No matter how much of an attempt Christian apologetics make towards making people believe that Christianity rises above the contentions put forward by skeptics, the fact of the matter is that no explanation or defense of Christianity can show you that god is real.
That’s why Christians now say that it not with “man’s understanding, but by god’s understanding” that we can know for certain of God’s realness. They proclaim to skeptics that god can only be understood in a spiritual, esoteric sense by taking your heart to god.
Basically, these Christians who say that they know FOR CERTAIN, certain that god is real feel that they have felt that indescribable spiritual “knowingness” of god’s existence.
2007-09-15 14:51:14 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I know that when I was a younger man, I certainly thought I felt that way too.
And not just a little.
Not just sort of.
Pretty much, I “felt” that “feeling” more than most current Christians can honestly say that they feel today.
I took Christianity very seriously.
Man, did I love the lord. Really.
I was born with an earnest desire to love god.
it was my plan for my life to be a minister.
I studied and read scripture, surrounded myself in church and embraced and loved Jesus.
Well, as anyone who goes head long into Christianity knows, there comes a point in which you are shocked to find out that some people don’t believe that your religion is technically “true”.
Unfortunately, this soul was born with too much empathy for fellow human beings who have rational, good-hearted, and moral objections to Christianity to ever tell myself that these people were deluded by “satan’s last deception”. Well, I did for a little while, but then I finally understood.
2007-09-15 14:51:22 · update #1
Yet back then I would describe how I had a spiritual “knowingness” of god’s reality just like people do here today on the R/S section.
To be sure, when you take Christianity very serious, you undoubtedly do feel a strong emotion.
The problem is that it is easy to confuse strong reverence of god with human emotion.
It is easy to confuse human emotion with a genuine religious experience when you are standing up with your arms protruded, tears streaming down your cheeks as you mouth out “thank you, jesus” during the praise and worship portion of your church service.
It is easy to confuse human emotion with a genuine religious experience when you are at home reading the bible, earnestly trying to take in god’s knowledge into your heart.
2007-09-15 14:51:41 · update #2
It is easy to confuse human emotion with a genuine religious experience when you are downtrodden and are at your knees of your bed while you pray to god.
But I can now humbly say that I was honestly mistaken.
I am sure that I am not the only one who had the same experience
Lastly, for those of you who will be offended by my attempting to deconstruct the “indescribable knowingness” that Christians claim to spiritually have, I just want to say that I mean no offense. If you still feel that you really do feel it and that I maybe never did or something like that, well, than that’s ok, I guess. I don’t really intend to personally attack anybody’s faith. I just want to explain how i see these things now that I no longer believe, that’s all.
And to make this a question………..
What are your feelings about what I have said?
2007-09-15 14:52:00 · update #3
I think it's a very open and honest look into your world view. There are those who may chastise you for it, but that simply demonstrates their narrow mindedness. Thanks for taking a stand on what you perceive as reality.
There's no way that humans can prove or disprove the existence of God. Those who believe must look at evidences outside the scientific realm. You're correct, many times it is possible to confuse human emotion with a religious experience. I suspect that most of the hype in church is emotion rather than spirtual activity.
For me, religious devotion consists of treating others the way I'd like to be treated. Human emotion? Religion? Good common sense? Probably some of each.
2007-09-15 15:08:12 · answer #1 · answered by Dave 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I feel that it was too long.
I think we're capable of having emotional experiences that can be described as spiritual, and vice versa. I've had epiphanies before, near-mental breakdowns, what have you, and they were extremely powerful. A religious person would easily find a way to attribute things like that to God. I'm not religious, so I don't.
2007-09-15 15:00:25 · answer #2 · answered by Buying is Voting 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it was really long and that it's good I can read fast.
This boils down to interpretation. It really does. There is no proof either way. To be honest I wouldn't mind christians having thier feelings with thier God as long as they didn't expect every one else to as well. I'm happy with my Gods. I don't need thiers. But I respect those who don't want one at all either.
2007-09-15 14:59:32 · answer #3 · answered by ~Heathen Princess~ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thankfully many of the Christians in my nation are a long way much less primary and insane. And our gun legislation are so strict its virtually not possible to obtain a licence to receive one.
2016-09-05 15:33:44 · answer #4 · answered by kolodziej 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why do people like you seek God on your terms, KNOWING that He is not there?
I have felt His tangible presence. I KNEW it was Him. Until people like you are willing to search for Him on the terms for who He is, not what nonbelievers make Him to be, than finding Him is like finding a snowball in a live volcano.
2007-09-15 15:01:34 · answer #5 · answered by n9wff 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Huh? Whatda ya say?
2007-09-15 15:01:58 · answer #6 · answered by Ask Donna 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋