#58: Testimonial from a Former Atheist, Now Christian: Frank Federico

Hello thinker,

We continue our apologetics series on the testimonials of former atheists who became Christians. As I said last month, my prayer is that we can better understand why people are skeptical of Christianity, why some eventually come to know Christ, and what we, as believers, might learn in our evangelistic endeavors from their journeys.

Most of this material is based on the work of Dr. Jana Harmon. [1,2] Jana has a ministry called, Side B Stories, in which she talks with former atheists and discusses their journeys to faith. She also wrote the book, Atheists Finding God, in order to answer the questions: what would it take for a skeptic to become a Christian, and what did it take for those who became passionate followers of Christ?

This month we hear the story of Frank Federico, an Australian history teacher. He describes his journey as “History Confirms Christianity.” Many people think the stories in the bible are mere myth and legend. As a historian, so did Frank. In the video below, he talks about moving from a skeptical view of Christianity to one which changed his view of history as well as his own life. You can view and hear his testimony here (11+ minutes):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odClk2P1vEg&t=25s.

 Frank was raised Catholic but said he had many questions in his teenage years. He asked his Catholic teachers and parents why we should believe what the school taught. Unfortunately, his questions were not answered, especially concerning a perceived conflict between science and faith. “I felt the beliefs that I had been taught were grounded in superstition and not evidence.”

By the age of 16, Frank walked away from his faith and became hostile towards Christianity. He says his doubts were intellectual but admits there were also volitional reasons – he wanted to live according to his own rules.

Later in life, as a public-school teacher, an incident occurred with a fellow teacher, David. David was both a science teacher and Christian “and in my head that didn’t make any sense.” He was “intelligent, humble, thoughtful, [and] extremely patient.” Frank asked him how he could reconcile his faith with science and was very much surprised by someone who was clearly not irrational, someone who was clearly intelligent and for whom the science-faith issue was not a problem. And for the first time in my life, I was able to meet someone who was able to answer my questions . . . and had some grounds for explaining why he believed what he believed.

It is a very interesting story – clearly a “God-thing” in Frank’s life.

Frank’s advice for skeptics? I encourage you “to question your own assumptions. Don’t just go with the flow of culture, the flow of your peers or what your family tells you.” And “don’t judge Christianity by looking at other Christians because all Christians are flawed people. What makes Christians different from a non-Christian is that most Christians recognize that. That’s why they go to Jesus because they need his forgiveness for their flaws.”

What might we learn from Frank’s experience? Just as we saw last month with Marie Wood, we must answer our children’s questions because the culture bombards them with false answers – anti-Christian answers. 

Christ said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37). Remember, by definition non-believers don’t “get” the soul part of our faith because the Holy Spirit hasn’t yet changed their hearts. So, we may have to speak to their God-given rational nature - their minds - at least initially. 

Fortunately, we can do this because God’s fingerprints are all over creation – in science, mathematics, history, philosophy, worldviews, archaeology, etc. We can discuss our faith in ways skeptics understand. If we can’t or don’t, they walk away - as younger generations are all over the world are doing. 

We, in AoM, see this occurring not just in the western world but in Africa and Latin America as well. Young people are asking fair questions and we are not responding, or not responding well. And as Frank said, this only confirms what the culture continuously tells them – Christianity is “grounded in superstition and not evidence.” Oh, is this so not true.

Lord, please give us the knowledge and wisdom to answer skeptics’ questions about you. And help us to do this with gentleness and respect

In Christ,

Doug 

[1] Dr. Jana Harmon is a Teaching Fellow for C.S. Lewis Institute Atlanta and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Cultural Apologetics at Biola University. Her doctoral research examined the religious conversion of atheists to Christianity; she studied the perspectives and stories of 50 former atheists. Jana received her Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham, England, and views apologetics through a practical, evangelistic lens.

[2] Dr. Harmon’s ministry is called, Side B Stories: https://sidebstories.com. You will find the videos I highlight in my notes on her website as well as over 50 podcast interviews of former skeptics (now Christians).