My Route from Atheism to Christianity

So how does a prideful, ignorant, idolatrous atheist open her heart to Christianity?
Looking back, I see three stages.These were not neatly in chronological order, but ebbed and flowed throughout a 13 month time period.

• The supernatural might actually exist - If one is truly an atheist, then they actually believe there is only the material world. There is nothing supernatural that exists. Creating doubt in me that there was more than this and there could be a God was probably step one.  There were a variety of ways this was accomplished
• Meeting someone that believed this, lived this 7 days a week, wasn't afraid to talk about God and show her love for Him. This introduced me to a fact I had never seen before and that is that someone guided their whole life, all their decisions and actions around this "entity" they called God. They went to church, met with other Christians during the week, read their Bible daily, and talked to Him. They were in relationship with this God. They were consistent and faithful to what they believed.
• Science - The concept of an Intelligent Designer never entered my mind as a possibility before I was introduced to the concept and saw with my own eyes the complexity and order of science - even a single cell is enormously complex.
•  Biographies. I was encouraged to read "The Cross and the Switchblade" by David Wilkerson. This book was a true account of his life and that of some gang members who were introduced to God. Amazing things happened that could only be attributed to God. This began to stir a desire in my heart to meet God if He were indeed real. One other book that impacted me was the autobiography of Maria Von Trapp (Maria, My Own Story),  Again, it brought great glory to God.
•  God Himself. God is active. God works behind the scenes and He did in my life too. Coincidences started to happen in my life. I would be assigned patients that were Christian, I would befriend people in the workplace during my summer job who just happened to be the only Christians in the lunchroom, I was assigned a family in the community that was a pastor's family... And, one remarkable experience was at a progressive dinner pot luck College and Career group function I was invited to participate in. During grace I felt a tangible presence so real I opened my eyes expecting to see a real body in front of me. There was none visible to my physical eye, but I know what I felt.

All these added together over a year, stirred me into the possibility that there was something more than just atoms and chemicals out there. Then there was the final experience that pushed me into saying "OK already, there must be something out there more than dirt!"

• Hearing people speak in tongues. I am sure this is a sign for the unbeliever. It was a beautiful language, not just gibberish. It was lovely to listen to and undeniable in it's supernatural  source. (1 Cor. 12:8-11)

OK, so I was now past hurdle number one - there is more to this universe then meets the eye. God exists.

The problem is though, there are lots of religions and spiritual wackiness out there. How does the new now non-atheist determine Christianity is the right God to serve?

•  Hearing Scripture - Throughout these months, not only was I being faced with a recognition of the existence of God, I was being exposed to His Word. Here's how.
• a desire to learn the guitar. This same friend who sowed the seeds, water the seeds, cultivated the soil and ended up harvesting, approached me with the idea to learn the guitar together. She provided the music and the guitar! Over the months I was exposed to sound doctrine through hymns and chorus'  she would bring to our self-taught "lessons." She would not make a big deal about it, but would be ready to explain  concepts that came up in the lyrics.
• Questions - I had so many questions over these months. I would ask, she would answer or seek out the answer. And she always came back with an answer based on Scripture, not philosophy or opinions.
• Preparation - when I did finally agree to attend a church service, she prepared me well for what I might encounter using Scripture as the basis. (raised hands, speaking in tongues...)
• The plain Word - The Bible was read in a very understandable translation. 
• She gave me a Bible
• Doing life in our culture - over and over she showed me how Scripture helped guided her choices. Why don't you believe in abortion, Why does it bother you to hear people use God's name in vain? Why don't you believe in evolution, Why did that guest pastor in our nursing class bother you so much?

• What didn't happen... I seriously think this is as important as what did happen. 
• I was not called upon to debate or in anyway back up my stand on being an atheist. I was not asked to explain my position. I was not asked to defend what I believed. I was not encouraged to talk about it or articulate this worldview. Remember how I said pride was a big part of atheism and the human nature in my last blog? I believe that the more an atheist is asked to defend their position, explain their views, and debate their beliefs, the more entrenched they become in that philosophy and the pride will deepen. It will be that much harder to humble themselves if they have spoken up and shared their "faith" with others. It takes humility to say "Hey, I was wrong about my whole worldview!" but how much more humility it would take to tell the world you were wrong rather than just yourself.
• I was not nagged. The conversations I had with this person were varied. We were friends. We shared university subjects, we laughed, chatted about nature, family, and a host of other things that had nothing to do with religion. If we talked about God it was because I raised the subject by asking a question. She lived her life for God and that was clear, but she never pushed an agenda on me.
• I was not condemned or mocked or judged for my atheistic viewpoint.

These are just some of the examples and reflections I have remembered from 33 years of being out of the darkness of atheism. Next post: the moment of decision and the first week of life after atheism.