After atheism - from Evangelicalism, to disbelief, to Catholicism

As a teen who read his Bible every night, Legate David Brugh seemed an unlikely candidate for conversion to atheism.

Gradually, though, he lost touch with the grounding he had received as an evangelical Protestant. As he became caught up in the pleasurecentered lifestyle of a college student, he was able to distance himself from the beliefs with which he had been raised. Meanwhile, his studies in the classroom reinforced the nonexistence of God and became a convenient support for his growing disbelief. “So,” he said, “I simply utilized those as my lever to find my way completely out.”

By the time he was 21, David was a full-blown atheist.

“My heart continued to grow colder and more hardened the more and more I dove into my selfishness and self-indulgence. There was no light-switch moment. No one talked me into it. These were completely my own choices.”

Until, that is, on Aug. 29, 2010, when David’s Catholic wife, Jennifer, was watching a movie while he was poring over paperwork from his sales job. “It’s religious. Is that OK?” she asked before starting to play Facing the Giants, a film about a Christian high school football coach who challenges his players to believe God can do the impossible.

Within 15 minutes, David was engrossed in the plot and particularly the main character. About halfway through the movie, he forgot about his work. “Something about it was absolutely calling to me, drawing me in,” he said. After the movie ended, he began talking with his wife about what they had seen.

‘My face turned white’

“I can’t even recall specifically what I said to her, but when I said it, immediately, my face turned white. Her face turned white. And a chill ran down my spine. What I said was from a position of faith. I could tell that the distance between mind and heart had closed and all of a sudden, my faith had returned. She recognized it and I was stunned. I said, ‘Did I just say what I think I said?’ Within seconds, I started to cry. It was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. It was a mixed emotion, one of immense love, and I couldn’t explain, and I didn’t understand the huge remorse I felt. It was unbelievable sorrow about how wrong and how prideful I’d been in thinking that I knew what was right and holding on to that so firmly that nothing else could get in.”

Although he sensed that everything would be okay, David foresaw a possible problem. He had been raised with anti- Catholic sentiment and, although he had consented to marry in the Catholic Church and raise his children Catholic, he told his wife, “What do I do now? I know I can’t be Catholic.” He recalled, “She just smiled with those compassionate eyes and said, ‘You know what? We’ll figure it out.’”

But despite the reassurance she offered, Jennifer was torn about the possibility that David would choose to go to a Protestant church. “At that point, two of our kids had received their First Communion, and we were chugging along in the Catholic faith.” She knew of mixed-faith families who would go to Mass Saturday night and the Protestant church on Sunday, but she didn’t want her own family to be divided.
Following advice from one of her sisters, Jennifer simply encouraged David to search for the truth.

“One of the ways she did that was to give me Lighthouse Catholic Media CDs,” David said. “One about where the Bible actually came from affected me deeply, and that process really started drawing me more closely to Catholicism.” He began meeting with a priest for individual instruction in May 2012, and the following April came into the Church at the Easter Vigil, where his son, Adam, also received his First Communion.

Culmination of prayer

Jennifer believes her husband’s conversion was the culmination of years of prayer.

Ever since their marriage, she said she would pray at the consecration of the Mass for his conversion. Later, she would focus her time in Eucharistic adoration on the same intention. David, a member of Legatus’ Charlotte Chapter, credits the love of his wife and her prayers — and those of his mother — with his conversion. Additionally, he said, the birth of his three children helped him see clearly that living for himself as an atheist wasn’t the best way and that there must be a better path.

When he finally came to belief,” Jennifer said, “It literally was a St. Paul moment . . . At that point, he was a lot different. He changed in such a visible way.”

Since then, his faith has informed his business life as well. In 2010, he and a partner started Meridian Bird Removal, which they had begun as a hobby business to help people with wildlife nuisance problems. “We started to notice the incredible vastness of bird issues,” David said, “and no one seemed to be doing anything about it.” Meridian’s work involves removing birds — mostly English sparrows — and relocating them beyond their home radius.

Although his partner is Protestant, David said their shared beliefs have enabled them to ground their business in Christian principles. “We both acknowledge this is not our business. It’s God’s business, and we are the stewards. We’ve been blessed, and it’s our goal to bless others. That permeates our business philosophy and operation.”

JUDY ROBERTS is a Legatus magazine staff writer.