to enjoy attending congregation worship, Bible camps, singings, and a thousand other activities with his brethren. The Christian life was stimulating and fun for this once zealous disciple.
3. A Relationship with God. He described how wonderful it felt to have a relationship with a divine being who cared about him and listened to his prayers. Sadly, he now believes God was only a figment of his imagination, though he sometimes wishes God was real.
4. The Hope of Heaven. Most importantly, he misses the hope of Heaven. There is no greater comfort than knowing a blissful afterlife awaits us. Can you imagine not having that comfort? For atheists, this life is all they have and they know it. What a sad reality!
Thankfully Heaven is real, God is real, and His Son is real. We should give thanks for every spiritual blessing in Christ and embrace them with unwavering faith and devotion to the one, true living God! I wish with all my heart that every unbeliever could allow themselves to accept the truth and stop suffering in vain.
