From atheism to Christian belief

Murray Love writes:

I left a lengthy comment at Mangan’s in support of your arguments, though perhaps lacking some of your (and Mr. Roebuck’s) rhetorical effectiveness. But it has prompted me to write, since I have been meaning to thank you for some time. I am in the process of converting to (Roman Catholic) Christianity after spending the 23 years of my adult life as an atheist, and it is largely thanks to your and Mr. Roebuck’s arguments on VFR that I became convinced of the irrationality and question-begging nature of the atheist position. As a scientific rationalist by nature and inclination, I am not in the least “spiritual” or mystically-minded, and I required arguments such as Mr. Roebuck’s before I could begin to break free of the mental shackles I had placed upon myself. Religion may always be more difficult for me than it is for many I have met in the Church, to whom it seems to come quite easily, but my short experience thus far has opened my eyes to rich and truth-filled dimensions of human experience of which I had previously been ignorant.

LA replies:

That’s wonderful, that arguments made at VFR have helped lead you to become a Christian. But in a way it’s not surprising. Atheism, like liberalism, is a belief system which, if examined with one’s whole mind (not just the little, mechanical part of the mind that, e.g., seizes on superficial contradictions in the Bible and thinks that this disproves the Bible), becomes unsustainable. A major problem with our society and particularly with conservatism is that liberal, atheist and other false beliefs are not challenged effectively, forcefully and persistently. When they are challenged effectively, even on a small scale such as at VFR, the balance shifts, things come into a different relationship with each other. Liberalism no longer seems invulnerable and unchallengeable.

This by the way was one of the main messages of Jim Kalb’s 2000 essay “The Tyranny of Liberalism,” on which his new book of the same title is based (I haven’t read the book). Kalb showed the inherent irrationality and unsustainability of liberalism, and thus engendered a sense of hope in me that has never left me since then.

Other VFR readers have been persuaded away from their non-belief by arguments made at VFR. See my comment, from a discussion with a hard-line, God-hating atheist, where I show that when we see a marble statue we know that that it was made by a sculptor, even if we don’t know anything more about the sculptor. A life-long non-believer, a man in his fifties, told me that this illustration made him think for the first time in his adult life that there might be a God.

Thanks for sharing this great news.

Alan Roebuck writes:

I’m grateful to have played a part in opening his eyes. He sounds rather like me, requiring a rational approach. My arguments (more accurately, the arguments I passed along and expressed in my own style) indeed have power, but it is gratifying to see concrete confirmation of their power. The Holy Spirit indeed sometimes uses rational arguments to bring people to Christ.

Now we may take it that he is becoming an ally of ours on the question of the proper ordering of society. But I would be less than a faithful Protestant if I were not to urge him to consider one of the traditional, confessional Protestant churches instead of Rome. They give a more faithful account of the teachings of Christ. Still, I rejoice that the cup is at least three quarters full, and I will worry about the one quarter empty part another day.

December 24

Murray Love writes:

In reply to Alan Roebuck’s comments:

I appreciate Alan Roebuck’s encouraging comments on my conversion. In the matter of my choice of the Roman Catholic Church, I certainly don’t have the expertise or the inclination to get into a theological debate with Mr. Roebuck about the various forms of Christianity, but I will attempt a partial explanation.

Although my family background is Protestant (Church of Christ) and my heritage is Anglo-Celtic, I chose Roman Catholicism over the Confessional forms of Protestantism for both positive and negative reasons. To take the negative first: I wanted to choose a church that would still be around in 20 years or so. Here in Canada, the Protestant Churches appear either to be dying or (once again) in schism. Perhaps it would be different if I lived in the United States, where Christianity is still relatively healthy, but the options for serious, traditional Protestantism in Canada seem to be limited indeed. The Anglican Church here does not seem to be particularly fond of Jesus Christ, and seems most concerned with accommodating the mores of the modern world, tossing away any doctrines that offend against “inclusiveness.” Most other Protestant denominations in Canada, such as the wretched United Church, have gone much further down that road and are moribund as a result. I won’t say much about the Protestant approach to “interfaith dialogue,” except that they seem to define it as a matter of determining which Christian doctrines offend Muslims, and disposing of them as quickly as possible.

On the positive side, the Roman Catholic Church—for all its accommodations to modernity—stands firm on a great many doctrinal issues and requires a seriousness of commitment that appears to be lacking from other denominations. My wife and I must attend a two-year RCIA course before the Church will allow us to be baptized, and we welcome the opportunity to learn more about the Church’s teachings and traditions (though I am behind on my reading!). I also appreciate the Church’s long history of intellectual engagement with Scripture, which appears to protect it from the freelance interpretation which causes other denominations to fracture. I have been sporadically impressed by Pope Benedict, particularly the substance of his Regensburg Address, and believe he is serious about revitalizing Christianity and positioning the Catholic Church in defence of Western Civilization (though I admit the signals are mixed on this issue).

Finally, there is the issue of beauty, which is more than a simple aesthetic judgement. The Catholic Mass is beautiful indeed, and I frequently experience a sense of the transcendent during Mass which is otherwise rare in my life.

[This discussion continues in “The role of discursive reasoning in Christian conversion.”]

Posted by Lawrence Auster at December 23, 2008 09:55 PM | Send