Lowering the possibility of a God using religious/spiritual experiences.?

Question

The religious experience is meant to be something that affirms one faith within a certain religion, these may be things like, hearing God's voice in your ear, seeing an angel, feelings of pure happiness and fullfillment while praying and seeing the light at the end of a tunnel. However if all of these were to affirm a specific religion, then why do so many people all over the world in different religions all experience thier own specific experiences with their God/religion? I mean surely they cannot all be correct, and most probably they are not. It doesn't make sense, they only logical steps are that either: All religious experiences are only delusions in the mind; or that there is something that is trying to trick people away from a central God. However! Following along with that later point, most religious experiences are feelings of extacy, love, and happiness, a deep sense of belonging, so if an evil being is doing this...how are we to ever know which religion can

be correct? Take Christianity as an example, did anyone ever consider that its possible that Satan tricked people away from the Old Testament God with a loving and kind Jesus.

Isn't the most likely choice that it is peoples own minds tricking them? I mean, havnt you ever heard a noise in your house and thought someone was breaking in, mainly because you had heard that there were many robberies in your area in the past few weeks? That same thing can be applied to a religious experience, though on a much larger scale of delusion.

Answer 1

?

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."

Veni Viti Vichi 'I came, I saw, I conquered'- Julias Cesar

† 'God Bless' †

Answer 2

How can they be all right, yet all so wrong? Well, islam would say that at one time or another, everyone was told the same thing, but that over time the message would be lost or distorted. Personaly, I have my own theory. If I were God, I wouldn't want there to be any proof I exsisted. I would want people to worship me just on belief, on faith. Is one complete and universal experience of God not a proof of the exsistence of God? So that would mean that God is the one decieving us...giving us each a slightly different story...a different flavor...also ensuring more people follow God in some way. of course, I could just be a blaspheming heritic.....

Answer 3

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If I tell you you the truth you would say the same is said of one who believes a lie.
I can only assure you that the truth is revealed by God and the God of Abraham is the same God that came to this world to pay the penalty of death for all who accept the atonement.
God is more than a mushy feeling these can be deceiving.
Those who love and seek the truth will find him and receive a gift of faith and through faith comes revelation from God.
Those who receive this revelation begin a personal relationship with the living God.

Answer 4

All the religions cannot be correct.
Even the faiths that trace their roots through Abraham claim exclusive access to God.
1 Corinthians 10:20
No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
Acts 4:12
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Jesus Himself said
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Christian faith is not about feelings, though feelings may follow the experience. Nor is it about experience, but belief in God.

Romans 10:8-13
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart "-- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; 13 for "Whoever will call upon the name of the LORD will be saved."

Answer 5

I see more possibilities there. Perhaps deities, spirits, and spiritual experiences are merely metaphors for something even greater and more abstract, that we can't comprehend, and so interpret in the context of our religion or dominant cultural thinking.

So yes they could all be right, just not the way we think.

Taoist

Answer 6

You just don't get it do you