You never really were a Christian.

[Gawen]

You never really were a Christian.

As an atheist I do not make judgment calls about whether someone was a Christian or not. If they say they were a Christian that's good enough for me. Judging whether someone was a Christian is something Christians do, not atheists. If you think other people who claim to be or claim to have been a Christian and are/were not really Christians, then start a Blog called, “I know who the real Christians are and how they should believe! Then provide us the link so that we can sit by and watch the ensuing slugfest….and laugh.

And I would wager that it doesn’t matter to most atheists at this board whether Christians who come here think we were or were not former Christians. Such a view is largely ignorant anyway. Theists still have to deal with our arguments regardless of who we are now. From our now present skeptical perspective, the Christian faith in every form is false. It is based on ancient superstition. Many of us think we were deluded about it...AND... we were never true Christians...

because there is no truth to Christianity.

Public Personal Service Announcement:
So if you’re a Christian and you think we were never Christians in the first place, don't bring it up - don’t harp about it. It’ll just produce tension and frustration.

Otherwise...

If being a Christian means that you have a personal relationship with God-in-Jesus Christ, then you never really had such a relationship, because the supernatural being/s you place your religious faith in is based upon non-historical mythology. There is no divine forgiveness because there is no divine forgiver. There is no atonement in Jesus. There is no God-man in the flesh to believe in. Your petition/intercessory  prayers are nothing but wishful hoping. Basically...you are not a Christian, either, because there is no Messiah, no God, transubstantiation, no devil and no heaven or hell to go to when you die.

neener neener neener....*chucklin*

[LegendarySandwich]

If a Christian told me that I wasn't a true Christian while I was a Christian, they'd probably be right. That's actually better for me, as it implies that I was never truly deluded. Either way, it's all history now anyways.

[terranus]

My mom was the church choir director (she is now an agnostic), so I was pretty much raised in the church. I think it would be fair to say I was a true Christian up until age 14, when I looked up the defintion of the word "brainwashing". From there it all went downhill.  

But yeah, you're right. It's not really a Theists place to judge whether or not any of us were ever truly a christian. More than likely when a theist says something like that, it means they are losing an argument and are really starting to get frustrated. It's almost an emotional statement, you know? Whenever you start injecting more emotion into an argument than reason, you know your chances for winning that argument just went out the door.

[Velma]

I get this all the time.    I think part of it is their own fear that if I really was a believer and became an atheist, then it could happen to them also.  However, if they can convince themselves that I was never a christian, that means it can't happen to them - or someone they love or respect.

I tell them it is not their place to judge whether or not I really believed and they should reserve that judgment for their own state of belief.

[Kylyssa]

I get this all the time.    I think part of it is their own fear that if I really was a believer and became an atheist, then it could happen to them also.  However, if they can convince themselves that I was never a christian, that means it can't happen to them - or someone they love or respect.

It's kind of like how many people label homeless people as lazy and bad so they can feel there's no way they could become homeless themselves as long as they believe all homeless people possesses a negative quality they don't possess.  They go so far as to disown friends and relatives who become homeless because they'd sooner believe someone they love has become a bad person than that bad shit happening (job loss, death of a partner, disability, you name it) can knock anyone down into the gutter.

[Sophus]

Well if by asserting something about an individual's worldview history makes it true, in that case....

CS Lewis was never really an atheist.

[LegendarySandwich]

Well if by asserting something about an individual's worldview history makes it true, in that case....

CS Lewis was never really an atheist.

I wish he stayed one. I read his the beginning of his book, Mere Christianity. It failed to impress.

Although I do like his Chronicles of Narnia series, even with the religious overtones.

[TheJackel]

It's simply how they rationalize a fish leaving the school. It's called Christian Realism to where such acts, or non-believers are then associated with negative social Dogma in order keep the rest of the fish from leaving the school. It's been a rationalization tool to say that someone that leaves, never was a "CHRISTIAN". It's what they've been taught to say, and I've even used that argument myself when I was a Christian while knowing full well what my intentions were. It's also a means to attempt to make them come back to the school for protects against social persecution.

[Voter]

So if you’re a Christian and you think we were never Christians in the first place, don't bring it up - don’t harp about it. It’ll just produce tension and frustration.

Depends on why the atheist brings it up in the first place.

Sometimes atheists go to lengths about their experiences in Christianity in an apparent attempt to legitimize their current opinion against Christianity. In such cases, the authenticity of their former faith may be a legitimate topic. IOW, don't use your former status to your advantage, then cry foul when that status is questioned.

[Gawen]

So if you’re a Christian and you think we were never Christians in the first place, don't bring it up - don’t harp about it. It’ll just produce tension and frustration.

Depends on why the atheist brings it up in the first place.

Sometimes atheists go to lengths about their experiences in Christianity in an apparent attempt to legitimize their current opinion against Christianity. In such cases, the authenticity of their former faith may be a legitimate topic. IOW, don't use your former status to your advantage, then cry foul when that status is questioned.

That's not the point. An atheists experience as a former theist, whether good or bad and wishes to speak about it is neither here nor there. It's the cruddy assertion by a theist that the atheist was never a theist or true theist in the first place.

[LegendarySandwich]

Depends on why the atheist brings it up in the first place.

Sometimes atheists go to lengths about their experiences in Christianity in an apparent attempt to legitimize their current opinion against Christianity. In such cases, the authenticity of their former faith may be a legitimate topic. IOW, don't use your former status to your advantage, then cry foul when that status is questioned.

You'd be at a very high risk of a committing a No True Scotsman fallacy in that conversation.

The point is that many Christians use the "personal experience" argument, usually as a last resort; they may even say to just try Christianity for a while and see the "miracles God can work for you in your life". Well, I have tried it. I was a Christian for all my life until a year or two ago, and, despite my wanting, I: never had a personal relationship with God; never felt prayer actually working; never felt God's presence in my life; never felt God's love in my life; never spoke in tongues, even though I tried real hard; never was a good little Christian; etc. Was I ever a "true" Christian? Probably not, because I think I always has doubt even from an early age. That's not the point, though. The point though is I tried your religion, and it didn't work. It couldn't have been that I wasn't sincere enough, for I was indoctrinated as a child. Subjective experiences aren't evidence, no, and my life is no exception -- but it is a rebuttal for every Christian who tries to use subjective evidence. If you can point to your own experiences and use those and proof of the existence of God, then I can point to my own experiences and use those as proof of the nonexistence of God.