I had the opposite path. I was a Christian, and had to come to the painful realization that if Jesus is indeed alive and active in the world today, that I have no definitive experience I can point to that would convince me that he's much involved in my life. I have not had the the spirit bear witness with my spirit that I am a child of God. However, the apologetic arguments for the existence of a God are strong, but my personal experience is one of a distant, hidden God. I hope that I'm wrong and my time has simply not arrived, and hope if there is indeed an all knowing, all loving, all powerful God that desires for me to know him and commune with him, then he'll make himself known in a way that is tangible and convincing to me.