Atheists that become Christian?

[Kurai Keiro]

My debate partner used to be the most liberal, evolution-believing atheist I have ever met. But for some reason he has changed his mind over the past year and has become a disgustingly racist/sexist/homophobic conservative Christian bigot [you can interpret those qualities as related if you want]. His reason for turning Christian is that evolution and creationism are fundamentally the same, and that it makes more sense with god. I really have no clue what to do with him because his bigotry is unfortunately causing us a lot of debate rounds.

Discuss:

- why you think atheists might turn Christian
- any personal experiences
- what you think I should do... (please?)

On a side note, which is completely off-topic, Can someone explain the whole "atheists in foxholes" deal to me. I'm really embarrassed to say I've never really comprehended its meaning. XP  

[ProjectOmicron88]

Unfortunately, I can't fathom why someone would make that dramatic of a change, unless he was an atheist simply beacuse it seemed "cool" at the time or something.

"There are no atheists in foxholes" is a saying meant to signify that nobody is truly atheist. Meaning, when confronted with a life-threatening situation (being trapped in a foxhole in combat), atheists will begin to pray. James Morrow rather wittily replied to this quote by claiming that it "isn't an argument against atheists, it's an argument against foxholes." I've been a fan of the rebuttal, "There are no atheists in foxholes because we have less reasons to go to war."

There is an Atheists in Foxholes monument in Lake Hypatia, Alabama: http://www.ffrf.org/foxholes/

Also, this is something I love to whip out when someone pulls the "atheists in foxholes" argument:
 

[Kurai Keiro]

I'm not really sure... I think he still believes in evolution, except he somehow thinks the similarities between creationism and evolution prove god's existence. The whole liberal to conservative thing was a bit confusing, too...

Thanks for your atheists in foxholes explanation. biggrin But who is it in the picture?  

[SkeletonPhoenix]

We must burn the Atheist heritic. So his soul may go to Satan.(Because all Atheists are devil worshipers.)

All kidding aside I can't believe an atheist would every go back to a religion. Unless he was brainwashed again or never was a Atheist.

Also to the Foxhole. I'm not about to get shot at for this war.

Now for the similarities of Evolution and Creationism they're similiar because Cristians based it off of evolution and added God. To get him out of it make him read Genisis and maybe he'll see that Cristians are wrong.  

[ProjectOmicron88]

Kurai Keiro

Thanks for your atheists in foxholes explanation. biggrin But who is it in the picture?

That'd be Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals player who gave up a multi-million dollar football contract to fight in Afghanistan. He was KIA. More pertinent to the topic, he was also an atheist.  

[Shaka-FireFly]

ProjectOmicron88

Kurai Keiro

Thanks for your atheists in foxholes explanation. biggrin But who is it in the picture?

That'd be Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals player who gave up a multi-million dollar football contract to fight in Afghanistan. He was KIA. More pertinent to the topic, he was also an atheist.

Pat was actually murdered by the way. It wasn't an "accident."

http://www.comcast.net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC&fn=/2007/07/27/724936.html

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/26/ap3958728.html

It's so sad when we have our own soldiers being murdered by our own for such foolish of reasons.

And if anyone ever says "There's are no atheists in foxholes!" happily point out that you know one.

I happen to be leaving for Basic in November, and have a very good chance of being sent to a foxhole. domokun  

[ProjectOmicron88]

Shaka-FireFly

ProjectOmicron88

Kurai Keiro

Thanks for your atheists in foxholes explanation. biggrin But who is it in the picture?

That'd be Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals player who gave up a multi-million dollar football contract to fight in Afghanistan. He was KIA. More pertinent to the topic, he was also an atheist.

Pat was actually murdered by the way. It wasn't an "accident."

http://www.comcast.net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC&fn=/2007/07/27/724936.html

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/26/ap3958728.html

It's so sad when we have our own soldiers being murdered by our own for such foolish of reasons.

And if anyone ever says "There's are no atheists in foxholes!" happily point out that you know one.

I happen to be leaving for Basic in November, and have a very good chance of being sent to a foxhole. domokun

Last I heard, the whole thing was still under investigation.  

[Kurai Keiro]

Thanks for your replies, everyone. smile

I have no real clue to why he converted... His parents are conservative Christians and we do live in the Bible Belt. >.< Why he chose an atheist partner like me, I do not know.

About the atheists in foxholes thing: o.o

I can't stand it when people say atheists aren't patriotic/etc. And I feel really sorry for Tillman's mom. sad

Shaka-FireFly

ProjectOmicron88

Kurai Keiro

Thanks for your atheists in foxholes explanation. biggrin But who is it in the picture?

That'd be Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals player who gave up a multi-million dollar football contract to fight in Afghanistan. He was KIA. More pertinent to the topic, he was also an atheist.

Pat was actually murdered by the way. It wasn't an "accident."

http://www.comcast.net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC&fn=/2007/07/27/724936.html

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/26/ap3958728.html

It's so sad when we have our own soldiers being murdered by our own for such foolish of reasons.

And if anyone ever says "There's are no atheists in foxholes!" happily point out that you know one.

I happen to be leaving for Basic in November, and have a very good chance of being sent to a foxhole. domokun

Be careful! sad  

[Shaka-FireFly]

ProjectOmicron88

Shaka-FireFly

ProjectOmicron88

Kurai Keiro

Thanks for your atheists in foxholes explanation. biggrin But who is it in the picture?

That'd be Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals player who gave up a multi-million dollar football contract to fight in Afghanistan. He was KIA. More pertinent to the topic, he was also an atheist.

Pat was actually murdered by the way. It wasn't an "accident."

http://www.comcast.net/news/national/index.jsp?cat=DOMESTIC&fn=/2007/07/27/724936.html

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/26/ap3958728.html

It's so sad when we have our own soldiers being murdered by our own for such foolish of reasons.

And if anyone ever says "There's are no atheists in foxholes!" happily point out that you know one.

I happen to be leaving for Basic in November, and have a very good chance of being sent to a foxhole. domokun

Last I heard, the whole thing was still under investigation.

It was. Those two links are the final result of what they found.  

[Jessica Malatori]

Wow that is really a dramatic change. So your friend goes from changing his views on evolution by adding god to the mix, then starts having homophobic opinions, etc?

Sounds like someone is very, very fickle. No offense intended, but it sounds like your partner only follows the crowd, having no true identity. Just watch, this kind of person will change time after time.

And on a side note, the only reason I could think of an Atheist choosing to become a Christian is that some sort of extraordinary event happened to them and they couldn't put the cause on anything besides a higher deity. Or maybe family pressure? Open mindedness? Some sort of Proof? I don't know xD.  

[Kurai Keiro]

Jessica Malatori

Wow that is really a dramatic change. So your friend goes from changing his views on evolution by adding god to the mix, then starts having homophobic opinions, etc?

Sounds like someone is very, very fickle. No offense intended, but it sounds like your partner only follows the crowd, having no true identity. Just watch, this kind of person will change time after time.

And on a side note, the only reason I could think of an Atheist choosing to become a Christian is that some sort of extraordinary event happened to them and they couldn't put the cause on anything besides a higher deity. Or maybe family pressure? Open mindedness? Some sort of Proof? I don't know xD.

He used to be "against" the culture, but maybe he decided to change. XP He just told me that he read the Revelations and realized how they "still applied today" or something like that.  

[Meirelle]

I've noticed that a lot of the really crazy hardcore Christians are the ones who've fell on hard times and have a penchant for addiction. Seriously, you hear all the time about how they were all atheist and shootin' up heroin and stuff and then they found God and got better. Well, it's really just another addiction. It's an unhealthy disease. And other times I've noticed people would do anything to fit in. So maybe your friend was just desperate enough to fit into the counterculture crowd and said he was atheist, and now he wants to be part of this new crowd. I don't know. I just offered my observations.

And about the atheists in foxholes. Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of atheists in foxholes. It's just that ritual sometimes takes over without you even thinking about it. For example, my college roommate, who is hardcore atheist, came back from the bathroom the night of the elections in November 2004, and she said to me, "Jesus ******** Christ, Carol. I totally just genuflected and made the sign of the cross." In short, old habits die hard. These gestures don't mean anything-- they were just drilled into our heads at such an early age that it's become a weird ritual that has no religious meaning. So if someone had a gun pointed to my head, would I be praying? Oh, please. Repeating "Please, God" over and over again might sound like a prayer, but it's not. And that's my take on atheists in foxholes.  

[Kurai Keiro]

Meirelle

I've noticed that a lot of the really crazy hardcore Christians are the ones who've fell on hard times and have a penchant for addiction. Seriously, you hear all the time about how they were all atheist and shootin' up heroin and stuff and then they found God and got better. Well, it's really just another addiction. It's an unhealthy disease. And other times I've noticed people would do anything to fit in. So maybe your friend was just desperate enough to fit into the counterculture crowd and said he was atheist, and now he wants to be part of this new crowd. I don't know. I just offered my observations.

And about the atheists in foxholes. Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of atheists in foxholes. It's just that ritual sometimes takes over without you even thinking about it. For example, my college roommate, who is hardcore atheist, came back from the bathroom the night of the elections in November 2004, and she said to me, "Jesus ******** Christ, Carol. I totally just genuflected and made the sign of the cross." In short, old habits die hard. These gestures don't mean anything-- they were just drilled into our heads at such an early age that it's become a weird ritual that has no religious meaning. So if someone had a gun pointed to my head, would I be praying? Oh, please. Repeating "Please, God" over and over again might sound like a prayer, but it's not. And that's my take on atheists in foxholes.

I will ask him about it and get back to you on that. biggrin

Yeah, I say "Oh god" a lot as well, and it really pisses of my Christian classmates. xd There is this really Christian guy that thinks he's winning a nonexistent "Christian vs. Atheist" war every time anyone mentions God.  

[Jessica Malatori]

Kurai Keiro

Meirelle

I've noticed that a lot of the really crazy hardcore Christians are the ones who've fell on hard times and have a penchant for addiction. Seriously, you hear all the time about how they were all atheist and shootin' up heroin and stuff and then they found God and got better. Well, it's really just another addiction. It's an unhealthy disease. And other times I've noticed people would do anything to fit in. So maybe your friend was just desperate enough to fit into the counterculture crowd and said he was atheist, and now he wants to be part of this new crowd. I don't know. I just offered my observations.

And about the atheists in foxholes. Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of atheists in foxholes. It's just that ritual sometimes takes over without you even thinking about it. For example, my college roommate, who is hardcore atheist, came back from the bathroom the night of the elections in November 2004, and she said to me, "Jesus ******** Christ, Carol. I totally just genuflected and made the sign of the cross." In short, old habits die hard. These gestures don't mean anything-- they were just drilled into our heads at such an early age that it's become a weird ritual that has no religious meaning. So if someone had a gun pointed to my head, would I be praying? Oh, please. Repeating "Please, God" over and over again might sound like a prayer, but it's not. And that's my take on atheists in foxholes.

I will ask him about it and get back to you on that. biggrin

Yeah, I say "Oh god" a lot as well, and it really pisses of my Christian classmates. xd There is this really Christian guy that thinks he's winning a nonexistent "Christian vs. Atheist" war every time anyone mentions God.

I always say "Oh gosh" because what else am I going to say that portrays the same meaning? I could be like "Oh my!" But that is still hinting at the third word... I dunno.

The only time I say god is when I'm being sarcastic. Like "Oh gawwddd." xD