“I Used To Be An Atheist, Now I’m Not, Therefore Atheism Is Wrong”

This line of arguing is rarely explicitly stated, but seems to be the undertone used by some people. Generally we tend to hear only the first clause in arguments “I used to be an atheist” and the rest is merely implied. There are three major problems with introducing this to a discussion.

Firstly, it could very easily be a lie, intended to make the speaker somehow look superior to their opponent. If this is true then nothing has been contributed to the debate other than a massive, unwanted ego, and the line holds no philosophical value whatsoever.

Secondly, if it is not a lie, then clearly the speaker was a terrible atheist who did not properly understand or even consider the arguments against the existence of a god. The speaker must have been what this website terms a super-positive atheist.

And thirdly, not a logical flaw in the statement, just an annoying personality feature: how dare someone be so condescending to suggest that atheism is something that a person grows out of, or is just a phase. It shows an absence of interest in the reasoning behind atheism and a desire to squash it underneath a self-absorbed, comforting religion.