La foi a ses raisons

by Guillaume Bignon

Guillaume est raisonnablement athée. Profondément athée. Son travail de consultant en informatique financière le comble. Sa pratique du volley-ball en national et le succès croissant de son groupe de musique l’aident considérablement dans ses conquêtes féminines. Mais sa rencontre en auto-stop avec un ex-mannequin aura un impact inattendu sur ses croyances.

Au fil de son témoignage, atypique et émouvant, Guillaume aborde les grandes questions philosophiques qui l’ont amené à croire en Dieu. Il n’esquive aucun sujet : la moralité, la relation entre foi et science, le surnaturel, le problème du mal, la fiabilité de la Bible.

Avec une rigueur intellectuelle exceptionnelle, une authenticité remarquable et un humour pétillant, il emmène le lecteur dans ses propres questionnements et ses surprenantes découvertes.

Guillaume Bignon est ingénieur en informatique financière. Diplômé de l’Institut supérieur d’électronique de Paris, il est aussi titulaire d’un doctorat de théologie philosophique de l’Université du Middlesex à Londres.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Biography, Theology, Christianity, Faith, Audiobook

288 pages, Unknown Binding

First published April 2, 2018

Reviews

[Yibbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the French Riviera to the beaches of the Caribbean, from the banks of Wall Street to the London School of Theology, Guillaume Bignon’s story is captivating, and this book presents it extraordinarily well. Sometimes apologetics books are dry comparative textbooks, this one isn’t. Sometimes spiritual memoirs are all emotion and experience, this one isn’t. This one is a beautiful mix of serious intellectual study and personal redemption. He moves the reader so naturally through the story of his life and discussions of philosophy that one is hardly aware of the change of subjects. Then again perhaps it doesn’t really change subjects, but rather, it simply takes the time to answer the questions and objections he had at each point in his quest.
This book handles some of the most popular objections atheists throw out to challenge faith in God and the Bible. He quotes numerous philosophers, authors, and historians, some very familiar and others new to me. He shows us how their ideas had influenced his atheism even when he couldn’t put their names to the beliefs he held. I like the way that he quotes from them. He lets them build their own arguments and then shows how the same arguments fall apart. He does this by either using their own words to contradict themselves or by logically evaluating their inconsistent treatment of the Bible in comparison to other historic texts. It was clear yet quick and easily understood.
What I most appreciated about this book though, is the Gospel focus. It is presented in all its logical clarity and personal overwhelming power and beauty. He is very clear, both in his teaching as well as in his personal testimony; head knowledge of the truth of the Gospel isn’t enough. It must become personal. Each of us must accept Christ’s offer to forgive our sins, to change our hearts, and to give us new, eternal life. He shows the Biblical truth of sin and forgiveness. His life, before he accepted Christ, was wicked. He is very discreet, but you get the idea. The Word of God convicted him of the sinfulness of his lifestyle. Then through his personal testimony, he shows us the personal reality of salvation through faith in Christ and its joy. That makes this a powerful book.
If you couldn’t tell yet, I really, really recommend this book. I believe it will at the very least give an atheist something to think about and a chance to find eternal life. And I know it will encourage and enlighten a believer. So read it already.
I received this book as a free ARC through NetGalley and Tyndale House Publishers, Tyndale Momentum. No favorable review was required. It was my pleasure to provide my honest opinions.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: The story of a software engineer, volleyball player, and musician who thought he had it all until his encounter with a fashion model who was a Christian.

Augustine was a gifted teacher, skilled rhetorician, a natural leader and a ladies man. The subject of this memoir sounds very like him. A software engineer for a Wall Street financial firm, a competitive volleyball player, a musician–and also a ladies man. And like Augustine, Guillaume Bignon titles the account of his turning to faith Confessions.

It all began on a Caribbean vacation when he encounters a beautiful fashion model, Vanessa, from New York (he was living in France at the time). They were romantically drawn to each other but she will not sleep with him and insists on going to church. These are deal breakers for him and he determines that he has to argue her out of her faith, to embrace the atheism that is his own persuasion. All is going well until she says, “But you haven’t even asked me what I believe!” So he listens to her compelling, even miraculous story, but concludes that he has to investigate for himself. He starts reading the Bible…and likes it. When shoulder injuries sideline him, he visits the church in Paris she attended on a visit with him. When he attempts to leave, he is overcome with chills, goes back to meet the pastor and begins a series of conversations.

Like Bishop Ambrose with Augustine, Robert Baxter patiently walks through all Guillaume’s questions from the Bible and then comes to the big issue in his life–sexual morality. He works through intellectual issues like faith and science. He wrestles with the possibility of miracles, including the greatest miracle, the resurrection. He begins to recognize that he believes many things because they are reasonable but not certain and that Christian faith could be like that.

He moved to New York, taking a Wall Street job to be closer to Vanessa, even as he is drawing closer to Christ. He comes to understand why Jesus died and why he died for him–the weight of his own sin. He came to terms with the many women he’d hurt. He confesses his sins, and is baptized by Vanessa’s pastor. His faith survives the end of his relationship with Vanessa and, alone in New York, he studies apologetics every chance he gets as he writes his friends about his newfound faith and answers their questions. As in his journey to faith, he relates in the book the insights he was gaining. One thing led to another–a divinity degree, a Ph.D in philosophy, opportunities to speak about his faith, and an encounter with an au pair in Paris, who became his wife.

I enjoyed two aspects of this account. One was his own journey to faith, the questions he asked, the insights that were convincing, and the ways God moved in his life from head to heart and back again, bringing heart and mind together in his apologetic witness. The other thing I liked was the portrayal of the spiritual friends, Robert and Vinny who walked alongside him on his journey, never forcing, but waiting for the Spirit of God to break through. Even Vanessa’s story and the witness of her chaste life was significant, but it was God who broke through.

There is much to be learned here about adult conversion in a post-Christian era in Guillaume’s questions and doubts and the patient witness of those who were alongside in his search. There is much here we can learn as we ask what it might mean to be friend like these friends to someone who seemed to have it all but is being pursued by God.

____________________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Leanne McElroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chewed through this book. It interweaves a personal testimony with theological, philosophical, and scientific pondering. A clear presentation of arguments and breaking down of common misconceptions about the Christian faith. I loved reading the story of how God transformed the heart of one French Atheist. He recounts how he looked down on Christians in the early years of his life, even going so far as to think us brain dead and or call us “exotic creatures.” This book is simply put together, yet it packs a fierce punch. The cover is clean cut, compact, and well formatted to grab the eye.

There’s a beautiful love story here of one atheist who found God through self-discovery and then went on to be a huge ambassador for Christian apologetics. I confess I found nothing missing, all the loose ends were tied up and I enjoyed myself. I quickly devoured more than a chapter at a time during most readings.

The tiny nods and references to French culture, language and geographical locations was a nice touch for my French culture and language passion.

Overall, I definitely recommend to anyone interested in the subject of conversion stories, the Christian faith, apologetics or scientific rationale for religious beliefs. I thought it was well worth the read.

[Adrian David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Journey of an Avowed Atheist from Darkness to the Light
A truly compelling spiritual memoir that chronicles the life of the author — an avowed atheist who ended up not only embracing but also defending the very Christian faith he was once indifferent to. The foreword by Lee Strobel, the acclaimed author of The Case for Christ is the icing on the proverbial cake. Just like author Guillaume Bignon, Lee Strobel had started out as an atheist who was prompted to investigate Christianity. As Strobel notes, they both “critically examined historical data, scientific findings and philosophical reasonings, and arrived at a verdict.”

Being raised Catholic in a family of nominal Christians in the largely irreligious society of France, Guillaume Bignon dismissed the very idea of faith at a young age and instead, chose to “seek knowledge of the world through valid and rational pursuits such as math and physics.” In his perspective, religion was “intellectual suicide” and people who believed in God were “either steeped in tradition or refused to think logically.” As a young man, he became an atheist wherein he adopted the secular point of view and accepted the presupposition that one had to be stupid to believe in God, a notion that was prevalent in French culture since the 18th century. Having extensively read French atheist philosophers like Voltaire, Jean Meslier, and Baron d’Holbach, Guillaume was heavily critical of religion — Christianity in particular — and strongly felt that faith and reason were at odds with each other. Despite being a successful software engineer, volleyball athlete, and musician, he didn’t find any objective meaning in life. He was without a purpose in his illusive pursuit of happiness.

The biggest turning point in his life came when his erstwhile girlfriend told him she believed in God and shared her conversion story, much to his shock. Disturbed by this epiphany, Guillaume Bignon took up the challenge of convincing her that her religious convictions were unfounded, hoping that she would give up her beliefs. In his efforts to refute Christianity and disprove the existence of God, he started reading the Bible and investigating the faith. Along his quest for answers to life’s most profound questions, he introspected his own atheistic presuppositions and convictions. After reading texts by Christian philosophers and their atheist counterparts alike, he met different people and came across many revelations, including the fact that the historical existence of Jesus is well-attested by sources and that “the Gospels were reliable and it was intellectually reasonable to believe the author’s version of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.” Eventually, he concluded thus: The Christian faith is not contrary to reason, it is not ignorance or blind faith in the dark, rather, it is a settled trust in God rooted in His character and faithfulness and justified by reason and experience.

Guillaume Bignon reflects on how he found new life in Christ, who changed his heart and forgave his sins. After he moved to the United States, Guillaume went on to talk to his friends about his nascent Christian faith and formulate answers and arguments in favor of it. His defense of Christianity led him to joining a Master’s program in a seminary at Manhattan where he specialized in systematic theology. As a Christian theologian and philosopher, he talked to skeptics who shared an atheistic worldview he once shared. No matter how many hurdles came his way, God guided him through life’s manifold challenges. Furthermore, Guillaume shares the beautiful story of how he met his God-fearing wife.

Throughout his book, Guillaume doesn’t force anyone to share his belief. Rather, he aims to “proclaim the message to anyone who wants to hear it.” Many of us struggle with doubt at some point in our lives. Guillaume’s conversion story, which involved intellectual reflection and emotion, inspires us to reinforce our faith and come closer to God. To put it in the words of the author, “Without God, there is no meaning to life.”

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched a YT video on Gavin Ortland’s channel when Guilliame Bignon was the guest. He seemed an interesting guy so I downloaded his book. I really enjoyed it. He is indeed an interesting person and I enjoyed reading about his conversion from atheism to Christianity.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful journey to faith. Guillaume Bignon is upfront about his doubts, his faults, his stumbling blocks. And does an interesting job of citing his step forward, and a step back to a “but the French agnostic (or atheist) intellectual says this cannot be because xyz . . . “.

He takes these counter arguments into account. And does a nice job of giving his own thoughts & experiences, in direct response. I particularly liked his grandfather’s thoughts along the way. The old man had made a mark on the world, was thoughtful and wise, and wrote some things that made Bignon think.

As I read the book, I was thinking about the stat showing growing atheism and agnosticism in America (faith in God fallen to 92 pct cons, 72pct progs, 68pct young), and some I care about losing their “childhood’s faith” (calling to mind the well known poem). I was also thinking about my own walk towards — and stumbles from — the character I hope for before I am done. But hope is not enough.

I found the book not dispositive, but allowing room for one’s own thoughts. It avoids the aridity of some intellectual approaches. And yet is thoughtful and worth going on the trip w Guillaume Bignon. If just to think and strive again. And maybe reach that grace Guillaume does.

[Josh Olds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since Lee Strobel’s now-classic The Case for Christ, the atheist-turned-Christian apologetics-themed memoir has popped up from time to time to varying levels of success. Confessions of a French Atheist by Guillaume Bignon is the latest, with the primary hook being Bignon’s French background and Christian by philosophers and theologians outside the American milieu. As such, Bignon offers a sometimes compelling, sometimes dry spiritual memoir that does sufficiently the job it sets out to do.

It's difficult to critique memoir because you are talking about the content of someone’s life, usually a subsection of their life which holds great meaning or value to them. Far be it from me to criticize anyone’s story; however, it is also true that not all stories need be told via a published memoir. The question that must be answer is “Is this story valuable to enough strangers to be published.” It’s not whether the story has value. It does. It’s whether that story’s value can be transposed into a larger context.

This is where Confessions of a French Atheist fell rather flat for me. Bignon’s narrative comes across as stilted and detached from the story he is telling. Maybe it is because Bignon’s first language is not English, maybe it is because his style and tone are more suited to academia, but he often comes across as a third-person narrator to his own story. I always felt like there was an intellectual distance between me and the story.

This feeling was exacerbated by the way in which Bignon interwove the thread of apologetics. The book’s strength was its use of thinkers and writers less-quoted in American evangelical apologetics; however, the way in which Bignon inserted his didactic material further drew me away from the personalness of the story. I was reading half a stilted memoir and half a decent book on apologetics.

It's not that Confessions of French Atheist is bad, but simply that it doesn’t break any new ground or offer a compelling reason to retread the old ground. As a story of conversion, it deserves to be celebrated. As a memoir, it’s only mildly interesting. As apologetics, it doesn’t say much new or appeal to a wide enough audience. I think Bignon would have done better (though perhaps sold fewer books) had he gone all out with the intellectual memoir and not attempted to write it for the popular level. As is, the bar set by guys like Lee Strobel (who wrote the foreword to the book) and J. Warner Wallace just isn’t matched here by Guillaume Bignon and Confessions of a French Atheist.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It never gets old…seeing our gracious God reach down and pluck us from the miry clay. Loved this story about a guy who was living a charmed life (ladies’ man, athletic, musical, & well employed) looking for girls while on vacation and got a cosmic “bait and switch” instead. Except what he received was waaaay better than his own plan.

I enjoyed reliving his thought process and objections to the gospel of Christ and how, contrary to popular belief, Christianity is not an unreasonable, unscientific faith. It perfectly joins the heart with what the heavens declare through science, if we have the eyes to see.

Highly recommend!

[Jo Ksly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un livre qui se lit très facilement. Guillaume mêle témoignage personnel tout en passant en revue la plupart des questions apologétiques. J'ai particulièrement aimé la façon dont l'auteur documente son récit par les principaux auteurs athées et interagît avec leurs arguments.

Les exemples sont pertinents et les arguments apologétiques présentés simplement.

Un livre à conseiller pour les chrétiens dont la foi est remise en question, mais aussi à toute personne se questionnant sur la pertinence et la véracité du christianisme.

[James Tetley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read. Guillaume is brutally honest about his journey to faith. He grew up a typical French cultural Catholic as a child, having undergone catechism, first communion etc but with no real knowledge of God. He openly walked away from his faith. Seeing believers as people who held onto fairy-tales, and are simple-minded and irrational to believe in God's existence.

His jourbey of faith began through a woman - and utimately led him into a church....What a blessing o hear of pastor Robert and his he mentored him and spent countless sessions answering his questions. In today's postmodern anti God culture, I fundamentally think these types of interactions will be needed to walk alongside people.

The book was written in a helpful way. Each part of his journey to faith was bolstered by apologetic arguements that he had learned.
- Can we truly find success outside of God and ultimate meaning
- Can we have objective morals outside of God
- The role of Jesus and the gospels in helping find truth
- Are miracles true, and is Christians view on sex just outdated
- Surely science has disproved faith and scientism answers all the questions of faith
- Can the gospels be trusted to give a trustworthy account of the life of Jesus
- Is the resurrection even possible
- Surely hell is incompatible with a loving God
- Hasn't evolution disproved God

During the course of his intellectual pursuit of God there were some amazing stories seeing God at work, like his volleyball injury leading him to church , and visa approval after sharing his faith with his family. Also amazing to see how the church he found faith was also eventually the church he found his wife. Encouraging read and a helpful book to lend to skeptics. Recommended to atheist and believer as one example of someone finding the Christian faith to be both intellectually robust and emotionally true.

[Bob O'Bannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to read detailed conversion stories, especially when they come from (formerly) committed atheists like Guillaume, and especially when they arise out of thoroughly secular environments like the nation of France. As Guillaume tells his life story, he weaves in the occasions on which he was led to explore all of the major objections to the Christian faith (science, certainty, evolution, reliability of the Gospels, miracles, etc), and how his questions were satisfactorily answered. The writing style can be pretty simplistic sometimes, especially when personal anecdotes are related, but I think this works in Guillaume’s favor, because before long you find yourself grappling with some pretty sophisticated philosophical concepts, but only briefly, because Guillaume’s life story is the main thrust of the book. This book would be a very appropriate gift for your atheist or skeptical friend.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is part memoir/conversion narrative, part apologetics. The former interests me more than the latter, which probably says more about me than the quality of the writing. If you’re interested in Christian apologetics, this might be your jam…

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this well written memoir, probably more so because Guillaume's journey aligned very closely with my own.

[Anete Ābola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atheist turns into an apologist.
Unfaithful heartbreaker turns into a faithful believer.
Interesting biography mingled with his favourite apologetics facts.

[Josh Yerkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

You gotta read this! Riveting and helpful.

[Etienne OMNES · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ce livre est quelque chose d'unique dans la littérature chrétienne francophone: un témoignage (grand classique) et un livre d'apologétique à la fois.

Je connaissais et suivais déjà Guillaume Bignon avant même qu'il ne commence à l'écrire et je connaissais ses aptitudes de philosophe, mais pas encore celles d'écrivain. L'idée me semblait bonne mais sa réalisation promettait d'être acrobatique, car il n'est pas simple de mélanger l'autobiographie et l'essai apologétique. Mon verdict final est qu'il a très bien réussi cette synthèse.

Pour ce qui est du témoignage, je l'ai trouvé bien écrit, et intéressant parce que pour une fois nous n'avons pas une histoire à base de drogue/prison/tentative de suicide à partir duquel Jésus est venu sauver la personne. Guillaume Bignon avait une vie remplie de succès, il en était globalement satisfait et s'il a connu des souffrances, son genre de crise existentielle est atypique. Rien que pour cela, le témoignage vaut la peine d'être lu, même s'il est moins spectaculaire que d'autres. Il montre bien que Jésus n'est pas que pour les taulards, mais aussi pour les bourgeois.

Pour ce qui est de l'apologétique (car oui, ce livre est avant tout de l'apologétique), c'est réussi aussi: les arguments sont bien décrits et surtout très accessibles. Je remarque par ailleurs, que Guillaume Bignon a volontairement adapté le niveau de ses arguments à un lecteur novice en apologétique ou un athée disposé à l'écouter: les objections qu'il réfute sont les plus courantes, les arguments qu'il présente sont les plus répandus. C'est une très bonne chose, même si cela signifie qu'il n'y a rien de nouveau pour le lecteur chevronné en apologétique (pourquoi faire en même temps?) L'ordre et la présentation des arguments est bien réalisé, bref un exploit pédagogique.

Pour le lecteur chevronné en apologétique, il n'y aura rien de bien nouveau, en revanche c'est une excellente référence pour toute personne nouvelle en apologétique, ou pour un athée disposé à lire une défense chrétienne. Le format témoignage fait que c'est accessible au plus grand nombre, tout en gardant une rigueur logique et philosophique qui garantit le sérieux et la clarté de la démarche apologétique. A recommander pour les bonnes personnes.

[Bryn Tauveli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay I should have know better than to take this man seriously. First of all how dare he compare believing that the holocaust really happened to believing that Jesus was killed and then came back to life. That’s disgusting. Like WHAT?!? First of all we have photographic evidence, the testimonies are first hand accounts, the holocaust isn’t an impossible /miraculous event. Then he tries to say that if anyone were to argue that history has to be first hand accounts then we would have to not believe other events that are documented 150 years later as well. Again, those things weren’t impossible things that defy the laws of nature. The more ridiculous the claim the more evidence required to prove it. Am I missing something? I can’t be the only logical person to read this book right? Didn’t he have anyone proof read this? Everything that he thinks is reason to believe in God was disproved in other books that were published before this one so it’s clear that the research he did was very one sided and cherry picked. I know he has heard of Richard Dawkins because he mentioned him in the book but never mentioned any of the ways that Dawkins proves him wrong. Also I love that he says “I found I was calmly able to answer my friend’s objections, my knowledge was still very limited but with a bit of research and logical thinking I was able to rationally defend my ideas”. Wow okay first of all right before this you said that a friend mentioned Steven J Gould so he read one chapter of Gould’s book and was able to argue a point he made. Then he admits that yeah it’s actually that book is outdated but he never reads the new information and tries to rationally defend his ideas then huh? Interesting. He argues with all these dead old outdated atheist and calls it a win. I could go on and on but this book was already such a waste of time. If you thought anything in this book was a valid argument read Outgrowing God by Richard Dawkins.

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Confessions of a French Atheist
Author: Guillaume Bignon
Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4.5
GENRE: non-fiction, memoir, Christian conversation story

📚SUMMARY & THOUGHTS📚
A young French man meets an American Christian woman while on vacation. Confused and intrigued, he realizes he has never met an intelligent person who believed in God. He shares about his life and beliefs up to this point in his life and then embarks on journey of exploring concepts of Christian faith. He explores various arguments against the existence of God and then specific arguments against Christianity. He tackles each with a mix of intellect, common sense and causal conversation while slowly dismantling his atheistic worldview.

📚JOYS📚
I always enjoy conversation stories and love the intellectual conversations around Christianity and apologetics. I enjoyed it.

📚CHALLENGES📚
The first part of the book is more of a narrative when the back half covers a number of intellectual arguments on the existence of God and truths of Christianity. While I was able to make the transition, I had to set the book down and return to it with a different mindset and cognitive load.

📚TOPIC & LANGUAGE CONSIDERATIONS📚
None

[Lynne Modranski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Christian apologetics. I wish I was better at it, but when I need help, I turn to Lee Strobel's A Case for Christ or Tim LaHaye's Jesus: Why the World is Still Fascinated with Him. I now have a third reference, Guillaume Bignon's Confessions of a French Atheist.

Mr. Bignon weaves his story into his apologetics so seamlessly, you aren't even aware it is apologetics until you're two-thirds through the book. He wasn't an athiest on a whim or because he didn't like God, Guillaume obviously spent a good deal of time developing his anti-diety beliefs. I love his honesty in sharing his life and the lengths he went to ensure he didn't give up or adhere to any beliefs to please others or fill his own agenda. I believe this is a must read for those who want a balanced view of atheism and Christianity as well as someone who thinks they might want to be an apologist.

[Pig Rieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I only listened to this one on Hoopla.

In the book, Guillaume Bignon narrates the story of how he went from a successful French software engineer and volleyball player who lived a modern secular version of ultimate freedom to a christian willing to take up his cross daily to follow Jesus. The book is a combination of narrative and apologetics in a somewhat reminiscent vein to Augustine.

While I enjoyed much of it, the ending very much tailed off. While Augustine’s work left me overwhelmed by God’s grace toward Augustine, Guillaume’s left me at apologetics and a picture of Guillaume’s current life. To be clear, there is nothing necessarily wrong here. I had just disappointed by his lack of discussion around conversion (not in terms of intellection conversion but in regards to regeneration) and what it means for him to now be following Christ.

[Baron Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful look at institutionalized atheism

As a Christian American living in Paris, this book was very insightful. It revealed both the cultural and academic sources of institutionalized atheism and provided a hopeful discourse for breaking through the intellectual fog. Thanks for this insightful read!

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. For everyone, atheists or not. A wealth of information.

[Warren R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal account of the author's awakening to the rationality of Christian thought from the paradigm of reality promoted in French education.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Confessions of a French Atheist” was available as a reward at a book program I belong to. The title intrigued me, so I ordered it.

Author Guillaume Bignon grew up in France. He was an atheist, and writes “To this day, French culture maintains that most Christians must be somewhat simpleminded.” He goes to school and becomes a computer engineer and doesn’t give God a second thought … until he begins dating a woman who is a Christian. He still isn’t too interested in Christianity, but in order to stay with her, he begins exploring the faith.

Over time, he becomes more and more interested in Christianity, relating to Augustine when Augustine wrote, “Thou hast made us for thyself and restless is our heart until it comes to rest in thee.”

He begins meeting with various pastors who help him in his quest to learn about Christianity. He expresses to one of them that he really isn’t a bad person, and tells of his pride in his various accomplishments. The pastor shoots this down with the comment, “There’s hardly anything more offensive to the Lord than pride. It’s a stench in the Lord’s nostrils.” Bignon is shocked at this, but looks in the Bible and finds that pride is indeed “an abomination to the Lord.” I thought about that exchange several times as I read this book during “Pride” month. Off-topic I know, but I find it interesting that gays often speak of “gay pride.” Why not “gay power” or “gay solidarity”? I’m guessing most of them don’t know about the offense God takes in our pride, but I find it curious that that’s the adjective they chose to market under.

Back to Bignon. He becomes a Christian, and even moves to America to pursue his relationship with his girlfriend. But things there don’t go so well, and one of the surprises of the book (to me) was the way he wrote about her then, since she basically was the beginning of his conversion journey: “Her extreme emotions were the cause of many absurd arguments about anything and everything.” Ouch.

He marries a different American woman and they now have five children. As for this book, it didn’t really move me deeply. I’m of course thrilled that the author found the Lord, but the discussions of philosophy and apologetics just didn’t draw me in very much. The language was a little stiff too; I’m guessing that’s probably since English isn’t the author’s first language.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had heard about Guillaume Bignon's conversion a few times elsewhere and was intrigued enough to purchase this book. Where the book is at its best is when Bignon is describing his personal life - both before, during and after his conversion. The book is at its weakest when he is going over many of the intellectual arguments for God and Christianity that broke down his barriers and allowed him to realize that Christianity was a viable intellectual option.

His personal story is interesting. It's truly a fascinating tale how Bignon, a stereotypical French womanizer met a Christian American woman while on vacation in the Caribbean and how, through many ups and downs, this led to his conversion. And not just his conversion, but getting married, getting a Ph.D. in philosophy, settling in the United States with his new wife and having five children. I really enjoyed these parts of the book.

What was less interesting to me was the recap of all of the intellectual arguments that he confronted and resolved to his satisfaction along the journey. I have seen all of these arguments a hundred times before. Many, many books approach these subjects in much greater detail. And most of them, in my opinion, do a better job of showing why they are persuasive. I think part of why these sections were less interesting is 1) I've heard them so many times and 2) he referenced at LOT of French philosophers during these portions of the book. Since most of the philosophy I've encountered is of the Anglo-American kind, I didn't recognize the names he mentioned and their arguments, if they could be called arguments, were really bad. So bad that they practically refuted themselves.

Still, it was a pretty easy read and interesting enough. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. I actually would have liked even more of the insight into Bignon's life because that is where the book really shines.

[Joy Adewumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful read on the journey of a French atheist from a life of total disregard for any Higher Being, to one transformed by the grace of the only living God. Written in a biographical form, Confessions of a French Atheist: How God Hijacked My Quest to Disprove the Christian Faith, not only intrigues the reader with its stories and humour, but also places a great onus on the reader to reason out the facts for the existence of God, and to see why the claims that no God exists are of themselves, invalid.

Reading Confessions of a French Atheist, reminded me of a similar book I read last year, The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. In both books, the authors started off as adamant atheists, although from different backgrounds. Guillaume Bignon grew up in a Catholic family but abandoned his faith in his teen years after concluding that there was no God. The road to his discovery that the opposite was true was unique in every way. 

Mr Bignon's explanation of how he came to the faith reminds me firstly of the power of reason, and secondly of the power of intercessory prayer. So often, we as Christians are told that a disregard for reason is a sign of great faith, but Confessions of a French Atheist brings to death that idea. It is implied in the book that reasoning can help to bring about faith, and throughout the book, Guillaume Bignon wrestles with different arguments against the existence of God and disproves them wittingly.

This book was a great and encouraging read. I will recommend it for those contemplating their faith or seeking to know the truth—whether or not there is a God.

I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publishers of Confessions of a French Atheist: How God Hijacked My Quest to Disprove the Christian Faith in exchange for an honest review. All things stated in this review are my own opinions.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book. I love reading people tell their stories about how they came to know Jesus, what led them to surrendering to Jesus and declaring Him Lord of their lives. The author grew up in a mildly Catholic home but turned his back on Jesus and the Bible in his teens. He pursued different paths on his way into adulthood (including becoming a profession volleyball athlete, a member of a rock band, and his career path of becoming a software engineer).

It has been a month, so I should have written this sooner rather than so much later, but this is the gist of what I remember: while on vacation in the Caribbean, he meets a woman (Vanessa) with whom he "falls in love" only to discover before he returned home to France she was a Christian. He attacked her faith without asking her what she believed; she chastised him for being so close-minded and he promised to listen to he when she came to visit him in France. He realized he could not attack her faith without having an idea of what she believed, so he read the Gospels and thought that what Jesus taught seemed reasonable. He would pray, "I don't know if there's a God up there somewhere; I don't believe so. But since I'm trying this out, here we go: God, if you exist, you might be interested in my investigation. So go ahead, reveal yourself to me, my mind is open" (62). What a prayer to pray! And his mind was open! It was amusing; he thought he would not be able to visit this church Vanessa had told him about because of his volleyball scheduled until his shoulder started hurting and he could no longer play. He met the pastor of the church, developed a relationship with the man because the pastor took the time to either answer his questions or help him find an answer. Eventually, the evidence was overwhelming to him and what he was learning led him to Christ.

The book is well-written; it gripped my attention and I read most of it in one sitting on Sunday; I finished it a couple of nights later. It was easy to read, easy to understand, and I thought the author did a nice job of mixing logic and emotion and appeal and humor, of doing a compelling job of telling his story about how he came to Christ and became a Christian. I thought he did a great job of presenting various atheist arguments against God's existence and how they can and will fall apart. He also talks about how Christians can be stronger in our testimony and our defense but we tend to shy away from it because of the amount of work involved. I will have to read it again as there was so much to try and absorb in the first time around, but it was wonderful how God used this man's search to prove Christianity false led this man to become a Christian. I am glad that I took a chance and read this book.

[Kathy Penrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but then I really like reading biographies. Dr. Bignon wasn't interested in anything Christian. He was happy in his career, being an athlete and musician, not to mention his many sexual relationships, until he met a beautiful model who happened to be a Christian. In order to discuss her religion with her he decided to study Christianity. He studied morality, the relationship between science and faith, the reliability of the biblical texts and the supernatural record of miracles. This research led to his conversion to Christianity. He joins a long list of other believers who have also thought they could disprove the claims of the Bible by rational thought and analysis to discover that the Christian faith is not only rational but reasonable as well with plenty of evidence to support it. Dr. Bignon comes to faith, moves to America, attends a university getting a masters in biblical literature and a doctorate in philosophical theology. His life changed completely because of his investigation into the faith of his girlfriend.

This was a pretty quick read for me because I was familiar with most of the apologetic arguments he researched, but he does come at them from a new perspective. This is one more testimony of a person totally set against the Christian faith who investigates its claims and discovers for himself that it is true. Kudos to Dr. Bignon for not dismissing Christianity out of hand but putting in the time and study to discover the evidence behind it.

[Laurent Dv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent livre où Guillaume, un ancien athée raconte son parcours de conversion vers le christianisme. On y trouve principalement deux choses, une biographie (honnête avec des anecdotes marquantes et marrantes parfois) et un plaidoyer pour la foi chrétienne qui comporte réponses aux objections et attaque de la vision du monde occidentale classique, athée et matérialiste.

La biographie est très bien écrite, on se plonge profondément dans la vie de l'homme en question. Les périodes sont bien choisies.

Pour ce qui est du contenu rhétorique, on trouve ce qui relève d'une très haute précision. Guillaume soulève des problématiques clés actuelles (la science, les miracles, la foi et la superstition, la fiabilité de la Bible, l'existence de Dieu, le bien et le mal, la résurrection de Jésus), montre comment l'athéisme matérialiste peine à les résoudre et comment seul le christianisme propose une réponse pertinente, à la fois en théorie et en pratique. Et tout cela bien expliqué par l'auteur !

On retrouve du contenu philosophique de première qualité comme l'on rencontre par exemple les arguments de William Lane Craig, d'Alvin Plantinga, de Josh McDowell et une interaction constante avec des auteurs sceptiques actuels (Michel Onfray, André-Comte Sponville, Richard Dawkins) et d'autres moins actuels (le baron d'Holbach).

Donc à lire et à partager avec tous !

[Sean Pasley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's just so... French ?

I really wanted to like this book more, but I feel that it was a bit of a bait and switch. It's presented as an autobiographical story of an atheist turned Christian, but more space is given to the author's passion for apologetics and philosophy (which would be fine to read OUTSIDE of an autobiography).

Bignon also ironically spends an exorbitant amount of time detailing his personal achievements and sexual conquests before coming to faith. Seemingly with not much self awareness to realize that he might be indulging in some of the "pride" he was accused of by friends and family, we learn that he's an accomplished musician, perfect student, faultless boyfriend, loyal son, and skilled worker. His relationship with "Vanessa" (and their breakup that was entirely her fault) was the subject of more than half of the book, but any mention of his wife and child was reserved for a brief aside during the chapter concerning his time at seminary.

I appreciate the apologetic work of the author, and I'm grateful that the Lord has saved him and continues to use him, but as an autobiography this particular book felt lacking. I will continue to enjoy Bignon's other works.