Atheist rejected God because of science, then science led her to God

Atheist rejected God because of science, then science led her to God

Decidedly “100% atheist,” Mariah Jones pitied Christians, believing they reject reason and the advancements of scientific knowledge.

“I did not believe in God,” Mariah says on a 2019 video on her YouTube channel. “I didn’t believe in spirituality at all. I thought believing in such things was silly. Basically I was just a strong believer in science.”

Right after high school, Mariah joined the Navy in 2013. It was in the Navy that she developed anorexia and bulimia.

“It grew more and more aggressive as the years went by,” she says.

Once out of the Navy, she enrolled in college, and she positively relished the science classes which at first affirmed her belief in nothing.

“I used to enjoy when people would bring up God so that I could try and destroy their argument with science.” she admits. “I would ask them impossible questions that would put them in this awkward position and make it pretty much impossible for them to answer.

“I hated when people would talk about Jesus.”

Her distaste for Christianity was extreme, fueled by the grip of the evil one in her life.

“My mentality towards Christians and anyone who was religious was like, You’re wasting your entire life trying to live by these impossible standards and these rules that supposedly God created just to go to a place after you die,” she says. “I thought religion was a man-made construct that was harmful to people.”

Then a boomerang struck in 2017 in her second year in college. The same science that in the first year of college affirmed her atheist became the science of the second year of college that undermined her atheism.

Specifically, how could biological molecules with astronomical number of atoms all sequenced with confunding minute precision have just come together by chance? she wondered.

See related article: scientist Sy Garte became a Christian when he studied molecular biology.

So at first science contributed to her atheistic arrogance. Then, as the classes advanced, they deconstructed it.

“Having to accept that everything just formed on its own by itself on accident, it didn’t make sense to me,” Mariah admits. “It really started to bother me because deep down I didn’t want to believe something. I didn’t want to take that responsibility.”

Mariah stayed after class and probed professors looking for logical answers.

“What came first, was it the blood or was it the heart that pumped the blood?” she quizzed them. “Was it the skin that held it all together or the organs inside the skin? How did nothing turn into something? How did nothing result in intelligent life? How did an explosion result in living breathing loving unique beings?”

The professors were of no help with these befuddling questions. So, her mind wandered to the obvious: there had to be an outside agent guiding the process, an external agent with a purpose from another dimension.

Her progression bugged her. She had always felt sorry for those who saw the need to believe in God. But now science was leading her towards him.

“Eventually I recognized my biases and I knew that I was being closed-minded towards the alternative which was God,” she says.

As she pondered what she had vowed never to do, she prayed to God.

“I refused to call it a prayer at this time,” she recalls. “But I basically said, ‘God if you’re real and you really exist, would you not want me to know you? Would you want me to wonder forever about if you exist? I don’t want to be disrespectful to you. But I just if you’re there, I want you to give me a sign and I’ll believe.’”

Immediately… nothing happened. To be truthful, Mariah felt embarrassed and dumb.

But as the next six months unwound, things happened: vivid dreams that reflected Bible verses and scary events rattled her.

Mariah was disinclined towards Christianity. So she searched every other religion: Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism, you name it, she researched it.

Finally, she looked into the character of Jesus in the Bible, and what she saw startled her.

“I started studying the Bible and learning about Jesus and the meaning of his life and death and what he claimed his purpose was,” Mariah says. “I ended up finding out that his purpose was essentially for me.”

Then in December 2017, her battles with anorexia and bulimia came to a head.

“I was trapped in this violent cycle that would never end, never, no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break out of it,” she admits. “I remember being in the bathroom. I was in the bathtub and I was throwing up. I remember feeling like, How long will I keep doing this? I felt so enslaved by this disease, this addiction”

As the water was running, she broke down crying for the first time.

Without any forethought, she cried out: “Jesus, please help me.”

This time the response was immediate.

“I can’t explain the feeling what it was. It was love. Someone loved me. I felt stillness, peace,” she explains. “Within seconds the crying stopped, not on my own. Something had come over my entire being. There are no words. The entire room was filled with Jesus.”

The anorexia and bulimia simply disappeared from her life.

“I felt healed,” she thinks. “It felt almost like I never had an addiction to begin with. This darkness, this heaviness that was over me for four years, gone completely. I went to bed that night shocked – in a good way. I just could not believe what happened to me. I still can’t fathom what he did to me.”

A few days later, she received Jesus Christ into her heart.

Initially, Mariah was reluctant to share her testimony online because she feared a blowback from her atheist friends.

“I know what I’m going to face. I know people will probably make fun of me. I’ve accepted it,” Mariah says. “I know who I used to be. I would have laughed at me. But I don’t care. I will never forget what he did for me. I will always be in his debt. This is just a small, small portion of my gratitude for what he did for me.”

If you want to know more about a personal relationship with God, go here

From: God Reports

Hadija’s story

‘I hadn’t seen a Bible or heard the gospel, but God worked a miracle in my heart’

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‘I hadn’t seen a Bible or heard the gospel, but God worked a miracle in my heart’

Hadija’s story | The astounding grace of Jesus in Southern Russia

 

“I grew up in a high mountain village, in Caucasus, Southern Russia. It was a Muslim area. In my heart, I was a devout Muslim, although I didn’t wear head covering. I would fast and pray and listen to Islamic preaching. They said if you don’t follow Islamic teaching, you will go to hell.

I remember thinking I didn’t want to go to hell. I wanted the path leading to heaven. I asked old ladies to teach me and I wrote down Arabic prayers. But it never took away the fear of hell. I would try to comfort myself with reasons why I might go to heaven, but I wasn’t peaceful or free. Islamic teaching doesn’t assure heaven.

After school, I went to university and studied linguistics. There was a mix of people. I met a girl from Ukraine who was a Christian. She would be walking around listening to worship songs in Russian on a little tape. I really liked them. But the words of the songs mentioned Jesus, which didn’t feel right. I said, “Can you give me some of those nice songs, without the name Jesus?”

She did and I really enjoyed them. But I felt bad inside because I was listening to songs about Jesus. I prayed to Allah and said sorry. One day, as I was praying, the presence came. The whole room was filled with his presence, and my insides too. I couldn’t see anyone but I knew someone was there. It shook me. I said, “Who is there?”

Then a voice said, “Jesus” in Russian. There is no way I would make up that word. It wasn’t even my language. So I prayed an Arabic prayer to get rid of the demons. But as I prayed the prayer, I knew that it wouldn’t work on him, on Jesus. Even as I said the prayer, I also knew in my heart that I didn’t want Jesus to go. I kept praying on my rug, and the presence was there, as strong as before.

That night, I couldn’t sleep. I sat up on the bed and said, “I need my peace back. Allah, if you are the real one, please stop this. Jesus, if you are the real one, do something.” Then I fell asleep, straight away.

I woke up at 6am, at Islamic prayer time, but I didn’t want to pray to Allah. I knew I wanted to talk to a Christian, so I went to a small house church. I spoke to a man and his wife about what had happened. Years later, they told me I actually spoke to them from the Bible. I told them about Jesus dying on the cross for me, and that I wanted to repent and believe. I don’t remember saying that. I didn’t even know that then! I hadn’t seen a Bible or heard the gospel. God worked a miracle in my heart. It’s God who is amazing. From that moment on, I became a Christian. The couple gave me a Bible and I began to read it.

At the time, I was living with my sister. I hadn’t realised the consequences. I had found the truth! I told my sisters I’d found something amazing. One of them said, “You realise what that means if I tell our parents. People like you need to be killed.”

I started to read my Bible and pray, hiding in the toilet. I loved the toilet. It’s funny, because as a Muslim, the toilet is an unclean place, but as a Christian, it became my safe place. They couldn’t find me there. I finished uni, and my sister told my parents. They were so angry. They planned to put me on house arrest and arrange a Muslim marriage.

I kept asking God what to do. It was so intense. Then I read Matthew 19:29: “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”

I had a choice. It was a big step, but God was showing me the way. I wrote a letter to my family telling them the truth. I believed in Jesus. Then I asked the church members for help. They contacted people in Russia working at a theological college. I said to God, “If this is your plan, please show me.” That evening, a student knocked on my door. He shyly gave me some cash for the trip. It was enough for a ticket. It was amazing!

I went to Russia and I studied at the theological college! Many miracles have happened since then. But the main thing is God is doing it. He works the miracles. Even though I was stubbornly fixed in an ideology, Jesus rose above it. He spoke to me and delivered me. I wasn’t the sort of person who could compare the Bible and the Quran. I didn’t have the intelligence or the interest. But he broke through to my heart. Jesus does that. He snatched me out of it. I remember the day I suddenly realised that Jesus was Lord. He was God! He wasn’t just a prophet or a historical figure. I understood grace. It was miraculous and instantaneous! I was on my knees, sobbing, remembering how dark and hopeless I had felt before, but now knowing grace, and feeling it in my body. Jesus came. He died for me. He took my sin. The burden and fear of hell was gone. I still feel it! I can’t put it in words. But I have been given grace.”

Hadija’s story is part of Eternity’s Faith Stories series, compiled by Naomi Reed. Click here for more Faith Stories.

Secretary of ‘Atheists in Kenya’ Resigns: “He Has Found Jesus Christ” · Caldron Pool


“A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.”

The secretary for an organisation promoting atheism in Kenya has resigned from his position after converting to Christianity.

A statement issued by the Atheists in Kenya Society revealed Seth Mahiga was no longer interested in promoting atheism in the East African country after he “found Jesus Christ.”

The notice, which was posted to Twitter on Saturday states: “This evening, regretfully, the Secretary of the Atheists in Kenya Society Mr. Seth Mahiga, informed me that he has made the decision to resign from his position as Secretary of the society.

The statement continues: “Seth’s reason for resigning is that he has found Jesus Christ and is no longer interested in promoting atheism in Kenya.”

A day later, the organisation shared a 30-second video of Mahiga during a church service where he confessed Christ and announced his plans to resign from the society.

Mahiga said he is now so happy to be in the house of the Lord and to live by his ways.

Former atheist C.S. Lewis, who described himself as the most reluctant convert in England, once warned: “A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere– ‘Bibles laid open, millions of surprises… fine nets and stratagems.’ God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous.”

From Caldron Pool

My Story

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Last night at the Christian Life and Witness Course, which we are running as preparation for Come Together next month, it was suggested that we write down the story of our faith journey. “You can blog it,”  the presenter, Rodney Trinidad said amongst other options.

Unexpectedly finding myself with a spare half hour, I thought that might be a good idea. I have talked about my conversion experience on many occasions, but it has been a long time since I wrote it down.

The story starts with my birth in 1958, in Wolverhampton, England, to a working class couple. My school years were at a Catholic school, and Mum used to take my brother and me to Mass most Sundays.

I guess that time of my childhood would be like that of most children in England at the time. My parents rented an ordinary Council house and made sure we had enough to eat and were dressed warmly.

In the late 1960’s the UK began a long process of transition from the unionised industrial era to a much more modern economy, and as companies were trying to become more competitive there were increasing strikes in all parts of the country. As a result Mum and Dad saw some brochures about how wonderful life in Australia was- backed up by letters from my Aunt who had moved to Sydney years before.

So it was that in February 1969, the Bates family became 10 pound poms and moved to Sydney.

As I grew through my teen years, I became a bit of an atheist. I loved to bait the christians in my year. But I was also very depressed.

In May 1976, during the first year of my degree in Chemical Engineering, I was staying at my friend’s place. His family had gone on holidays, and the plan was that after we had finished our end of term exams we would join them.

As I was lying in bed one night just before going to sleep, I had a vision as clear as if it were real life. In this vision I saw myself climbing a mountain. It was so steep that I was literally dragging myself up the side of the mountain. As I climbed I could see that there was an intense light shining from behind the mountain, but I couldn’t see the source. As I climbed the light got brighter.

Finally, I reached the top and saw that the source of the light was Jesus. As I saw Him I felt love, joy and peace such as I had never experienced before.

So what do you do with an experience like that? God literally dropped on a self-proclaimed atheist and said “Here I am.”

I said to the God who only minutes before I would have said I didn’t believe in, “I will go to church next Sunday and if it’s good I will follow you.”

The following Sunday, I didn’t go to church because I was away with my friend’s family. But the Sunday after, I went to the night service at Wesley Methodist Church Castle Hill. The service, although it was a traditional 4 hymn service, was so full of the presence of God.

Since that time, I have obviously grown in my knowledge of who God is. There have been times when  life has been very challenging. There have even been times when the old depression has threatened to come back and overwhelm me.

But God has given me such purpose in my life, and that initial feeling of love, joy and peace has always remained with me.

Walking with Jesus is just the best life there is.

Converted to Instant Death

From Bombay Orthodox Diocese

What made a non believer Chadian citizen; die for Christ, along with his “20 Coptic Christian friends”?

ISIS announced the execution of 21 Copts but only 20 names were confirmed, most of them were from the province of Minya(Upper Egypt). There was an inaccuracy in the number of Egyptian Hostages; there were only 20 Egyptians(Copts). Then who was this remaining one non-Coptic victim?

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Ahram-Canadian News was able to gather information about this man. He was a Chadian Citizen (Darker skin shown in picture) who accepted Christianity after seeing the immense faith of his fellow Coptic Christians to die for Christ. When Terrorist forced him to reject Jesus Christ as God, looking at his Christian friends he replied, “their God is my God“ so the terrorist beheaded him also.

Think about the faith, shining through those 20 Christians who made a non believer, a true believer in Christ, even at the point of death. In Bible, Gospel of Luke describes about two thieves, being on either side of Jesus as they were crucified. At that very point of death by Crucifixion, one of the thief accepted Christ saying, ‘LORD, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ Here this Chadian citizen showed the same faith in Christ.
Can we put ourselves into his place? The faith he showed was not a mean faith, at such a moment, he could believe in Jesus as Lord and King.

May God help us to strength our faith so that the world may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven. (Mathew 5:16)
(News referred from Ahram-Canadian news)