In an interview with Premier Christianity magazine, Tim Farron said he used to view Christianity as "a bit weird, unattractive and restrictive".
"I did not see myself as the kind of dupe who'd fall for religious nonsense. And I still don't consider myself the kind of dupe who falls for religious nonsense, but I think by the grace of God I'm someone who knows the truth when he sees it."
Farron came to faith as a teenager while living in Singapore.
"My new bedroom still had stuff in it from the previous tenants - who were Christians. It rained quite a lot, and so I read a whole bunch of books they'd left there. You'd probably categorise them as apologetics and prophecy. I remember reading stuff about Daniel. The penny dropped with me: 'Oh crumbs, it's all true.'"
Farron also spoke of the "trials and tribulations" he experienced while leading his party. He resigned in 2017 after facing repeated media questions regarding his views on gay sex.
"I felt my choice was to be a bad leader or a bad Christian, and that's a rubbish choice, so let's not be leader and seek to be faithful," he said.
"If I'd not been through the trials and tribulations of my leadership, I'd not be in the position that I am in now where I can openly talk about my faith. If you've given up the thing that you most wanted to achieve in life – for me it was being leader of my party – because there's something more important, it's so important you then focus on that thing, which is following Jesus."
Read the full interview in the August issue of Premier Christianity magazine. https://www.premierchristianity.com/Get-a-free-copy
Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.
