Why do people suddenly become religious? I am talking about how people who had been atheist their entire life, suddenly deciding they believe in God because they are close to death or a loved one dies. I don't believe in God, and could never imagine changing my opinion. No offense to those people, but if they changed their opinions so quickly did they ever really NOT believe in God?
Sunspot Baby
Favorite Answer
not very faithful to their non belief is it?
Mr Marc
Well, I see your point. But, you don't need God right now. It would be a rare thing for someone to just start believing in God without a need, or some cause. Wait until you are convinced that you really need God-you may change you mind or you may not-some don't.
I think what happens to those who are atheist all their lives and then suddenly believe, I think, they real that all that unbelief is just not working for them now. What if your unbelief just stops working? What would you do?
padwinlearner
My dad was agnostic and became a Christian shortly before he died. Part of that was because, at age 15, I became a Christian. He thought it was just a passing fancy. He was amazed that, 17 years later I was still a Christian. He started asking questions and looking into the reasons I had truly changed. I explained to him that it was not me that had changed, but Christ who had changed me. He died shortly after. It has been 17 years since my dad passed away - I'm still a Christian. The change that took place is permanent. By the way, my dad was literally a rocket scientist - he worked on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space craft. He had a very high I.Q. I'm glad I'll get to see him in heaven when I get there.
?
It can be a little thing or a big thing, an event in ones life that brings on sudden change. It is a basic mandate of the heart to find something greater than is afforded by this present life, in regards to reconciling oneself to creation. As the journey of life progresses, beliefs are replaced by intuition and understanding. Once a little bit of understanding arrives, then the door is opened and nothing can shut it. All earthly thinkers are subject to change, and change is the law of life here.
ebidmelech
“There’s a Divinity that shapes our ends . . . A purely materialistic philosophy is to me the height of unintelligence. Wise men in all the ages have always seen enough to at least make them reverent.” : Albert Einstein
In 1978, astronomer Robert Jastrow wrote: “Now we see how the astronomical evidence leads to a biblical view of the origin of the world. The details differ, but the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same: the chain of events leading to man commenced suddenly and sharply at a definite moment in time, in a flash of light and energy.”—God and the Astronomers (New York, 1978), p. 14.