Life as a Committed Atheist
Jennifer Fulwiler was raised in a skeptical home that valued Carl Sagan more than Jesus. She developed an ardent atheism and joyously mocked religion. But one thing troubled her: she could never agree with fellow atheists that life was full of purpose. If we're all just chemical reactions, she thought, any sense of meaning was "unscientific and intellectually dishonest."
Meeting a Christian Intellectual
Then she met Joe—brilliant, with multiple degrees from Ivy League institutions, rapidly climbing the corporate ladder. Yet strangely, he identified as a Christian. "How could such a smart man believe something so ridiculous?" Jennifer wondered.
Atheist Converts to Catholic Faith
This led her to rigorously examine Christianity, if only to prove it wrong. She gorged on books, frequented online discussions, and started a blog inviting Christians to counter her atheism.
She was shocked by what she found. "These readers, whom I had handpicked to comment on my blog based on the ability to defend their beliefs against atheistic arguments... every one of them was Catholic." The Catholics had the best answers for the deep moral questions she was struggling with.
She began reading Catholic authors and "couldn't help but admit that these people seemed to possess an understanding of the world and the human experience I'd never encountered before. They had the same solid grasp on science and the material world as the atheists, but also possessed a knowledge of the movements of the human soul that resonated as true."
Transformed Life as Catholic Author
The evidence pushed her toward "a far more unsettling destination: the Catholic Church." Like Augustine and Lewis before her, Jennifer recounts her compelling journey in her memoir "Something Other Than God"—its title from a C.S. Lewis quote: "All that we call human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."
On Easter 2007, Jennifer Fulwiler—raised by atheists, married to an atheist, surrounded by atheist friends—became Catholic. She went on to become one of the most successful Catholic authors, podcasters, and stand-up comics.
