People at Glendale - Martin

Like many, I wasnt brought up in a Christian family. However, I have such respect for the way my Mum & Dad brought me up and the way they live their life. To them there is no God. Youre born, you live, and then you die. In life you know what is right & wrong, you have a conscience, there is no excuse, get on with it & dont make a fuss. The most important thing is to work hard, live within your means, and be helpful, independent & honest. This makes sense and faces up to the hardships and injustices of life.

My wife & I had that same atheistic view for around 40 years and would not be swayed. Then quite suddenly following a chance association with Newbury Baptist Church, my wife became a Christian - this was nearly 6 years ago. As an atheist, it wasnt easy coming to terms with her new found faith and it really tested our love for each other that thankfully proved to be sound. The Baptist minister at the time, Jim McNaughton, would visit the house and try the old Christian brain washing but I wasnt having any of it. I didnt need Christ. Despite all this, I liked Jim a lot and we would go to the pub together and agree to disagree. Eventually, I agreed to attend an Alpha Course with my wife which was run by the Kennet Christian Centre. I was the only atheist there. I thought everyone was so weak & pathetic in their belief in God & I was convinced that by the end of the course I could convert them all to atheism. It would be easy because atheism makes so much sense. My mind would wonder on this theme and I would think of the potential to convert all churches to atheism. All that land and resource could be turned into something useful.

It appeared that all I had to do was say the prayer of forgiveness and thats it - youre a Christian. Towards the end of the course I tried this but could never complete the prayer, it didnt feel sincere - there had to be more to it. I finished the course challenged but still an atheist. However, I continued to look into the evidence & found that much of the biblical text is qualified in history. There are 191 predictions in the old testament about the coming of Christ, his ancestry, where he would be born, born of a virgin, when, why and how he would die. There is so much evidence to support the crucifixion & the resurrection, some of this evidence was written before crucifixion was invented. Why is it that people accept so much about history yet have such difficulty accepting the Bible?

Eventually I found that faith could be based on evidence, not some airy fairy step into the unknown. Faith isnt a perpetual religious high - not if you live in the real world of pain & suffering. If I accept that there is a God & the Bible is true then I had to decide what I was going to do about it. If its true and I walk away from it because being a Christian isnt convenient or comfortable then I am only denying the truth and would then be living a lie. It was a massive dilemma for me.

One night nearly 4 years ago when I was in the house alone & after much thought, I said the prayer of forgiveness and opened my mind and heart to be led by Christ. If Im to be honest with you, I became a Christian reluctantly - because I could no longer prove that it isnt true.

There were no flashing lights, I didnt have a silly grin on my face, and I didnt rush out & buy a pair of sandals and start hugging everyone. My daughter wasnt cured of her Autism & I didnt win the premium bond jackpot. At times I still have doubts but if I seriously face the truth I find that I cant walk away from it - believe me Ive wanted too.

However some things did change. For the first time I felt I earned enough money. Faced with difficult situations at work I would find myself praying for staff that normally I would have gone into battle with. I no longer had hidden agendas at meetings and corporate politics became meaningless.

The Bible says something like the ways of the cross seem like foolishness to those that dont believe. That was so true when as an atheist I looked at Christians and I apologise for my arrogance.

Until recently, I couldnt see the point in being baptised, standing out here and saying a few words when 4 years ago I had already made my mind up about being Christian. However, I now understand that being baptised today in front of this church is about being obedient to God because Im serious about my faith. Its not about a public performance. Its symbolic and is what Gods word commands - who am I to ignore that command.