Former atheist, dealing with old biases

I get these types of thoughts although I always believed in God I'd never looked into Christianity properly. I became a Christian in July so not very long ago.

The best thing to do is catch and discard your thoughts as soon as you realise. Easier said than done but you get better at it. Secondly as basic as this sounds don't neglect reading the Bible.

I can't really explain how I catch thoughts. It's not as simple as saying to yourself "don't be silly" etc. Consider a boxer when he gets hit, for a millisecond he's flustered then he's back on target. I had psychosis and afterwards I got very good at catching thoughts. They still get me sometimes though

Sm412 said:

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

I am a recent convert from atheism/agnosticism. For a while I was full blown atheist, then I moved to agnosticism (I accepted that there is a God, I just didn't belong to any religion), and I have recently made the jump to Christianity. I have accepted Christ into my life. I am immensely happy with this decision. I feel my life since has been better than ever. I feel God working in my life.

One thing I struggle with is old biases bubbling up here and there. I feel myself questioning my own faith. I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky. Old neural pathways fire off, giving resurgence of old thinking. I know it takes time to change such things, so I must be patient, especially given how new I am to faith. Right now I am in the process of discarding old ideas and accepting new ideas, which is no easy task for an adult. Kids can do it at the drop of a hat. Us adults are more set in our ways.

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

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It is good that you believe in Our Lord. Keep in mind that God gave you a brain and it isn't wrong to use it. If you lived your life steeped in atheistic culture, that will probably frame at least some of your ideas and attitudes even now. Nobody expects you to change overnight.

And honestly, I think there are limits to how much you need to change at all. An intelligent, questioning mind is no bad thing. Christianity has nothing to fear from good faith curiosity and investigation. It's normal to have questions. By all means, ask questions and seek answers.

Your foundation of faith in Christ is THE step in the right direction. Hold on to that as you search for your answers. And remember, the truth doesn't fear honest and sincere analysis.

Sm412 said:

I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

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Were those Episcopalians instrumental in leading you to Jesus? If so, see if they have a new believers' Bible study. If they don't, look for such in nearby churches, while you still attend this one. Vineyard churches and Assemblies of God are good choices.

Sm412 said:

I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky.

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The devil is even more tricky.

You are a follower of Christ now. The devil is going to be after you from now on. He knows all too well how to push your buttons. Identify him, and stand firm in your faith. Use your questions as a starting point for your next Bible study. It sounds to me like you're already doing all the right things - just keep going.

Sm412 said:

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

I am a recent convert from atheism/agnosticism. For a while I was full blown atheist, then I moved to agnosticism (I accepted that there is a God, I just didn't belong to any religion), and I have recently made the jump to Christianity. I have accepted Christ into my life. I am immensely happy with this decision. I feel my life since has been better than ever. I feel God working in my life.

One thing I struggle with is old biases bubbling up here and there. I feel myself questioning my own faith. I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky. Old neural pathways fire off, giving resurgence of old thinking. I know it takes time to change such things, so I must be patient, especially given how new I am to faith. Right now I am in the process of discarding old ideas and accepting new ideas, which is no easy task for an adult. Kids can do it at the drop of a hat. Us adults are more set in our ways.

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

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Welcome home my dear. The Christian walk is a fight/battle, a race according to the epistles. That means there is opposition and the flesh is our biggest enemy. The devil uses our weaknesses against us and he knows you too well. The bible says we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus. You are already doing the right things. Just keep on and know that it's not your mind's ideas that justify you but what Christ has already done on the cross. Read Romans 12:1-3

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The more you read, the more you listen to his Word, the more your faith grows
James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
The closer you strive to become the closer he will draw to you.
Also keep in mind that sometimes the people we used to be, are things God will repurpose for good. Ask God to truly transform you, give all of who you are, broken and all. It isn't that God makes us some super Christian that has never done the things we have done.
An example was I used to go to the bar and sing karaoke and carry on for my own fun.
I gave that to God and now I sing in the choir at church for his glory and not my own. Anything that you think is broken, he will use it. He knows who you are inside and out. He knows where you lay your head at night.

from Psalm 139
verses 1-3
O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

Sm412 said:

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

I am a recent convert from atheism/agnosticism. For a while I was full blown atheist, then I moved to agnosticism (I accepted that there is a God, I just didn't belong to any religion), and I have recently made the jump to Christianity. I have accepted Christ into my life. I am immensely happy with this decision. I feel my life since has been better than ever. I feel God working in my life.

One thing I struggle with is old biases bubbling up here and there. I feel myself questioning my own faith. I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky. Old neural pathways fire off, giving resurgence of old thinking. I know it takes time to change such things, so I must be patient, especially given how new I am to faith. Right now I am in the process of discarding old ideas and accepting new ideas, which is no easy task for an adult. Kids can do it at the drop of a hat. Us adults are more set in our ways.

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

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I guess you need to continually be around true christians, continue to go to church don't stop that mid way and don't hang around much with your former atheists acquaintances. You could get influenced by them again.

Sm412 said:

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

I am a recent convert from atheism/agnosticism. For a while I was full blown atheist, then I moved to agnosticism (I accepted that there is a God, I just didn't belong to any religion), and I have recently made the jump to Christianity. I have accepted Christ into my life. I am immensely happy with this decision. I feel my life since has been better than ever. I feel God working in my life.

One thing I struggle with is old biases bubbling up here and there. I feel myself questioning my own faith. I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky. Old neural pathways fire off, giving resurgence of old thinking. I know it takes time to change such things, so I must be patient, especially given how new I am to faith. Right now I am in the process of discarding old ideas and accepting new ideas, which is no easy task for an adult. Kids can do it at the drop of a hat. Us adults are more set in our ways.

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

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I would suggest really exploring all areas of current Christian thought, writers like Tom Wright and Robert Alter who have faith but aren’t caught up in simplistic notions or fear of pushing outside of the boundaries of fixed or unexamined beliefs. God’s interaction with man seems to range from the occasionally dramatic to the mostly pretty subtle, and good biblical scholars really explore that whole interaction in a way that can be fully satisfying intellectually, and can lead to some great insights into God’s character.

Sm412 said:

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

I am a recent convert from atheism/agnosticism. For a while I was full blown atheist, then I moved to agnosticism (I accepted that there is a God, I just didn't belong to any religion), and I have recently made the jump to Christianity. I have accepted Christ into my life. I am immensely happy with this decision. I feel my life since has been better than ever. I feel God working in my life.

One thing I struggle with is old biases bubbling up here and there. I feel myself questioning my own faith. I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky. Old neural pathways fire off, giving resurgence of old thinking. I know it takes time to change such things, so I must be patient, especially given how new I am to faith. Right now I am in the process of discarding old ideas and accepting new ideas, which is no easy task for an adult. Kids can do it at the drop of a hat. Us adults are more set in our ways.

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

Click to expand...

You strengthen your faith through learning and application of the Word. It's not a matter of throwing away old ideas, but your mind gets transform, so you are now measuring up your ideas under a new litmus. This is the time now to question everything and engage with other believers and the Word by applying it to your daily life, building a good foundation for your faith, which is crucial. You're already doing that which is good, its just a matter now of life application.

I think one of the downfalls is that a lot of people just start off just going through the motions in the beginning, and then realize later down the line when life happens that they have no foundation for their faith. Or they may have a lot of head knowledge, but because they are not living it out, confusion starts to steep in. So it is important to have both.

What I'm doing now personally is revamping the way I am studying the Word and how I pray. Before it was so dry, and it did reflect sometimes on how I saw God, as this distinct figure. But even changing how I pray, and how I break down information, made a huge difference. Now the Word feels more alive for me and I can understand it easier, and I learned that there are a lot of good methods out there! So you may find yourself as you are growing in faith, and you go through different experiences in your life, also critiquing how you are viewing information. That's important as well, understanding why you operate the way you operate, self-examination.

Sm412 said:

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

I am a recent convert from atheism/agnosticism. For a while I was full blown atheist, then I moved to agnosticism (I accepted that there is a God, I just didn't belong to any religion), and I have recently made the jump to Christianity. I have accepted Christ into my life. I am immensely happy with this decision. I feel my life since has been better than ever. I feel God working in my life.

One thing I struggle with is old biases bubbling up here and there. I feel myself questioning my own faith. I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky. Old neural pathways fire off, giving resurgence of old thinking. I know it takes time to change such things, so I must be patient, especially given how new I am to faith. Right now I am in the process of discarding old ideas and accepting new ideas, which is no easy task for an adult. Kids can do it at the drop of a hat. Us adults are more set in our ways.

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

Click to expand...

You strengthen your faith through learning and application of the Word. It's not a matter of throwing away old ideas, but your mind gets transform, so you are now measuring up your ideas under a new litmus. This is the time now to question everything and engage with other believers and the Word by applying it to your daily life, building a good foundation for your faith, which is crucial. You're already doing that which is good, its just a matter now of life application.

I think one of the downfalls is that a lot of people just start off just going through the motions in the beginning, and then realize later down the line when life happens that they have no foundation for their faith. Or they may have a lot of head knowledge, but because they are not living it out, confusion starts to steep in. So it is important to have both.

What I'm doing now personally is revamping the way I am studying the Word and how I pray. Before it was so dry, and it did reflect sometimes on how I saw God, as this distinct figure. But even changing how I pray, and how I break down information, made a huge difference. Now the Word feels more alive for me and I can understand it easier, and I learned that there are a lot of good methods out there! So you may find yourself as you are growing in faith, and you go through different experiences in your life, also critiquing how you are viewing information. That's important as well, understanding why you operate the way you operate, self-examination. Journalling as well helps keep log of how you viewed things on a day to day basis.

Sm412 said:

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

I am a recent convert from atheism/agnosticism. For a while I was full blown atheist, then I moved to agnosticism (I accepted that there is a God, I just didn't belong to any religion), and I have recently made the jump to Christianity. I have accepted Christ into my life. I am immensely happy with this decision. I feel my life since has been better than ever. I feel God working in my life.

One thing I struggle with is old biases bubbling up here and there. I feel myself questioning my own faith. I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky. Old neural pathways fire off, giving resurgence of old thinking. I know it takes time to change such things, so I must be patient, especially given how new I am to faith. Right now I am in the process of discarding old ideas and accepting new ideas, which is no easy task for an adult. Kids can do it at the drop of a hat. Us adults are more set in our ways.

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

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I assume you have reasons for your belief in Christianity, which are better than your old objections, yes? Remember those, reinforce them.

Worship at church, let go and sing. I can't explain why, but that can help.

Sm412 said:

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

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Developing a thorough comprehension of God through deeper study of scripture is the number one thing can do to solidify your faith. This means going beyond surface reading of the Word by using commentaries and a quality study Bible. Being able to answer questions posed about God and the consistency of scripture will really aid immensely also.

Here's a study Bible I like to suggest - NAS Zondervan Study Bible, Bonded leather, Burgundy

A great commentary site - StudyLight.org: Search, Read and Study with our Bible Tools

Finally, with the risk of overwhelming you, I am including a page that lists the basic principles of Biblical interpretation. Possessing the skill of proper reading of scripture is absolutely fundamental!

Lesson 6: Principles of Biblical Interpretation

Sm412 said:

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

I am a recent convert from atheism/agnosticism. For a while I was full blown atheist, then I moved to agnosticism (I accepted that there is a God, I just didn't belong to any religion), and I have recently made the jump to Christianity. I have accepted Christ into my life. I am immensely happy with this decision. I feel my life since has been better than ever. I feel God working in my life.

One thing I struggle with is old biases bubbling up here and there. I feel myself questioning my own faith. I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky. Old neural pathways fire off, giving resurgence of old thinking. I know it takes time to change such things, so I must be patient, especially given how new I am to faith. Right now I am in the process of discarding old ideas and accepting new ideas, which is no easy task for an adult. Kids can do it at the drop of a hat. Us adults are more set in our ways.

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

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I like to combine prayer and scripture reading by praying the words of the Bible. I found this reading very helpful.
https://www.ministrybooks.org/books.cfm?id=3852D6

This post resonated with me also - very new Christian and sometimes feel myself slipping and as not yet a church member.

Talking to my Christian friends, praying, and reading my Bible more often seem to hold me steadfast, but we all slip, doubt,slacken off and question at some point I imagine.

I believe that it's better to keep asking questions and wrestling with doubts than to suppress them. For me, it helps to consider different potential answers and try to find out more about the perspectives about which I am less familiar - even if some are less aligned with my current belief. Balance is important though, since it may not be healthy to isolate on any one view too much. Ultimately, I need to remember that many questions aren't answerable, so I'm OK embracing mystery too. I don't believe God it threatened by this line of thinking, and it's feels more genuine to me.

I would share the following with you. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Don't dwell on your past, God does not. You are on the correct road if you continue to read the Word of God regularly, daily along with prayer and meditation on that word. Allow God to speak to you. As you drink from this well of living water, the Bible and meditate in God's presence, God will renew you daily. In very simple terms we must die to self, live for Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to work His good and perfect will in our lives. It is the beginning, not the end of faith. Our journey becomes one of service to God and others, of teaching, of sharing the Gospel and growth in Jesus as we die to self. Only an empty vessel can be used fully and completely. It is a lifelong adventure.

Sm412 said:

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

I am a recent convert from atheism/agnosticism. For a while I was full blown atheist, then I moved to agnosticism (I accepted that there is a God, I just didn't belong to any religion), and I have recently made the jump to Christianity. I have accepted Christ into my life. I am immensely happy with this decision. I feel my life since has been better than ever. I feel God working in my life.

One thing I struggle with is old biases bubbling up here and there. I feel myself questioning my own faith. I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky. Old neural pathways fire off, giving resurgence of old thinking. I know it takes time to change such things, so I must be patient, especially given how new I am to faith. Right now I am in the process of discarding old ideas and accepting new ideas, which is no easy task for an adult. Kids can do it at the drop of a hat. Us adults are more set in our ways.

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

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A Christian is one who has a personal relationship with God through Christ. Being a Christian is not, at bottom, a matter of propositions, of adopting a structure of beliefs, but of living in daily fellowship with God. When God each day is convicting you of sin, illuminating your mind to His eternal truth, comforting you in times of trouble, strengthening you in times of temptation, providing materially for your needs, causing you to love fellow Christians, and to hunger for His truth (among other things), it is impossible to doubt if the things about God you have come to accept are really true. You know they are! God isn't merely an Idea to which you maintain fidelity, but a Real Person who molds and directs your life every day. If this is not your daily experience of God, there is something seriously wrong between Him and you.

It can also help to fortify your faith with good apologetics:

www.crossexamined.org
www.reasonablefaith.org
www.coldscasechristianity.com
www.rzim.org

Sm412 said:

Hi all. I hope you had a wonderful Sunday.

I am a recent convert from atheism/agnosticism. For a while I was full blown atheist, then I moved to agnosticism (I accepted that there is a God, I just didn't belong to any religion), and I have recently made the jump to Christianity. I have accepted Christ into my life. I am immensely happy with this decision. I feel my life since has been better than ever. I feel God working in my life.

One thing I struggle with is old biases bubbling up here and there. I feel myself questioning my own faith. I believe in God firmly, however, the brain is tricky. Old neural pathways fire off, giving resurgence of old thinking. I know it takes time to change such things, so I must be patient, especially given how new I am to faith. Right now I am in the process of discarding old ideas and accepting new ideas, which is no easy task for an adult. Kids can do it at the drop of a hat. Us adults are more set in our ways.

Does anyone have any tips? How do you strengthen your faith? Some things I currently do are prayer and scripture reading, both frequent. I talk to my pastor and members of my church. I have found a home in the Episcopal denomination. I go to Sunday service and sometimes a Thursday service.

Does anyone have any wisdom, encouragement, or tips they can share?

Click to expand...

Hello there,

I relate a bit to you interms of previous lack of belief. Your experience will determine how effective this is:

To be very honest with you, the devil lead me to Jesus. He has and he continues to lead me there. If you have a problem 100% believing in the devil, in evil, in supernatural wickedness, witchcraft and possession etc... Then this won't work for you I think (actually if you are a believer who has no belief in such things you are open targets I think... I know really).

My atheism lead into spirituality... The new age stuff really... And that lead me into the realisation of spirit, of evil, of witchcraft and magick etc. Now having experienced this knowledge for a few years I had sudden realization of the simplistic truth of Jesus Christ, his mission, his triumph, his status and of course his power!

Right now my realization is this: my walk needs to be as such to remove and prevent infection of the evil one. I understand that under Jesus I am unconquerable - This blessing makes me so humbled and amazed that I am considered worthy if such a sacrifice and such easy reward. I realise my God is good and he is great! I realise he really loves us all, beyond our capacity to understand. I decide being a slave to God is an actually honor while a slave to this life is corruption. I decide I will make it a priority to learn the ability to allow Him to work through me, to bring everyone to this realization or any task given really.

Today, what would be fearsome and scary gives me great power. I rejoice when I find evil whether in man or the supernaturally. Great is our God! We stand undefeated once under him! His love for us is made clear! Sing like King David!

Well, if the veil between the carnal and the spiritual world has not been swayed for you it may be difficult to relate. If/when it does, instead of fear I hope it explodes your faith!