I saw the light after 'first cause' floored me

A leading national newspaper journalist has revealed how he clung to atheism as he battled a brain tumour as a teenager.

But Harry Howard, who became associate comment editor at The Telegraph in January, explained how everything he thought about God changed during an A level politics lesson.

The 30-year-old said that as a teen he was inspired by figures like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. He said he dismissed Christianity as myth.

“You don’t need God to be good,” he would argue.

But everything changed when a Muslim teacher set aside revision to explain a philosophical argument for God’s existence.

The idea of a “first cause” shook Howard’s certainty, he wrote in a feature in The Telegraph in April.

“God’s existence suddenly seemed possible,” he said.

“That blizzard of logic and reason – about a finite universe needing an ultimate first cause if anything is to make sense – utterly floored me.”

That moment marked the start of a long intellectual journey. Harry immersed himself in Christian apologetics, reading works such as Mere Christianity by CS Lewis and examining the historical reliability of the gospels.

He became convinced that Jesus Christ was no legend, but a real figure whose life reshaped history.

While at university, Harry finally committed his life to Christ.

Today, he worships at St Bartholomew the Great in London, a 900-year-old church where ancient liturgy meets living faith.

From dedicated atheist to committed Christian – Howard’s story is a reminder that faith can begin in the most unexpected places.

More faith-based stories…