The Atheist Blogger

The Friendly Atheist posed an interesting question today:

Who was the first atheist you ever met?

This question takes me back to my childhood, specifically when I was 11 and told my mother than I didn’t want to get confirmed because I didn’t believe in God. Luckily my family have never been one to pressure me into anything, and although she didn’t like the idea, she left it to that. Belief in God is a personal decision at the end of the day.

Of course at that point I would describe myself as agnostic, not atheist. I was more unsure about God and I wasn’t prepared to outright deny his existence. The first true atheist I met at that time was a boy called George who had also been brought up in a relaxed environment, but had completely denied the existence of God. It was probably due to talks with him that made me the atheist I am today.

Since then I’ve met numerous atheists and agnostics, and as soon as I came to uni, I formed an “Atheist Union” with a few friends, which has now grown into a recognised group on campus. Next Thursday we are debating the Christian Union over whether Biblical Christianity is credible in the modern world, which of course I will blog about in detail afterwards.

So, who was the first atheist you ever met? Did meeting them persuade you to become one as well, or were you already atheist?