Former Atheist Testimonies

Lewis was a militant atheist who believed Christianity was mythology. Through studying philosophy, literature, and conversations with J.R.R. Tolkien, he encountered the logical force of Christianity. He wrote: "I gave in, and admitted that God was God...perhaps the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England." He became one of history's greatest Christian writers, authoring Mere Christianity, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Screwtape Letters.

Strobel was a Yale-educated legal journalist and atheist. When his wife became Christian, he set out to disprove Christianity using his investigative skills. After two years of research, examining evidence for Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, he concluded Christianity was true. He wrote "The Case for Christ" documenting his journey from skeptic to believer.

Wallace was an atheist cold-case detective who applied forensic investigation techniques to the Gospels. Using methods he perfected investigating murders, he examined eyewitness accounts, chain of custody, and corroborating evidence. The Gospels demonstrated all characteristics of reliable eyewitness testimony. He couldn't dismiss the evidence.

Collins directed the Human Genome Project, mapping all human DNA. As an atheist scientist, he believed faith contradicted reason. During medical school, patients' peace while facing death impressed him. He realized science couldn't explain ultimate meaning. He investigated Christianity's claims and found the evidence—philosophical arguments, Jesus' historicity, the universe's fine-tuning—compelling.

McGrath was a passionate atheist studying molecular biophysics at Oxford. He believed science disproved God. As he studied more deeply, he realized science and Christianity were compatible. The fine-tuning of the universe, the origins of life, and the limitations of naturalism led him to Christianity. He now writes extensively on science and faith.

Flew was the 20th century's most influential atheist philosopher. For 50+ years, he championed atheism and debated Christians. At age 81, he announced his conversion to theism—shocking the atheist community. He cited three reasons: DNA's information complexity, the fine-tuning of physical constants, and the impossibility of explaining life's origin naturalistically. Though he didn't embrace Christianity fully before his death, he acknowledged Jesus' resurrection remained "the best-attested miracle."

Feser was trained in analytic philosophy and embraced atheism. He believed materialism explained everything. But consciousness, intentionality, and mathematics couldn't be reduced to physics. Reading Aquinas, he discovered medieval philosophers had identified these problems centuries ago. Modern materialism wasn't sophisticated—it was simplistic.

Qureshi was raised in a devout Muslim family and studied Islam extensively. Through friendship with a Christian, he began investigating Christianity's claims. After years of research into historical evidence for Jesus' resurrection and deity, he converted—despite knowing it would cost him his family. He wrote "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus" before dying of stomach cancer at age 34, maintaining his faith through suffering.

Ayaan was raised Muslim, became a passionate atheist and critic of Islam, and was a prominent figure in New Atheism circles. Despite her atheist activism, she found atheism intellectually and spiritually hollow. She realized Christianity built Western civilization's greatest achievements and provided meaning atheism couldn't offer. In 2023, she announced her conversion to Christianity.

Butterfield was a tenured professor and LGBT activist who despised Christianity. A pastor befriended her without judgment, and she began reading the Bible to refute it. Instead, the Bible "got inside" her. She encountered God's holiness and her own sin. She converted, left her lesbian relationship, married a pastor, and now ministers to the LGBT community with grace and truth.

Fulwiler grew up in an atheist home where faith was considered irrational. As an adult, she began investigating Christianity through reading and research. The problem of consciousness, objective morality, and the limitations of materialism led her to belief. She converted, despite social cost, and now writes and speaks on faith and reason.

Bignon was a confident French atheist engineer who enjoyed debating Christians. When he met a Christian woman he wanted to date, he began studying Christianity to prove it wrong. Instead, the evidence—particularly for Jesus' resurrection—convinced him. He converted, pursued philosophy and theology, and now writes sophisticated defenses of Christian faith.