Note: this blog is no longer active, so comments are no longer being approved. You can always contact me or visit my current blog.
If you’re an atheist, why did you go to a Christian college?
I was a Christian when I decided to come to Wheaton, and for my first 3 years here. I became an atheist the summer before my senior year.
If you’re an atheist, why did you stay at Wheaton?
I preferred not to add more years, tuition debt, and family trauma to my college experience. One year at Wheaton seemed pretty manageable. Sure, it sucks being an atheist at Wheaton. But I would still rather just finish college and get on with life, rather than prolonging it.
Why are you writing this blog?
To let people know what it’s like to be an atheist at a Christian college, to show that there are real Christians who become real atheists for real reasons, and that atheists shouldn’t be ignored.
Were you turned away from Christianity because of the Christians you encountered? Christians are sinful and don’t always represent Christ, you know.
I know how to tell the difference between an ideology and its supporters. Rest assured, I rejected Christianity based on its own merits and claims, not those of its followers. (Christians, if you still don’t believe me: is the reason you’re not an atheist because Richard Dawkins is a jerk? Or is it because you don’t agree with the notion that God doesn’t exist?)
I am an idealist. I don’t judge things based on their weakest permutation. I don’t judge Christianity based only on its evangelical permutation, or on Wheaton.
Yes, but were you really a Christian?
I am really sick of this question, which comes in many variations like: oh, poor Leaving Eden, if only you had been a real Christian, you would have known Christ the way I know Him. But you’re an atheist now, so clearly you were never a real Christian.
Yes, I was a Christian. I was in love with God. Going to church was literally the highlight of my week. I was passionate about evangelism. I was a hardcore Christian. I wasn’t a perfect Christian, but I truly sought God… until I stopped believing in him.
Why didn’t you approve my comment?
For one or more of the following reasons:
it was asinine,
you didn’t leave a real email address,
or you asked a question that has already been answered multiple times, probably in the same post where you left the comment.
If it’s your first time commenting, you may have to wait a couple of days for your comment to appear. I don’t check them every day.
Hey,
Thanks for this. I value your opinions and your perspectives. You are part of a growing number of former “sold-out” evangelicals who is now contemplating atheism.
Keep writing, and I’ll keep commenting.
I’m with Michael, and I hope you keep writing, too. One question that I’ve been asked as an atheist is “If you don’t have a religion, what keeps you from going wild, flouting laws, stealing, lying, and ripping people off? Without the foundation of religion, what keeps you “decent”?” I can’t tell you how much this question irritates me. Is a fear of hellfire the only reason why more people aren’t completely amoral? I don’t need to go to church to know that I should treat people and animals humanely, share with the less fortunate, keep my grubby paws off of other people’s stuff, etc. I have a number of atheist friends, all of whom would help me out in a heartbeat if I needed assistance. I hate the assumption that not believing in a god leads to lawlessness and immorality. Such a question reveals only the ignorance of the questioner.
Margy, perhaps you’re right. But grant a bit of credit to those like me, who, at least speaking for myself, would indeed live quite a reckless life apart from God. (Not for fear of hellfire, but for a desire to live life fully).
“Yes but were you really a Christian?” “Yes, I was a Christian…. I truly sought God… until I stopped believing in him.”
Excellent point. It is often wrongly assumed by Christians who proselytize to me that non-Christians, like myself, have never experienced Christianity in a meaningful, deeply spiritual way.
For the most part, I appreciate that this is not a site that invites ripping on Christians for whatever reason someone doesn’t agree with or for things that Christians do that annoy them. I also appreciate that you have not based your decision on those of us who have been a bad witness for Christ. You do have to base your decision on who Christ said he was and what he did.
If I may add to what Margy wrote above (and Chuck). When I am faced with the question of morality apart from a belief in Jesus, it is not that I think someone who does not have Christ or His Word is less moral than me or will turn that way, but rather the question is how do we ‘account’ for morality. Maybe that would take the ‘irritating’ out of their question and help the askers to go deeper. I could answer the question according to my Biblical bias, but I assume everyone knows that answer here. I think it is disingenuous to excuse a Biblical world-view answer to that too, because it comes from the Bible while holding a different world-view based on a theory of evolution (not that anyone has done that on this site that I have seen). Both world-views have their presuppositional starting points. For Christians, the final question is Christ; the question is a Person – not the bases for morals.
Thanks for reading and considering.
For Christ,
Jerry
*not the basis for morals.