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As a former atheist, I know well the hesitation of accepting these foreign concepts which many-many people adhere to.
The questions atheists have while looking for the path to the journey of faith are similar to those already on the journey.
- How do I know this is for real?
- This seems so weird, how can I believe this?
- If God is so good, so perfect why is there evil - why does this universe have imperfections?
- How can I trust clergy, they are just con artists looking to swindle the blind, is this really for me?
- What will happen to my reputation? Will my "rationalist" friends think of me as brainwashed or stupid now?
- The Bible is so strange, so "outdated," how can anyone believe this?
The questions are serious ones that may take a lifetime to answer. However, as stated before, these questions arise even among the saints who while in the "dark night of the soul" mode began to doubt and question God, Faith etc.
Unfortunately, some atheists give up. They let these questions get the best of them and stop looking for the path to the journey of Faith. Sometimes it is not their fault. They may not have found an adequate answer - perhaps a cleric or lay person did not give enough meat to their answers, or did not show interest in feeding an inquiring atheist. Perhaps an atheist might have been turned off by the sinful behavior of believers. It is hard to believe something when those who believe it distort the belief with the way they live their lives.
This was especially true for me while I was looking for the path to the journey of Faith. I was bombarded by the sex abuse scandals that rocked the Catholic Church. I began to question:
- How can I become fully a part of this corruption?
- Jesus supposedly said not to harm the children and that the kingdom of heaven is theirs, then where the heck was He when these beautiful innocent children were abused, humiliated and robbed of everything unique to a child?
I said this to myself as well as: "I will never be part of this sham..." Well, never say never! God knows what He does. He will give you the grace to see past the nonsense found among believers. He will give you a new sense of rationalization that will help you see beyond physicalism.
Recently, Leah Libresco joined the Catholic Church. Libresco was a well known atheist blogger who promoted atheism with great zeal on the site patheos. I'm sure that she never saw herself as a Catholic.
Here is her photo during the atheist "Reason Rally" in March to confirm this:
Never say never!
The above photo was taken just 9 months ago. Here is Leah Libresco now being initiated into the Catholic Church:
What a 360 right? God is awesome indeed.
If you're reading this and are an atheist, agnostic, or even a doubting believer; never say never. Don't give up! God is there for you and will guide you. Keep asking questions. This is why God gave us sentience and the ability to reason. He wants us to seek Him.
Don't be discouraged if at first you were not given a satisfying answer to your inquiries or if you have witnessed horrible behavior from believers.
The Truth is all that matters. Never say never to Faith in God.
