Famous Ex-Atheists/Agnostics (1 of 3)
(Posted: August 12, 2011 in Did you know?, Logic Related Tags: agnostics, Atheists, christian, ex, famous, God)
General Lew Wallace (1827-1905)
"The story of General Lew Wallace is an interesting one. Wallace, a retired Civil War General, was riding on a train with Republican Party candidate Robert Ingersoll. Both were heavy opponents to Christianity, Ingersoll was even nick-named the “the Great Agnostic,” authoring many books that were anti-Biblical in topic. While on this train ride Wallace and Ingersoll were discussing their hostility to Christianity and the Bible. The conversation motivated Wallace to author a book that would expose the flaws in the Bible rendering Christianity false. However, while studying the history of Jesus and the Bible, Wallace discovered that he was mistaken. He became a Christian and ended up writing the pro-Christian novel Ben-Hur. Which was subsequently made into a major “epic” motion picture of the same name. Ingersoll unintentionally brought about Wallace’s salvation.
Sir William Ramsay (1852-1939)
Sir William Ramsay was an archaeologist and skeptic of the Bible’s accuracy. Throughout his career he studied countless artifacts from the New Testament period which ultimately convinced him of the New Testament’s accuracy. Ramsay especially credits the Gospel of Luke, considering Luke a true historian. Ramsay also authored the famous book, St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen.
Quote: “Christianity did not originate in a lie; and we can and ought to demonstrate this as well as believe it.”
Peter Stoner- (1888-1980)
Stoner was a famous mathematician and astronomer that served as chairman of the Mathematics and Astronomy Division for Pasadena City College as well as the Science Division for Westmont College. Stoner turned to Christ after calculating the odds of Jesus fulfilling just 48 the prophecies spoken about Him in the Old Testament. His conclusion was that the odds of one man fulfilling just 48 of the prophecies in one lifetime was 1 in 1x 10157 (or 1 with 157 zeros after it). Then take into consideration Christ fulfilled more than 48 prophecies and it became obvious to Stoner of Christ’s divinity. His work was published in his book, Science Speaks.
CS Lewis- (1898- 1963)
C.S. Lewis, a leading figure and English professor at Oxford University and author of many acclaimed books was baptized catholic as a child but fell away from the faith as a teenager. Later in his late twenties Lewis began to study and investigate the word of the bible with the intention of discovering its flaws and exposing them in his writings. In his studies he became so overwhelmed and moved by what he was learning, that at one point he wrote, that he dropped to his knees and began to pray to God. At age 30, he was baptized Christian. He became known as the “Apostle to Intellectuals,” writing many intellectuals books such as The Screwtape Letters, Miracles, Mere Chstianity, etc. The book he is most famous for however is The Chronicles of Narnia.
Quote; “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
Famous Ex-Atheists/Agnostics (2 of 3)
(Posted: August 12, 2011 in Did you know?, Logic Related Tags: agnostics, Atheists, christian, ex, famous, God)
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)
"Solzhenitsyn was a Russian Soviet novelist and historian. Though his writings were often suppressed by government, they exposed much of the atrocities happening in Soviet Russia. His writing eventually landed him in prison where he was subject to brutal punishment. But it was in prison he was introduced to Christianity and gave his life to Christ. When he was released years later he would escape to America and was eventually awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Quote; “The meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering but in the development of the soul.”
George R. Price (1922-1975)
Price was a man heavily involved in science being a geneticist, physical chemist and science journalist. For a time he even worked at the famed Galton Lab as a theoretical biologist. In 1970 Price admitted that he had experienced many “coincidences” in his life that drove him to investigate religion. He looked into the New Testament eventually becoming a very passionate scholar on it. Convinced of its authenticity he became a Christian.
Anthony Flew- (1923-2010)
Flew, a famous British Philosopher, was world famous for his outspoken atheism. He always claimed to follow the argument where ever it led, and boasted that until evidence of God is discovered there is no logical reason to believe in God. Flew even debated CS Lewis on one occasion and is famed for defeating Lewis. However, keeping true to following the argument where ever it lead, Flew began to realize at a very old age that scientific findings in both biology and cosmology left no reasonable alternative but to accept that there is an Intelligent Designer behind our existence. Though whether he accepted Christ before his death is unverifiable, he did admit that Christianity was the most logical religion on God. I’ve personally read his book, There is a God, and highly recommend it.
Quote; “”It now seems to me that the findings of more than fifty years of DNA research have provided materials for a new and enormously powerful argument to design.”
Dr. Rick Oliver
Dr. Oliver has a MS in life science and a PhD in evolutionary biology from the University of California Santa Cruz (where he also minored in geology). He is also the founder and CEO of Confound the Wise Ministries and founder of the Mount Hermon Outdoor Science School. Originally an atheist, Dr. Oliver admits that in studying the anatomy of specimens it became very apparent that life was “designed.” He became a Christian in 1987.
Quote; “I remember how frustrated I became when, as a young atheist, I examined specimens under the microscope. I would often walk away and try to convince myself that I was not seeing examples of extraordinary design, but merely the product of some random, unexplained mutations.”
Famous Ex-Atheists/Agnostics (3 of 3)
(Posted: August 12, 2011 in Did you know?, Logic Related Tags: agnostics, Atheists, christian, ex, famous, God)
Francis Collins (1950-_)
"Collins is a world renowned physician and geneticist that was the head of the Human Genome Project. We was described by the Endocrine Society as “one of the most accomplished scientists of our time.” During college however, Collins was a self-described atheist. It wasn’t until the death of his parents that he began to investigate religion and God. He credits C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity as one of the books that aided him in re-examining his beliefs, which lead to his conversion to an evangelical Christian one day while hiking in the Pacific Cascades. He is also known for his book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief and he currently serves as the Director of the National Institute of Health.
Quote; “”Science is the only reliable way to understand the natural world [but] is powerless to answer questions such as ‘what is the meaning of human existence… We need to bring all the power of both scientific and spiritual perspectives to bear on understanding what is both seen and unseen.”
Lee Stroble (1952-_)
Investigative journalist Lee Stroble is well known in the Christian community for his many books and articles on Christian apologetics. But before he became a Christian he was a strong atheist and looked at Christianity as an old fable or even cult-like. The fact that his wife became Christian upset him so much, that he began to research the true story of Jesus Christ and read the bible in an attempt to point out to her how false and inaccurate Christianity is. But day by day he began to realize that just the opposite was true. He was so shocked to find the teachings and happenings of the bible were more than just accurate, but that they were indeed divine. His attempt to disprove Christianity led him to becoming a Christian. He has since authored famous books such as The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator.
Quotes: “It was the evidence from science and history that prompted me to abandon my atheism and become a Christian.”
Alister McGrath (1953-_)
McGrath is a theologian, apologist and scientist, holding a PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Doctor of Divinity from Oxford. A former atheist, he has now become an outspoken Christian writing the anti-atheism book The Twilight of Atheism, but is most notably known for his book The Dawkins Delusion? A formal response to famed atheist Richard Dawkin’s book The God Delusion. On an interesting side note, Dawkin’s himself personally interviewed McGrath for the television documentary The Root of All Evil?, but McGrath’s entire interview was not included in the final cut.
Quote: “Atheism, I began to realize, rested on a less-than-satisfactory evidential basis. The arguments that had once seemed bold, decisive, and conclusive increasingly turned out to be circular, tentative, and uncertain.”
http://matthew2262.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/famous-ex-atheistsagnostics/
Originally posted by Great King RatOriginally posted by Great King Rat
Believe in the supernatural is both nonsensical and threatening to the progression of human intellect.
"Believe in the supernatural is both nonsensical and threatening to the progression of human intellect."
In RHP Spirituality Forum's Self Proclaimed Atheist Great King Rat's mind but not in the minds of Famous Ex-Atheists/Agnostics General Lew Wallace; Sir William Ramsay; Peter Stoner; CS Lewis; Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn; George R. Price; Anthony Flew; Dr. Rick Oliver; Francis Collins; Lee Stroble; and Alister McGrath "a theologian, apologist and scientist, holding a PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Doctor of Divinity from Oxford. A former atheist, he has now become an outspoken Christian writing the anti-atheism book The Twilight of Atheism, but is most notably known for his book The Dawkins Delusion? A formal response to famed atheist Richard Dawkin’s book The God Delusion. On an interesting side note, Dawkin’s himself personally interviewed McGrath for the television documentary The Root of All Evil?, but McGrath’s entire interview was not included in the final cut." ... who concluded: “Atheism, I began to realize, rested on a less-than-satisfactory evidential basis. The arguments that had once seemed bold, decisive, and conclusive increasingly turned out to be circular, tentative, and uncertain.” (Pages 14 and 15)
http://matthew2262.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/famous-ex-atheistsagnostics/
- Joined
- 31 May 06
- Moves
- 1795
Originally posted by Grampy BobbySeveral things.
Attempted to get to know you and your position with the offer of an unrated chess game which you chose to decline.
First, I talk about my position openly here on the forums all the time.
I see no reason why talking to you in private would be any more effective in getting
you to understand it.
Second, I play chess slowly because I have a tendency to make impulsive moves
which lead to my downfall unless I sit down and really think about it, which requires both
the time to do so and for me to be in the right frame of mind at that time.
At the moment work and other activities are keeping that from happening in any way reliably
and so for the moment I am not playing anyone at chess.
Thirdly, as I move slowly, and you can only 'chat' over a game when you make a move this
leads to very slow and disjointed conversation.
My position, as I have said many times, is that you should never believe anything unless you
have evidence and/or reason sufficient to justify that belief.
As I do not have evidence or justification sufficient to believe in any gods, I do not believe
in any gods.
As I do have sufficient evidence and justification to believe that all the currently claimed gods
are fictional inventions of people, I do believe that all currently proposed gods do not exist
and were made up by people.
Nothing in that position talks about any 'authority' I turn to as justification for my views.
In fact it specifically rejects authority in favour of evidence and reason.
Knowing this you should be able to understand why I just don't care how many famous people
you can find who believe in gods.
Their opinions are not evidence.
Originally posted by googlefudge"My position, as I have said many times, is that you should never believe anything unless you
Several things.
First, I talk about my position openly here on the forums all the time.
I see no reason why talking to you in private would be any more effective in getting
you to understand it.
Second, I play chess slowly because I have a tendency to make impulsive moves
which lead to my downfall unless I sit down and really think about it, w ...[text shortened]... e how many famous people
you can find who believe in gods.
Their opinions are not evidence.
have evidence and/or reason sufficient to justify that belief.
As I do not have evidence or justification sufficient to believe in any gods, I do not believe
in any gods.
As I do have sufficient evidence and justification to believe that all the currently claimed gods
are fictional inventions of people, I do believe that all currently proposed gods do not exist
and were made up by people." -googlefudge
What then in your innermost mind do you think of RHP Members who contribute to this forum who do believe in God?