Both atheism and theism are controversial subjects and it may sometimes seem far too difficult to have a conversation about it. That's why listening––and reading!––are so essential. And it seems like more people are leaving religion behind more than ever, right?
Believe it or not, there are indeed cases of former atheists who chose to practice a religion. After Redditor lillythenotsogreat asked the online community, "Ex-atheists, what made you start believing in God/a religion again?" people shared their often intimate stories.
"Depression hit me hard..."
Depression hit me hard and I tried taking my life a few times and after the third, I was sent off to treatment. The first phase of my treatment was in the wilderness where I found God and I can't say it was this audible or clear moment but ever since then I have grown closer to Him and my faith is no longer a blind faith, but total confidence and assurance in Him.
"I thought religion was..."
I wasn't a believer. At all. I thought religion was the crutch of the weak. Until my boyfriend at the time relapsed on heroin. I found myself praying to a God I didn't even believe in. Honestly, I didn't feel better. But it opened a door for me. I started going to church with a friend. I found a new hope in life that I didnt have before. My boyfriend got clean. We got married. He was studying to become a pastor. I thought we were going to get the happy ever after. He relapsed and overdosed last month. During the first few days after his passing I wondered what his death meant for my faith. He was a much further along in his faith with much stronger convictions. Our church community has overwhelmed me with love to the point I wasnt ready to go back to church when they started in person service again because I was afraid of all the hugs and support would make me feel too much. I now believe he was brought into my life to bring me to faith so I can share the love of Jesus with others.
"Lately..."
Not exactly an athiest, but I grew up in the church, and for a long time I just stopped going to church and stopped thinking about God/religion. Lately I've been struggling with my depression/anxiety/adhd symptoms, my girlfriend and I found out our cat has cancer, and my girlfriend's car pretty much broke right before she has to start a new job. I started praying again, and I got this thought in my head. It was a bible verse (don't remember which one, but it was Old Testament) and I cracked open a bible and flipped to the verse. I don't remember what it said exactly, but it was something along the lines of "nobody is beyond the Lord saving them." That stuck with me, and for a few weeks now I've tried to pray every night before bed, and I've been reading the Bible again. I finished the whole book of Joshua in a few hours, and now I'm on Judges
"I got sucked into..."
Honestly, the occult. I got sucked into some pretty dark and scary stuff and was helplessly out of my depth. I would have this nightly visitor that my dog sensed and always warned me of. I'd never felt an energy of such hate in my life.
In a last ditch effort, I began praying to God, begging for this to stop. On that night I was scared and closed my eyes, pleading for help from someone. The feeling lessened and I noticed it start to move away. A feeling of love and light filled my heart like I'd never felt before.
From then on, I've been a devout Christian and vowed never to mess with the occult again.
"I found out..."
I was an atheist, up until about two months ago. I found out my estranged dad had overdosed, and his odds weren't exactly great. I'd never really gotten a chance to properly say goodbye to him, and that's one of my biggest regrets, so I got down on my knees and prayed for the first time in years. He lived, and whether or not God looked down and took pity on me that day, I consider myself a believer.
"Brushing up against..."
Brushing up against real evil in youth, feeling if there is this much darkness there has to be its opposite. Having many ''high strangeness'' experiences that made me sure there is much more to life on earth than meets the eye or that can be currently measured.
"Then I moved a couple provinces over..."
I came to terms with being Jewish and learned more about my specific Jewish culture.
I grew up in a traditional Central Asian Jewish household and for a while, I lived in a city where most people from my community live and even though none of the kids in my community went to my school, I fit in pretty well with my Muslim classmates. There was occasional antisemitism but I never felt ashamed of being Jewish.
Then I moved a couple provinces over and at the time, the province was pretty white and Christian. I faced a lot of antisemitism and racism (from teachers no less) but unlike back in the old city, I didn't have a Jewish community to fall back on. The Jewish community in my new city has and still is very judgemental and very Ashkenazi-centric so we never got to fit in. I spent most of my time being the only Jewish kid and a shit*y Jew because I didn't even fit the preconceived notions of Jews (for example, I don't know Yiddish and I don't know anyone who knows Yiddish, I'm pretty unambiguously not white, I come from a working class background, I didn't have a themed bar mitzvah, I say sh*t like shabbat instead of shabbos, kippah instead of yarmulke, brit instead of bris, etc.). I became increasingly ashamed of being Jewish so I did everything I could to separate myself from Judaism and Jewish culture. Being an atheist was the answer.
I eventually started identifying with being Jewish against when I went to university and actually got to meet people who aren't Christian or atheist. That helped me feel less ashamed of being Jewish and inspired me to looked into Central Asian Jewish culture and practices. Turns out I'm not a sh*tty Jew after all, I'm just some basic @ss Mizrahi guy from a basic @ss Mizrahi family. The final straw was I started dating an Iraqi-Canadian Muslim guy and he's been super supportive and interested in my culture.
"It was hard to ignore..."
After my late boyfriend died, I started seeing more signs of him telling me it's ok, he's still here with me and he's ok. It was hard to ignore. I don't follow any specific religion, but I have since done a lot of reading about near death experiences and whatever rabbit holes I fell down from there.
"I later started reading..."
I allowed the culture to make me think it was unlikely there was an omniscient and benevolent God.
I spent the early years of my adulthood around atheists, and I found in the long run that their answers required the same amount of faith as that of someone who believed in a creator. They just used the whole, "I believe in science" argument, yet their definition of science was based on ridiculous assumptions. Their idea of logic was based on consensus.
I later started reading apologetics from the likes of C.S. Lewis and Ravi Zaccharius and started to realize that their logic was sound and the culture that screamed, "BUT WE BELIEVE IN SCIENCE" could not actually logically defend their assertion, they just used the word science as a facade for them believing modern scientific consensus. And if you know anything about the history of scientific consensus, you know that it is OFTEN wrong, therefore it can not be used as factual cornerstone in and of itself.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "
- Atheists Confess What Other Atheists Do That Makes Them Cringe Big Time - George Takei ›
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- People Divulge Which Things They Swear To Be True Even Without Tangible Proof - George Takei ›
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.