How God turns a French atheist into a Christian theologian

TheoloGUI ^ | Guillaume Bignon

[redleghunter]

A number of people lately have been intrigued to meet a French theologian, and have asked me to tell them the story of how I, a French atheist, became a Christian scholar. Even the theologians and apologists I met recently at the ETS Conference in Baltimore (where by God’s grace I was delivering my first scholarly paper) seemed to care (understandably) more about my conversion from atheism than my immediate theology paper!

Therefore, it seemed fitting to type it up properly, to have a clean telling of that story of God breaking into my life, ready to be shared with people who ask. So here it is (and please let me know if you spot spelling mistakes or awkward sentences, I’m still French after all!)

[redleghunter]

. There was no going back. I had done it, and there was nothing I could do to change that. I still remember lying there in pain in my apartment near Paris, when all of a sudden the quarter dropped; it made sense: “That” is why Jesus had to die:…me. He who knew no sin became sin on my behalf, so that in Him I might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). He took upon himself the penalty that I deserved, so that in God’s justice, my sins would be forgiven freely, by grace as a gift, rather than by my righteous deeds or religious rituals. He died so that I may live. So I accepted the whole thing: I placed my trust in Jesus, and asked Him to forgive me in the way the New Testament promised He would.

[lee martell]

What would Voltaire have said about that, being the proud atheist he was? Sacre Bleu!

[imardmd1]

Read it through just now. Thanks for a captivating account, glad you spotted it.

May you have an especially blessed day today!

[YHAOS]

Rejoice!
He has come to be among us!

Now and forever!

[sphinx]

bttt

[daniel1212]

There was no going back. I had done it, and there was nothing I could do to change that. I still remember lying there in pain in my apartment near Paris, when all of a sudden the quarter dropped; it made sense: “That” is why Jesus had to die:…me.

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. (Psalms 53:1)

But wise men seek Him, Thanks for posting this.

[Lee N. Field]

But of course, if I was going to refute Christianity, I first needed to know what exactly it affirmed. So I picked up a Bible to figure it out.

Always a dangerous thing, to actually read.

[spirited irish]

Hallejah!!!

[metmom]

What a great testimony!

The gospel in it’s beautiful simplicity.

[metmom]

Now a number of things could be said about the whole thing, but if there is one thing to appreciate about this conversion story, it is this: I didn’t bring any of it upon myself. I was not looking for God; I did not seek Him, and I didn’t want Him. He reached out to me, loved me while I was still a sinner, broke my defenses, and decided to pour out His undeserved grace, that His Son might be glorified, and that, from my sin I may be saved by grace through faith, and not by works; it is the gift of God, so that no one may boast (Eph. 2:8-9).

That’s the Gospel, and it’s good news worth-believing.

Awesome!

[ImaGraftedBranch]

I read it twice. Awesome!

[OneWingedShark]

The gospel in it’s beautiful simplicity.

Indeed: simple enough a child can understand, and deep enough to swallow completely the greatest intellect.

[mrobisr]

Luke 15:10 New International Version (NIV)

10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

[boatbums]

I figured there was at least one experiment that could be carried out to dis-confirm the belief that God exists: I thought “if any of this is true, then there is a God who exists right now and presumably cares greatly about this project of mine”, so I started to pray in the air as an atheist “If there is a God, then here I am, I’m looking into this, why don’t you go ahead and reveal yourself to me. I’m open.” Well, I wasn’t, really, but I figured that shouldn’t stop God if He existed. So I read in the gospels about this Jesus of Nazareth.

It's amazing how many people relate the same kind of experience in coming to faith in Christ. I was a cradle Roman Catholic who always had "doubts" - a sense of things not being exactly how I was being told they were. I was fifteen years old and walking home from Mass one Sunday. I remember praying, "God, if you are real, if there is any such thing as truth, I want to know it." Within six months, I was sitting in a Southern Baptist Sunday school at my grandparent's church and a teacher opened the Bible and asked me to read it. It was John 10:27-30

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.

The Holy Spirit turned on the light and I knew God had answered my prayer. I received Jesus Christ as my Savior and the rest is, as they say, history. Yes, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

[duckbutt]

Amen! An uplifting testimony. Mine is practically the same —Been living in the Grace of the Lord since 1967 — Praise Him!!
THIS is the reason for the season!

[metmom]

I was a cradle Catholic as well, but had quit going to church except for Christmas and Easter, and whenever I felt guilty about not going.

After a number of years of being virtually an atheist myself, God put me in a circumstance where I was beought to the end of myself.

I finally told Him “ If You can straigten out this mess of a life of mine, You can have it. I’ll do anything You want, even become a missionary and go to Africa, (the most desperate thing I could think of. Definitely at the bottom of my bucket list.) because I’d rather be happy doing what you want than continue going on as I am.”

Those exact words. I still remember doing that like it was yestersay, and it’s been 37 + years now.

Praise God that He took me up on that.

I’d never go back to the old life. I count it all as rubbish for gaining Christ and being found in Him.

[Vision Thing]

On this day when we celebrate Jesus’ birth, this article asks an important question:

Why did Jesus have to die?

The author’s answer is profound, not just for him but for each of us.

Jesus had to die because of me.

[Not gonna take it anymore]

You both gave up Jesus in the Eucharist as you went.

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; 38 for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”

47 Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

[metmom]

Jesus does not live in a wafer.

He dwells in our hearts through faith.

Ephesians 3:14-19 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Additionally, I have taken communion in the Catholic church, so according to all y’alls reasoning, I already have Jesus already living in me. Plus I was baptized in the Catholic church and Catholics tell me that that’s how one is saved.

I’m good to go then.