This may sound surprising but every Christian is a former atheist... without exception (defining atheist as "one who denies the existence of deity"). You might say that there are those who are agnostics (i.e. those who do not accept or deny the existence of God). However, if we consider that "believing" means "following" (as in following with actions) as well, there are only two types of people: theists and atheists. What we commonly refer to as faith is just a set of religious or otherwise notions -- true faith is determined by what we do and the motives behind our actions. Every Christian had been a rebel before he/she was drawn by the saving grace of God. I suppose some would disagree that absolutely every Christian is a former rebel. You and I probably know someone who seems to always have been a good person. Do not be deceived: all have broken the greatest commandment to love God with all one's heart, with all one's mind, and with all one's strength. There is not a person in this world (apart from Jesus Christ, of course) who is not guilty of loving something or someone else more than loving God.
So if you are an atheist, do not suppose you can say that Christians just do not understand where you are coming from. However, I, by no means, imply that everyone who calls him/herself a Christian is indeed one: the tree is known by its fruit -- if he/she is nothing like Jesus Christ, there is nothing CHRISTian about him/her. However, there is hope for that person too -- to repent and believe. Such "nominal" Christian is actually worse off than an atheist: he/she will shove "the gospel" down your throat and will condemn you -- all in order to appear righteous. Ultimately, this is the worst form of rebellion as is confirmed by Jesus' reproof of the Pharisees.
If you are an atheist, true Christians are your best friends. They are humble and non-judgemental because they've been where you are and, though it might be hard to believe, the only reason they believe God is because He initiated the transformation -- they did not get to this point on their own apart from Jesus Christ.
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Yeahh... It's easy for us to get angry sometimes with people - it's hard to understand why thy can't or won't believe there is a God. The evidence is all around us. But it is God who calls and pursues us. We do need to have mercy and pray for God to reach into the hearts of those who don't want to follow him...
Yeahh... It's easy for us to get angry sometimes with people - it's hard to understand why thy can't or won't believe there is a God. The evidence is all around us. But it is God who calls and pursues us. We do need to have mercy and pray for God to reach into the hearts of those who don't want to follow him...
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