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----- Original Message -----
Sent: 07 January 2000 22:16
Subject: Asymmetry of conversion?
Hi Glenn,
I enjoyed reading your website and I admire your
calm style and
thoughtfulness. I found your site from a link at the secular
web and
I would also like to commend you on providing links back to sites
that
disagree with yours.
As you have done considerable work on many
of the important questions that
people ask about Christianity, I hope that
you can provide me
with some information from the best of the Christian
thought that you have
perused. I don't know for sure yet if this really is a
tough question or not
(hence I haven't used your form), although I have an
inkling that it may be.
I am choosing the best Christian sites like yours
that I can find to shed
further light on this question. If you know of
anywhere else that you think I
should be asking, then please let me have a
URL or email address.
I am doing some research for my website "Leaving
Christianity" at
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~slocks/decon.html
The
site is basically a resource of "testimonies" from people who have
left
Christianity telling why they left in their own words. Mostly it links
to
sites already containing some collections of these stories. In the process
of
my research I have been struck by an asymmetry between the large number
of
professional Christians who deconvert (ministers, apologists,
missionaries
etc. from a range of Christian backgrounds) verses the lack of
their atheist
counterparts, such as members of humanist or atheist
organisations, who
convert to Christianity. However, to date I have mostly
just anecdotal
information on this and so I would be very grateful for any
statistics or
other relevant information from any organisations you know
of.
I am particularly interested in the conversion and deconversion of
informed
people from both the theist and non-theist camps who are well aware
of the
arguments from their particular side, rather than the lesser educated
public.
i.e. the conversion and deconversion of trained theist and
non-theist
"apologists", as it were, for and against Christianity. So my
question is:
***********
Are you aware of anyone who has converted to
Christianity from
previously having being a member of a
humanist/freethought/atheist etc.
organisation?
**********
I am
only really interested in those who were previously members of
an
atheist/freethought/humanist organisation who then became
Christians.
I'm not interested in those who have not studied the arguments
against
Christianity very well before they became Christians, so I'm using
membership
of an organisation as an indicator that they were probably quite
well read. I
am also not so interested in those who have studied and debated
the pro's and
cons after they have become Christians since I already have a
lot of access
to the extent of that material and I think there might be
separate issues
involved there. I really want to know if studying material
critical of
Christianity prevents people becoming Christians in the first
place (or
converting back again), whereas Christian ministers, apologists
and
theologians do change their beliefs (the "Sea of Faith"
organisation
http://www.sofn.org.uk/
for example).
I have already asked a number atheist/freethought/humanist
organisations and
they replied that although they were not aware of any
people leaving their
ranks for Christianity, there could be some that
preferred not to tell them,
so I should ask for further information from
anyone with extra inside
knowledge (i.e. more Christians).
If you are
aware of anyone having become a Christian from previously being
in such an
organisation then I would be interested in any details you could
provide and
email addresses and URLs if possible, so that I can follow up on
the reasons
why.
I appreciate that there are many intelligent people on both sides of
the
fence who are well educated in many subjects. However if there really is
an
asymmetry between these different organisations then why do you think
that
might be?
Also if you are aware of a quality Christian NG,
mailing list or website
that might be interested in this question without
filling my mailbox with
repetitive preaching then I would be very grateful!
(Although I am happy
to discuss any issue at leisure, I don't want to
continually go over well
thrashed ground!)
Thank you for any
help.
For details of what I have gathered so far on this question,
see
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~slocks/conversion_asymmetry.html
Regards,
Steve
----------------
Leaving
Christianity (hundreds of deconversion stories):
www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~slocks/decon.html
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