Why am I a Christian: I. The Choice of a Lifetime

Background and Disclaimer

Over the past few years, I’ve come across many Christians in online forums who are struggling with their belief. Most of them, like the young reader who posted thoughtful comments here recently, never really examined the faith they grew up with, until they became young adults and were exposed to arguments and theories that challenge their belief for the first time.

I’m posting this personal testimony on the off chance that someone might benefit from it. Not that I’m worthy of the name “Christian”. (if I were put on trial for being a Christian, I would be acquitted for lack of evidence.) But that it might be helpful to look at things from a different perspective, the perspective of someone who converted from materialist atheism to Christianity. This journey of mine began many years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.

The Seed of Faith

I was born and raised an atheist. Both of my parents were scientists, who believed in the existence of objective truths. My father also encouraged me to dare to challenge authority and test established theories for myself. Ironically, it was a materialist philosophy teacher who first sowed the seed of faith in me about the possible existence of God: During one class, the teacher taught us that objective truths exist independent of human perception or opinion, that is, an objective truth exists whether or not we can observe it. Then she asked a question, “Who among you has seen God?”, apparently intending to show that God doesn’t exist. I thought to myself, “If an objective truth exists independent of human perception, then just because we don’t see Him doesn’t mean God doesn’t exist”. I raised my hand…

Apart from that isolated incident, however, I’ve never questioned my atheism growing up, and believed that all religions were superstitions. It was not until I went to graduate school, and met Christians more intelligent than I, that I came down from my intellectual high horse, and began to pay attention. The first question I asked my professor, after learning that she was a Christian, was how she could believe in God, being a scientist. She smiled graciously at my rude question, and said to the effect that the more she studied nature, the more strongly she believed in the Creator.

Just out of curiosity, I attended Bible studies when invited, and posed so many hard questions, that one of those present said I was the devil’s advocate, literally, without knowing it.

Better than Pascal’s Wager

At the time, I was at a critical juncture in life: I was becoming acutely aware of my shortcomings such that I was very dissatisfied with myself, but I didn’t have the knowledge nor the power to be good, that is, there was an uncrossable gap between what I was and what I ought to be. Christianity teaches that all men are sinners. Anyone with a modicum of self knowledge can attest to that. But what does Christianity have to offer to remedy the situation?

From talking with evangelical Christians and attending sermons, I learned that Christ, being God Incarnate, has the power to give man a new life, a full life in Him. This is the Gift of Life that is offered to every person. Each must choose whether or not to accept it.

For me, it was the easiest choice I’ve ever made. I had nothing to lose, but much to gain. If God doesn’t exist, then there is no Gift, and life will remain the same. If God does exist, however, I’ve got a new personal relationship to explore, and a whole new life to experience. So when asked if I was willing to pray the Sinner’s Prayer, I did it with alacrity.

Testing Christianity

In the following days, I decided to test Christianity in the only way I knew how: I did experiments to test its reproducibility. I started both praying and reading the Bible, the two main things that normal Christians do, to see whether they will have the same effect on me as they have on Christians, that is, whether these will lead me to conclude that the Christian God is real.

So I read the Bible from cover to cover in two weeks, something I’ve never done before or since. I read not with a view to censure, but with the same curiosity with which I had read Greek mythology previously. But the experience was very different. Greek mythology was entertaining, but the Bible was, and continue to be, life-changing. As the saying goes, reading a good book is like having a conversation with a fine mind. It was through reading the Scripture, that I encountered its Author. Before I finished it, I was no longer an atheist.

Interestingly, my prayers, which had been ineffective in the beginning, also started to have their answers after my conversion. I prayed for many things, very specific things, and they turned out just as I prayed for. These happened with such frequency, that I could not dimiss them as mere coincidence, and, sometimes with such dramatic effects, that I could not help but acknowledge that the God who answers prayers has a great sense of humour.

Thinking back on it, the easiest choice I’ve ever made also turned out to be the best. If anyone is in desperate need of succor, there is none better than the One that I accepted many yeas ago. It is my prayer that all may come to the knowledge of the Son of God.