What are some good resources that explain the rational reasons behind the faith for a questioning Atheist?
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Technically this is off topic and your absolute best course of action is to talk with pastors, priests etc... But your query is so obviously crying out for one witness in particular that I want to break the "rules" of this site and give you an answer. I do not wish to speak to your personal circumstance - you really need a person for that, but there is one answer that I suspect you'll hear a lot if you ask.
Fifty years ago today (November 22, 1963), C.S. Lewis died. If there ever was a man "convinced by reason" into the Kingdom of God, it was he. Lewis was an Atheist Oxford don whose rationality and logic convinced him of the existence of God.
His semi-autobiography "Surprised By Joy" will probably seem very familiar to you.
"Mere Christianity" is a classic if densely packed work of systematic theology see below that also seeks to present the reasons for the basics of the faith in a clear, rational fashion.
"The Weight of Glory" is a brief sermon in which Lewis talks about the real reason for the faith - JOY, and not just mere pleasure. He argues that faith in God enables a man to see more clearly what man was created for, if man is willing to trust in God.
"The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe" is a children's book, in which an allegory in which the sacrifice of Christ and its role in salvation is pretty explicit.
"The Abolition of Man" is a brief invective against an educational system that seeks to remove virtue from its aims. "Men without chests" is a phrase he uses to decry the condition.
The "Screwtape Letters" further explores how Christians can avoid the truth of the love of God in extraordinarily clever writing.
The "Great Divorce" highlights how the choices we make have logical consequences in the afterlife. It has changed my life.
Finally, if C.S. Lewis isn't your cup of tea, consider Lee Stroebel's "The Case for Faith".
If you are an academic looking for the meatiest of systematic theologies and something older, consider Calvin's The Institutes of Christian Religion. Any good systematic theology - J.I. Packer, Wayne Grudem, Thomas Aquinas, Peter Lombard, Francis of Assisi, Karl Barth, Alistar McGrath, Louis Berkhof, etc... - these are all books that attempt to systematize and explain the reasons behind the articles of dogma many Christians take for granted. While rarely a starting point to convince someone of the faith, they are really good for explaining it.
Finally, for most people, reading the Bible (John is usually a good book to start) and talking to other Christians and or trying out several churches is usually the best way to go. I have a particular passion for the intellectual who is seeking with rationality and faith so I get your reluctance to start with the followers and I wish you well on this journey.
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