Those of you who grew up in atheist families, what single thing most convinced you to convert?

I agree. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know and understand about everything. So I try not to make absolutes.

I cannot speak for anyone else in my religion, or a different one, but from my own personal experience/journey (from being agnostic/atheist to Christian) the reason I 'know' there is a God is the same reason I know love is a thing. To me, love is the biggest truth there is. It bonds people. It can make people break down in tears. It can make people do things they would never imagine doing. Love is something that can melt the coldest heart. Being shown true love, and grace, can change a persons life. However, what is love? I have seen no test for love. It cannot be measured. It cannot be plotted on a device. You cannot touch it, wrap it up in a bottle, or even measure it. Logic would tell me it doesn't exist. However, love manifests through actions. Words. If you have children, and you love them with all your heart, how can you prove it? If your kids love you, is there some machine that you need to hook them up to in order for you to believe they love you? No. You see it in their eyes. You see it in their actions, and it comes across in their words. Love knows no boundaries. It doesn't matter what language you speak, or where you are from, love is something that is universal to humans. What changed my mind, and helped me understand, was seeing that love in people. Not only that, experiencing it. I have seen broken people, VERY broken people, whose eyes no longer sparkle, robbed of their childhood, stripped of all dignity... I have seen those people change in seconds. I have seen their sparkle return. I have seen the smiles return to their faces. The feel complete. They feel loved. Something that would take YEARS of therapy, or more, I have seen that return to people in the blink of an eye. I have seen close personal friends of mine change. Complete 180's. Addictions dropped. A sense of purpose given. It changes them. Powerfully. To their very core. There is power there. It's one thing to see it, but it's another to feel it first hand.

When you love your child, you know it. You feel it. There is no one who can talk you out of it. "You don't really love your child! It's just chemicals in your brain deceiving you!"... I have heard it all. But no matter how hard you rationalize it, try to reason it away, you know it. You love them. You feel it. It's more real than any other emotion you can experience.

I have felt that. I have seen it. I experienced it. It changed my life, as it has many other people's lives. There is a great power there.

There is no better evidence for God, in my opinion.

When you experience that, and see it, first hand, it changes your heart. It gives you a lens to view the Bible through. Bottom line, you can find ANY god you want in the Bible. If you are looking for a cruel god, you will find one. "He did this!!! He did that!!, He is evil!" You will always find the god you want to find. However, when you're seeing the Bible through the lens of God being good, and being 'love', its much different. You start to see the intentions behind the actions, not just the actions. But again, it's all in the lens you choose to look through, and they type of god you want to find. Anyone can cherry-pick verses in the Bible, and twist them to meet their views, but God has said He is Love, and is Good, and if we draw a conclusion that is opposite of that, then there is a lack of understanding of who God is. If He is real, and if He is true, then His words would be the truth.

/r/Christianity Thread Parent