I've been a pretty staunch atheist for the past couple years, but just keep thinking about the possibility of there being a God. I recently ordered Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis so we'll see how that changes things, but for anybody else who made the same transition, when did you know undoubtedly that there was a God?

No one truly "knows". There is only belief. Most will argue the semantics of that statement but this side of existence no one can know.

What changed my mind was looking into the historical aspects of Christianity.

It is a mental struggle for me too, but when I look around and into the night sky, I find it hard to fathom that there isn't something much greater than our feeble minds can comprehend.

Aliens?

They would be  "Supreme Beings"

Can you expand on this?

I'd also recommend C.S. Lewis' Surprised by Joy. It's an autobiographical account of his transition from atheism to Christianity.

Tell us a little more about your concerns so we can give advice or recommend readings. I don't think you'll find many people who had a "Eureka!" moment. For me, it was like a current in the water. I first noticed it and then began to see it moved everything. The more I learn; the better I see God in action.

I was an atheist for 32 years.  Problem with atheism is there are no answers to as why we are here.

The Bible gives us all those answers and so much more for living a content and fulfilled life here and then a promise of Heaven afterword's.  

In 1988 my girlfriend was reading the book of Proverbs to me and soon after I could no longer argue the case that a creator did not exist.

I asked the Lord to show me the truth and I received a lightning bolt conversion.

All my 32 years of wisdom were dumped out on the sidewalk and a new life was started that day.

OP You should look for truth and evidence before pursuing any religion. What you are seeking is wholeness.  Please before you choose one path I explore you to explore other paths also to include not pursuing a religious belief system at all.  Furthermore read all of the text of the religions and if you do need one to complete yourself pick one that is wholeheartedly kind.  If you find one like that let us know.  

BTW You are agnostic not aitheist.

After you're done with Lewis, which is some good stuff, may I also suggestion G.K. Chesterton's "Heretics" and "Orthodoxy"?

FAR too many things that happened in my life had to have intervention, no way they were just by "chance" . Just watched this OP, you may enjoy it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChWiZ3iXWwM

Well, I got my books in, and so far nothing has changed. I know it won't be an easy road, but I would like to know the facts. To me some of the stuff in the Bible is just ludicrous; however, at the same time, it's tough to think that we were just put here out of chance.

I'll watch it when I get some free time.

BigCDaddy,
I think you will find Apologetics Press to be a fine resource.  http://apologeticspress.org/
It is filled with info dealing with the evidences for the belief in God (apologetics) as well as other subjects in this realm.  Please note, "faith" in God is not a "blind leap," but rather based on evidence.  
As stated in Hebrews 11:1  "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
I wish you well in your search.  If I can help in any way, do not hesitate to contact me.

Someone above mentioned reading Chesterton. You should also read his work Everlasting Man.

I encourage you to keep digging and remain objective. I often hear atheists talk about the ridiculous 'fairy tales' of the Bible and how all cultures create these stories. What they fail to realize is that if man has a predilection for the truths found in these stories, then it makes sense that God would express his truths through this means.

It sounds as through you've made it over the biggest hurdle, which is accepting that there is something above and beyond. Now you have to figure out what makes the most sense. In that regard, there's no comparison: Christianity is the only religion comprehensive enough to make sense of our existence. It has the 'depth' that nothing else has.

http://www.strangenotions.com/man/conversion-man/

I watched a great movie years ago. The case for Christ. It's a documentary a Newyork times reporter is an atheist. Married to a Christian and he sets out to prove his wife wrong using his reporting skills and contacts etc.  he ends proving Jesus did walk this earth and he became a Christian in the end.  Worth seeing.
   Also I believe God is already working in you otherwise you wouldn't be asking! When you find him you will know. Then visit a few churches and find one that is a bible believing bible preaching church! Around here there are churches that claim to be but have a lot of man made traditions etc.  I cut it short otherwise I would write a page on everything lol

What led you to be an atheist in the first place? Have your considered looking around your life and seeing what is making you feel empty first before moving towards an organized religion? If you are looking for rational reasons you should believe in a God, I commend you for your line of thought, but in the religion forum on an American right leaning site you are going to only truly get one opinion on the matter. Go out and talk to people of other religions. Look at their actions, their families, their way of life and see if maybe a different religion calls to you more.

OP, I was in the exact same boat as you. I've spent the last 8 years vehemently denying the existence of God, I recently went through a breakup with a girl I care deeply about. Afterwards I've been doing a lot of self reflection and the possibility of God being what was missing in my life crept in.

Last night, I hit a low point. My mind was racing I was anxious, sad, lonely, angry, and a million other things all at once. I felt hopeless. Out of desperation I closed my eyes and begged God to send me a sign to show me he was there, and instantly I felt better. It felt like a literal weight had been lifted off me, and 10 minutes later I was asleep.

I woke up this morning happy, and I feel full. Like I've eaten after starving for a long time. I've got a lot of work to do to really build on this but I know what I'm feeling is real.

I've spent today reading about C.S. Lewis, who I had a familiarity with before from having gone to a Catholic school my whole life, but I had no idea that the greatest Christian Apologist had been an atheist. Here's a link to the wikipedia page, I plan on reading his books soon, but just seeing the similarity between myself and Lewis has helped me out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis#Return_to_Christianity

Tim Keller's The Reason for God can be considered this generation's Mere Christianity.  It considers the questions that most people have been asking for the past 10 years & gives the Christian perspective in a very well thought out way.

If you're looking for stuff to read, I'd put it high on the list.

Sorry for the delay.

 

Basically we know Christianity is a religion rooted in history. We know when it began, where and who started it. So I started digging into the history of its formation. Books by top New Testament scholars and theologians. Raymond E Brown, Dale C. Allison, Craig L. Blomberg.


Cold Case Christianity is a good place to start. Its written by a former atheist police detective, who went the same route.

Or Read

A Demon Haunted World  by Carl Sagan, for a objective take on all religion.  Instead of looking to support beliefs, learn to question where they come from and why humans all gravitate toward religion in many ways.  IM me and I will share a copy with the OP.

It makes me glad to hear your testimony. I'll pray for you to stay strong and grow in Christ!

So that's a book covering history?  Doesn't seem like it

Nope, the sociology of religion, in some places he writes about history, in others psychology.  It challenges the concepts of religion and where it comes from.  The OP stated he was searching, I presented another view.

Ok cool
 
 

Check out The Case for Christ.

I'm afraid that's a pretty weak argument.

Mere Christianity is much more solid, IMO...

Consider this thought BigDaddy----And I really want you to meditate on these words......

God created enough evidence for those who want to believe to have their belief justified---but not so much evidence that those that do not want to believe will be forced into feigned loyalty.

And may I add---- I am and will continue to pray for you because I want you to know the God of hope, of purpose and of salvation.  He knows you and He loves you so much, that He gave His only begotten Son to die for you and for the sins of the world, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish.....but have everlasting life.  

If you have any comments or questions....please my friend, feel free to ask. I do not proclaim myself to be a theologian, but I am certainly here to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His love for you and I will do everything to give you an answer.

Heb. 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

1) Observing the incredibly complexity (yet in someways, simplicity) and beauty of nature and life, and realizing that this was designed by a Creator

2) Studying the early church.  Many early Christians died horrible deaths because of their beliefs.  If they invented a religion (as some say), why invent one that leads to them getting thrown to lions?

3) Studying American history.  Most of the Founders were Christian men.  Look at what they built from nothing based on the Word.  Conversely, look at how quickly America is falling because of abandoning that Word

4) Asking why the world talks of "diversity" and "tolerance", yet do the exact opposite to Christians.  Why prosecute Christians unless there really is a devil behind it all?

5) Understanding human origins.  The biggest coverup in history is the coverup of history, as Steve Quayle has said.  This covers giants, the flood, etc...

6) Seeing how true the things in the Bible written 1000s of years ago are still true today.  There is nothing new under the sun, said Solomon.

For me, a big part of it was realizing that the idea of "god" that I brought to the table was flawed.  God is not that.  It opened a door for me.  I don't know how else to explain it.  C.S. Lewis is good, but take a look at David Bentley Hart's "atheist delusion" for more on this perspective.

As an athiest, I'm sure you believe in science.  As a Christian, I do as well.  The big bang theory is the exact way I imagine things happening when God said, "Let there be light".  I imagine the universe exploded into existence in an instant.  It must have been an awesome sight.  If you look at science and look when the animals of the earth were formed, they reconcile with God saying "



Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds"...That would be the Cambrian explosion.  God is on display everywhere we look.  You only need to open your heart and eyes to see him.  



ETA:  I've always been of the mind that God uses nature for his purposes.  The parting of the red sea, the destruction of Sodom, etc... He gives us the evidence of his existence.  It's up to us to have the faith to know him.





 

I've always knew there was a God and from the time I was 11 or 12 I realized I loved Him. There were a lot of years in my life that God maybe took a back seat to everything else. Later in my life my son almost died ( Long Story ) when he awoke from a coma he described Heaven and a meeting with my grandfather who he never met. There were things that I prayed for that were clearly answered and I believe putting my trust in God at the most difficult time in my life, God rewarded me, if thats the right analogy, with my son's recovery and many questions answered. He hears us. He just wants us to trust and love Him. I believe fully and God, to the best of my ability, will always be at the center of my life. Doesnt mean i dont mess up, just that I try my best. If I was to start anywhere it would be with prayer and the Bible. Try reading John it is the last Gospel but really explains who Christ is and how he feels about and relates to us. God bless!

I find Darwin's argument of irreducible complexity a compelling thing.
I find the complexity of life to be beyond the possibility of chance.

I would also warn you that many beliefs are contradictory, but God isn't.
You have the right to reject doctrine that falsifies itself.

What doctrine falsifies itself?

St Thomas Aquinas.

First mover theory.

Enjoy your faith.  

As this guy explains, you don't even need the Bible to figure out that God is necessary, and the characteristics of that necessary God are consistent with the God of the Bible:









 

You don't need the Bible to figure out God is necessary, maybe, but you do need the Bible to know God. The Bible is God's mind, thoughts and laws written in a way we can understand. The author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit through the profits. Without the Bible and the Church people tend to make God what they would like him to be not what he has told us he is. How arrogant and vain is it for the created to try and define the creator based what they think He should be. Read the Bible,  
pray and go to Church. Satan would have you do otherwise. It's your soul and God wants you to be saved. Jesus is Lord!

That's a pretty good summary of Lewis' argument for God

Everything you see is a gift from God.  Consider when you awake in the morning and open your eyes.  Can a human design and construct a single functioning human eye from organic materials and make it alive, functioning, and self healing?  Consider the many things that are complex but less complex than that which it would be utterly absurd to suggest made themselves--the very computer for instance which you read this message.  Could less than hundreds of people mine the metals out of the ground, refine the plastics for the keyboard, extrude the wires from metal which is refined from ore, fashion a screen from a very specific kind of glass engineered by chemists and made by machines designed by engineers?  And yet it is simple, a part can be removed or added and it has no life of its own, only pins and screws wires and electricity, not DNA or cell parts or antibodies.  The work of hundreds of men using decades to centuries of developed processes to make it so and yet it is a single complex machine that cannot make itself nor fix itself.  Nor can your car, your camera, your guns, your house, or anything you own by human design.  That which you have as a gift from the day you were born and nine months before that is greater than anything you will ever own or could ever design or even imagine.  

Apply that then to everything you see and touch.  Astounding, isn't it?  We can see and touch and know it to be true.  Everything is a gift.  Even that which is made by us is made as a product of matter and physics given to us and by use of our minds which did not design themselves but mimic the mind that designed everything to work for us to use and see its Designer.

I can tell you that I grew up in a Christian school, church, and social environment and intellectually grasped it all or so I thought for my growing up years but kind of took it all for granted.  Then when I went off to school for the typical college years I was for the first time exposed to an environment where people either only tokenly acknowledged that church was normal for Sundays and to expect prayer before sports events but largely lived life as if God didn't exist at all or at very least didn't apply to life as it happens now.  Worse, these people were doing well in life it seemed and had a clearer picture of what was going on with people and how things worked in that specific environment than I did.  Stuff I had been told about virtue and reward and right and wrong seemed completely 180 degrees out of phase from what I was seeing actually happening. Everything I was taught apparently about God seemed not to match that what I was able to see, and that I was promised a good future was also looking like a false promise.  That really, REALLY messed me up.  Because I was confused and without direction, as my family seemed distant and all my prior sources of information seemed invalidated, my life went nowhere and I failed at everything.  I sank into some form of loosely deistic quasi hedonism and about 6-7 years of my life completely went to nothing, like they didn't even happen just time gone from my life.  

It was only eventually meeting my wife and seeing that something was at work that I began to see that He wasn't done with me at all.  I had felt for nearly a decade that God had completely let me go either because He wasn't there at all (or possibly never was) or wasn't interested in me because everything always applied to someone else and never me.  He gave me a lady who is completely unique and spoke to me and loved me specifically as if made for me and sent to me in that time.  She is from PA but went to school in AL and met me down there.  No less than the hand of the very God who made everything can do something like that.  He wanted me to know that not only He is who He said He was, but He hadn't let me go.  She brought me back to church and we have been on an amazing journey of faith together, a long, complex, interesting, and challenging one spanning 4 different states and several different kinds of churches.  Together we just joined an amazing local church which was a MAJOR act of faith on both our parts but especially hers as she had known Christianity in a very different (Catholic, specifically) form for her whole life, and was coming to want a much more personal and deeper faith and see more clearly the person of Jesus and experience the Holy Spirit moving in all aspects of our lives.  That God has worked a miracle in my life to bring me back from despair and meaninglessness to a life filled with love and meaning and back into understanding of Him is absolute proof to me that not only is there a higher being of some kind but the very God we know.  We can know that it is He who made us, loves us, directs our path, has worked a plan from the dawn of the world to bring us back to Him and who has spoken through the Bible over centuries to all mankind today.  What a joy it is to know that He would have us be able to know Him and communicate with Him and experience Him--we could easily not otherwise.

Mere Christianity is an amazing book to get things started and is spot on in almost every regard.  There's a few minor nitpicks here and there but most of them are quirks of the time it was written and Lewis then being a bachelor.  It is strongly compelling and invites further inquiry.  Something I recommend which can help quite a bit is some online church sermons which are very informative: look up Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lancaster, PA and go to the audio sermons page.  Dr Rogers has some of the finest educational sermons I have ever heard in my entire life and they can possibly benefit you immensely.

There were other times before and times since, but this one was incredibly profound. It's something I've shared before on here:

On Guard by William Lane Craig provides an excellent foundation for developing your belief.  Dr. Craig covers topics like the origin of the universe (primarily from a logical standpoint) and the historicity of Jesus Christ.  After reading On Guard, you can look into his other books which go into significantly more detail, like Reasonable Faith.  Reasonable Faith also covers many of the arguments and beliefs of historic theologians.  

John Lennox also has some solid books on such issues.  

On Guard
Reasonable Faith

I'd advise you to be aware that Craig has some really bizarre soteriological views. This leads to him regularly getting thrashed in debates with Christians and atheists alike. Other than that he's pretty solid.

YouTube " the great debate"  with Greg Bahnsen and Gordon Stein.  Amazing debate with the head atheist at the time.  Pretty one sided.

I think this is one of my favorite threads ever.

OP, I would also recommend reading Total Truth (Nancy Pearcy) as well as check out Francis Schaffer's L'Abri Fellowship. I may not agree with everything that Nancy Pearcy says, but for the most part, she hits it. Francis Schaffer is also really good. Then I would also read "Stealing from God" by Frank Turek. There are many other sites and resources as well.



Above all, I would recommend getting a Bible and reading that.



Lastly, I ran across a quote that I found interesting. I cannot remember who said it or even exactly how they said it, but here is what in gist they were saying. "The road to faith comes first from a knowledge of faith. But sometimes the road to faith comes from the obedience to things that we may not believe at first". I believe the quote referenced Acts 10:1-6. In that passage, Cornelius did not know Jesus specifically, but he was seeking. Peter showed the full truth (Acts 10:34-48).

Mere Christianity is really good.

I think Keller's "The Reason For God" is better if you have a very logical type brain.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525950494/?tag=vglnk-c102-20&hvadid=4962743768&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_stqwu5w15_e

If you'd like, PM me your address, and I'll send you a copy.

I was raised in a Christian family but I remember the exact moment when I took over my spiritual journey. I was a very  young teen likely around 12.
I was fond of reading encyclopedias. I read about all the things that interested me and at the end of each subject there would be references to other subjects of similar topics, this created a never ending web of subjects always going from one to the next related one. While these books were at least 20 years out of date they still had information on subjects like particle entanglement and how Einstein had trouble with the concept .etc

During this period I had asked my father if I could get his 8" Schmidt Cassegrain telescope out of the attic and start using it.
One night I was out star gazing and I came across a fuzzy blob. I could tell I was looking at the top view of a distant galaxy.
I remember thinking how many million years old the light must have been, that it would take millions of years to communicate with any life living in that galaxy. I then remembered what I read about particle entanglement and how maybe it could be used to communicate with them. I kept trying to envision how such particles could be connected over vast distances. All the scientific knowledge I had and that of even Einstein could not explain it. I came to the conclusion that a higher realm of reality must exist outside of what we can observe, a place where these particles are linked. If such a place could exist then it seemed logical that a creator could be existing in a similar higher dimension where more control over our Universe exists.

I then began thinking of things I read in the bible about not being about to look upon God without dying .etc, that seemed to fit well with him existing in a dimension outside of our own, one where we could not visit in the flesh.

Also during this time I got my first computer, and I began to apply these concepts to simulation metaphors. Such as entanglement was like having 2 files on your desktop selected at the same time. While they may be on opposite ends of the harddrive I can control them because I exist in a dimension of control above the physical reality of the harddrive.

Two books I have read and enjoyed were More Than A Carpenter by Josh McDowell, who like you was an unbeliever but sought and found God. It's a very short read.

The Journey by the Rev. Billy Graham. Basically it's a story of his life though not strictly his autobiography. Somewhere in there he said something that really answered one nagging question I always wondered. How does God know the future? Something in there clicked and I realized we mortal beings conceive time in a very linear fashion. Past. Present. Future. Always in this order without fail. But God the creator does not live bound by our constraints. He exists in a "dimension", if you will, outside of time as we know it. He sees all three simultaneously. That's how he could tell his prophets what would come to pass centuries before it happens. Once I realized this everything became so much easier to grasp. Despite having been a believer my whole life.

3:16 The Numbers of Hope by Max Lucado is an exposition on Bible passage John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." RSV

May I also suggest the book of Luke in the New Testament. Luke was a physician hired by a patron, Theophilus, to interview and record eyewitness accounts of Jesus' teachings and followers while they were still alive. Eventually he hooked up with the Apostle Paul and recorded his story and preachings. But that's another story.

Luke's gospel would be the closet we can get to a cold, modern analysis of Christ's teachings and life.

And Merry Christmas brother.