I never had a religion to start with in the first place, although I will tell you how I became an Strong Atheist, I wasn't one before say a few months ago. I was more Agnostic than anything else, mainly because apart from Islam I had not really read too much into religion. Atfer I have done a fair bit of reading into religion, I am convinced that god is a human invention and a psychological illusion (I have very seldom had, in fact I am puzzled by people who say to me they feel god in their lives).
My story,
I was raised by my avowedly atheist mother from age 4-13, then I moved with my dad and his then wife who subscribed to various new age stuff (including belief in Aliens visiting Earth). That experience affected me to the extent, I was always looking at Christianity from the position of an outsider and also I developed a solidly rationalistic, skeptical mindset.
Being open-minded and freethinking made me open in hearing about the ideas the Christians were preaching about. For a long time my main contact with Christians were with that of the liberal variety, I generally found them an all right lot and not terribly dogmatic. Since I have been at university for the last couple of years or so, I got to meet evangelical Christians. Being open-minded I started hearing about the gospel and reading the bible.
Compared to the Quran and Orthodox Islam, I did not find the evangelical Christians and their ideas all that threatening to my lifestyle. I guess the turning point for me lately has been, reading the bible more in-depth and in a way I did not before. Also reading works by ‘new atheist’ authors such as Dawkins, Harris, Onfray and Hitchens. Also my contact with Evangelical Christians has changed my views as well, I tend to see those people in having often a ‘correct’ interpretation of the bible, which my readings has confirmed. I am starting to evaluate seriously my neutral to slightly positive view of Christianity. I am also realizing the better Christians are the ones who don’t interpret the bible literally.
As the title of my post says, I have been through an 'atheist revival' akin to what happens to some Christians. My general apathy to Christianity and other religions are disappearing and I am becoming more critical of it, more in line with my view of Islam. Also far from seeing Dawkins, Dennett, Harris and Hitchens as 'loonies', I am to them and agree with their core message.
