World: Tech guru Larry Sanger announces conversion to Christianity
Larry Sanger, who was influential in the founding of Wikipedia, on Monday said he was blown away by the response he’d received to a blog post on his website last week detailing his conversion to Christianity. Sanger described growing up in a Lutheran church, losing his faith in God, becoming what he characterized as a methodological skeptic, and then ultimately returning to faith in Christ.
Larry Sanger, Wikipedia’s co-founder and a self-described “skeptical philosopher,” dropped a bombshell on February 5, 2025, announcing on his personal blog, “How a Skeptical Philosopher Becomes a Christian,” that he’s now a Christian after 35 years of agnosticism—a shift that’s sparked buzz about a “born-again” conversion. Sanger, 56, details a decades-long journey from a Lutheran upbringing in Anchorage, Alaska—confirmed at 12, faith lost by 15—to a methodical unraveling of his disbelief through philosophy (Ph.D. from Ohio State), marriage (2001), fatherhood (2006), and a deep dive into the Bible starting in 2019. He cites no lightning-bolt moment, calling it a “quiet, uncomfortable” pivot, cemented by 2020 Gospel readings and prayers that left him “unable to deny” God’s existence. Posts on X from users like
@SharylAttkisson and @megbasham amplify this as a “new life in Christ,” but does it qualify as “born-again” in the evangelical sense?
The facts: Sanger’s blog—over 15,000 words—traces his shift from methodological skepticism, honed at Reed College amid “Communism, Atheism, Free Love” vibes, to a faith he ties to the Fine-Tuning Argument and the Bible’s “shockingly coherent” narrative. He rejects New Atheism’s “crass” tone (Dawkins, Harris) and credits “intelligent Christians” like apologists Stephen Meyer and William Lane Craig for nudging him along. By February 2020, he was praying “properly” and, by 2025, claims an “Orthodox Christian faith” rooted in sin’s reality and Christ’s saving role. No church yet—he’s still denomination-shopping, wary of being a “bull in a china shop” with his questions—but he’s in a Bible study and plans theological writings, including a 200,000-word draft, God Exists. Video follow-ups on February 14 reinforce this, per WORLD News, with Sanger nodding to his Lutheran roots and a moral awakening post-Epstein revelations.
“Born-again” or hype? Evangelicals—like Billy Graham’s legacy—peg the term to a distinct, personal salvation moment (John 3:3), often dramatic. Sanger’s tale lacks that fireworks—no altar call, no tears-soaked revival. He admits, “I never had a mind-blowing conversion experience,” framing it as a slow thaw, not a rebirth in the classic sense. Yet, his language—faith in Jesus, gratitude for forgiveness—echoes born-again theology’s core: spiritual renewal via Christ. The Lutheran Missouri Synod of his youth leans sacramental, not revivalist, but his adult arc mirrors Chuck Colson’s 1976 turnaround (prison to faith). X chatter, like @ChristianPost’s “re-conversion,” leans into this, though Sanger’s “orthodox” nod suggests a broader Christian identity over strict evangelical branding.
Digging deeper: no one’s debunked his story—his blog’s raw, first-person heft carries weight, and his public shift aligns with a five-year arc of Bible apps and apologetics. Still, skeptics on X (e.g., @RationalWiki vibes) might call it a midlife PR pivot, given his Wikipedia bias critiques since 2020. No evidence supports that; his faith feels too nerdily earnest—200,000 words don’t scream clout-chasing. Outcome? He’s not preaching tent revivals, but his February 13 Sean McDowell interview shows a guy wrestling with sin and salvation, not just slapping “Christian” on his bio. “Born-again” fits if you stretch it to mean intellectual rebirth—less so if you demand a Damascus Road epiphany. Either way, Sanger’s in the fold, and the jury’s out on whether he’ll don the full evangelical mantle.