How Dawkins's right-hand man came to faith

The fact that the renowned biologist and atheist Dawkins dedicated a book to Timonen shows something of their previously close bond. Even though Timonen grew up in a Christian family, he left his faith at the age of 17, Dagen writes. Shortly after, he got into contact with Richard Dawkins, whereafter their cooperation took off.

Timonen, who lives in the United States, became responsible for Dawkins' website, the design of his logos and the creation of the videos in which Dawkins attempted to discredit the existence of God.

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However, the cooperation between the two fell apart in 2010 when Dawkins started a lawsuit against Timonen, who attempted to break away from his business. Later, the charge was dropped. Yet, this disagreement did not affect his atheistic worldview quite yet.

Riots

For Josh Timonen, the riots around George Floyd, a black man killed by a white police officer, combined with the lockdowns of the Covid pandemic, was what changed his life dramatically, he says in an interview with Living Waters. The riots threw him off, as his acquaintances and friends were, to some part, participating, and he felt estranged from them. And while everyone had to stay inside, Timonen and his wife felt the need for a social community. That is why they went to a church.

It was not on moral grounds that they sought out a church, Timonen says in the interview. "We thought, maybe we can steal some of the social benefits from there."

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Bible

And that remained the same for months. "We went to church; you're listening to the sermon and thinking, what crazy stuff in the Bible? I'm not going to buy any of this. But what it did lead me to see was that it benefited the community I was participating in. So I started to read the Bible, the New Testament."

The book 'The Case for Christ' by Lee Strobel led him to believe that Jesus actually existed. "That was when I had to deal with the fact that Jesus was real and that He is Who He said He is", he tells Living Waters. He then could not put it aside as a myth anymore and felt the urge to "do something." Timonen started to really read the Bible and books about the Bible and even prayed together with his wife.

And now, the former atheist wants to follow Christ. Even though he does not know all the answers to questions other atheists may ask him, he just knows that his life is transformed. "That initial piece is that, that you are true, and the rest will figure itself out."