Is it possible than an atheist was ever a former Christian?

Sorry, but you've been lied to. I know it's frightening to think that a born-again Christian who feels the presence of God could someday become an atheist, but that's exactly what happened to a lot of us. There are numerous preachers who eventually left the religion and numerous born-again evangelicals who were enthusiastic, committed believers who eventually left. To claim that no "true Christian" would ever leave the religion is just a way to deal with fear. Many of the people who left were every bit as committed, certain of the Holy Spirit in their lives and certain that the had a personal relationship with Jesus as you probably are.

Why do you think meaning and direction in life have to come from a god? Are you so fragile and dependent that you need external validation for your very life? Churches intentionally lie and claim that meaning can only come from the god they're pushing because they want to make you afraid to leave. They really want you to believe that everything is utterly meaningless without the propaganda they're pushing. And you swallowed every bit of that lie, didn't you? You honestly believe that life is meaningless if you're not pleasing some god, don't you?

If an atheist says he's a former Christian he is admitting one of two things. He was either a "false" Christian and really didn't accept the gospel or he is a liar.

- No, it is a matter of gaining intelligence. You do not "accept" the gospels since they are fantasies, you "believe" them and once you gain intelligence it is difficult to go back to stupid.

So I say - hear the Gospel of Christ.

- and I say, try thinking since it was all made up 100 years after the fact.

And cry out to Jesus to save you from your sins.

- they are your sins not mine.

Death is coming. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But death is coming.

- to whom is this a surprise?

So, in your mind, no one ever changes their mind? People never learn new things? People never change opinions over time?

If you once believed in Santa Claus...but then you stopped... Does that mean you are a liar or never really believed?

My existence is not meaningless to me. I will not be remembered in 100 years, let alone 1,000 or more. But being remembered isn't EVEN on my list of things to do. If I do not achieve something I never set out to do, have I failed? I think not.

I am not depressed. Life is wonderful. Everything good or bad is a chance to learn and grow. If I thought life was not worth living, I would stop being alive immediately.

Your religious text holds no power over me. I have read it and studied it's origins. I am convinced it is a human document, constructed to serve human purposes without any actual supernatural involvement.

Virtually everything that is known about Jesus is from the Gospels and they are clearly fiction to anyone who studies even basic literary techniques. They are reportedly first person accounts, but told from 3rd person perspective. They contain mistakes in translation because the writers couldn't read Hebrew and had to rely on the Greek Septuagint for their old testament references. They appeared dozens of years after the alleged events and are not supported by any contemporary non-biblical sources that are not disputed by scholars as later Christian insertions or forgeries.

Yes. It happens all the time. Does it matter what I think? No, it doesn't. All I am responsible for is myself and my belief. As a former atheist, I know what I did think and what I now think. Night/day. Sadly, Christians that have turned away from God will be judged more harshly.

Yes,it is possible.

You are drawing absolutely wrong conclusions. The exchristans I've met really believed in christianity but eventually found it wasn't true. Sorry but I can't believe in nonsense just because the second law of thermodynamics. If we believe things because we find them more pleasant then there are much more pleasant fantasies then christianity. So you reasoning is double flawed.

Well not really. It's usually just forced on them by their parents when they are young and gullible. Then when they reach the age of reason (about age 10 or so, could be older or younger, varies from person to person but generally around this age) they realize it's all silly bullshit just like Santa, Easter bunny, Tooth fairy etc.

Except that the heat death of the universe billions of years from now doesn't depress me. Why should it? I don't need things to last forever in order to be meaningful to me.

And you're wrong; plenty of atheists were quite sincere Christians once.

You are mistaken. After 55 years as a Christian I learned much about it. It took me that long to realize it's BS. I am a typical Atheist so if you now claim the title of Christian be forewarned and expect to be among us at some point.

Or some of us heard the teachings of the bible and decided it was all a bunch of made up stories. A man cannot survive in the belly of a whale. There is no way the Red Sea parted. It's all fictional.

I lost hope in your use of reason when you called me meaningless. I got to thermodynamics and declared you beyond hope.

So if your god says that I'm meaningless, then you can kill me without fear of punishment from your God? Does that throw up any little red flags?