how do you KNOW you haven't mistaken "feeling god in your heart" with human emotion?

Question

when ever skeptic/atheists argue that christianity is a myth christians will try to argue with logic on the issue (evidence against evolution, i.e.) and then atheists say that the matter is just too contentious, too unclear, to argue that god quite logically exists

and when athiests say that, christians will then say that our logic doesn't matter. God isn't supposed to be understood with reason and the way you know that god is real is "spiritually" in your heart

I think when people say they "know" for a fact that god is real and have felt him in their heart get confused.
while standing up during the praise & worship portion of a church service, hands protuded in the air and tears welling up in their eyes, they don't realize that they are simply feeling a series of human emotions

so the question is
can you describe an instance in which you know you felt god in your heart. how did it feel and how did you know you were not mistaking it for human emotion?

when you people are saying that "it is beyond words" and that kind of reasoning it doesn't adequatly justify your faith at all.
when I used to be a christian i would have answered just like you and now i know that it was a matter of pride. you don't want to have to think that you were embarrassing yourself the whole time. when a christian thinks he "knows he feels god and all the other christians around you say they "feel" god, it becomes like that "emperor's clothes" story. You don't want to be the only one to admit that believe in Jesus emotionally

Answer 1

I think you have a begged question hear. You base everything on your presuppositions about christians and atheists. The problem is that it is very "pigeon holing" and does not really get to the root of the matter.

Knowing God exists is neither about proof nor about feeling. It is about faith. Faith is knowing without proof or feelilng. People make decisions "on faith" all the time. YOu do it every time you drive through a green light. You take it on faith the no one will run a red light. (In bigger cities you will see this even more because of the volume of traffic).

God really is too big to understand completely. However, do not let anyone say to you that you should throw your reason out the door. God gave you a brain and the ability to reason for "a reason" :-).

God wants to be known. We do this much through reason and also through faith. The apostle paul says to "take every thought captive". He does not say do not have thoughts.

God gives one a standard of reality. One finds that they will live a more joyful (not happy, joyful) life if they can line up with the way reality works rather than spend their lives struggling against reality.

It is as if your tank has no gasoline but you insist on starting the car. Very frustrating. The problem is that you are not lining up with reality. This is what one calls Wisdom.

Answer 2

God said to love him with all your mind. This means using ones mind as you are doing. I commend you for being a thinking person and for seeking answers. The mind is not a bad thing. I was given by God so He's not afraid of us using it. You have really challenged my mind to think reading all your questions and I thank you for that. If I could articulate with mere words how I KNOW God is in my heart, I would do that. But I don't seem able to. If I said I just know it with as much certainty as I know anything would that suffice? Once again, God bless you for being a seeking soul. I know someday we will have all the answers.

Answer 3

The ODD thing about this question is that I could ask you the same...

How do you KNOW you haven't mistaken human emotion feeling god in your heart"?

You act as if you have proven something by what you have written and seem to be blind to the ambiguity that you are really highlighting. I would trust someone to KNOW that what they feel as a Christian is different than just normal emotions, as they (like us all) have experience in dealing with emotions....

Answer 4

good question- the problem with this is that the answer lies beyond human words, it is sublime and cannot be proved in human terms. it is experiential and can't be disproved either.

it's also possible that the energy that is God works through human emotion.

it then becomes symantics and definitions- what's the difference between God and human emotion? you can only argue through your own personal definition.

i don't think of God as a human-like being who passes judgement on people. I believe that God is the Process of Life itself, and that you can feel this in your heart, and that would be called human emotion.

Answer 5

>how did you know you were not mistaking it for human emotion?

I don't.

Human beings can never completely separate their perception of something from the reality. We can and should try, to get as close to that reality as possible, but we never fully can.

This is where fundamentalists and proselytizing atheists come together. Both think that it is possible to fully know the truth.

~ Lib

Answer 6

There are two types of feelings in your heart! one of god and one of the beast. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ as your lord and savior! then it is of god.

Answer 7

An idol mind is a devil workshop.

Answer 8

as u know.
god is everywhere.