Christians, what is the reason you think atheists don't experience God?

Question

Many atheists, including me, have stated that they never felt this "presence of God" you speak of. I have never felt different when I walked into a church, or when I prayed, or whatever. I am a good person, however, as most of you (hopefully) know. So why don't we experience him? What is your explanation for why we don't get that feeling of knowing he is real and he hears us?

What do you mean by 'something else' Jon?

Um, no need to slap me upside the head. I know why we don't get that feeling. I want to know what the Christians think, okay?

Answer 1

Maybe they're looking for a feeling when they should be looking for something else.

In my opinion, the greatest reason people don't believe is because of the false god perpetuated by many fundamentalist churches. That fundamentalist god seems to be all about warm 'n' fuzzy feelings and spiritual highs, so it's easy to think that if you don't experience those warm fuzzies, then you haven't experienced God.

People can intuit that the "god" they present is small, mean, and essentially imaginary. The problem is, a majority of the people I know associate the Real God with that imaginary god indiscriminately.

Answer 2

I think Diane M said it best, so I have very little to add.

(and this is a great question).

I would like to add one small point... I think people here are misunderstanding what it genuinely means to seek God.
God must be sought with abject humility, and a supreme openness to His will...because He is a superior being. God is not our equal. God is a being that is indescribably greater than we are... and He is not a wimp. (As C.S. Lewis said of Aslan "He's not a tame Lion.") The Creator of the Universe, the guy that thought up the positron and the black hole, the timeless, all knowing, all powerful One, the guy who got whipped and beaten and hung on a cross to die...but did NOT loose his temper during the process...and then came back from the dead...well, He is not yours to command.

So if a mere human, a created sinful creature walks into a church and says "Hey, you! Most Holy One! Get your butt down here so I can experience you, and make it snappy because the playoffs start in a half an hour." Well... God is not going to show up. Like I said, the Creator of the Universe is not yours to command.... in fact it is quite the opposite.

So I would venture to say that Athests don't experience God because, if they seek Him, they don't go about it in the right way. Telling God "Here I am... If you are willing to jump through these hoops I set up I guess I'll consider believing in You" ...as if somehow YOU were doing God a favor simply by showing up and fitting HIM into your busy schedule... well it's just not the proper way to go about the process.


Besides... if an atheist DID experience God, they wouldn' t be an atheist anymore, would they?

Answer 3

This is a very difficult question. Since I have never been an Atheist I must first imagine myself to be one. Since I was agnostic for about 10 years it would seem that would not be too difficult but the jump from agnostic to atheism to me is huge, especially since I have felt God's presence.

That being said, I think you have felt God's presence but thought it to be something else. The need to intellectually understand everything gets in the way of actually "experiencing" fully. Many intellectuals can not stop 'thinking' long enough to 'experience'. Life is not an "if/then" argument. Intellect is only a small part of who we are. Logic is not the final destination of human existence, Love is. Love is Life. If you know what Love is then you have experienced God because God is Love.

Answer 4

I think this is one of the best questions I've ever seen here, and I really wish I could give you an answer worthy of it - but in fact, I don't have a good answer. For me, that experience of God is a very elusive thing. I can honestly say I've only felt God's presence three times - and every single time, it was a terrifying experience. I kept thinking of the Greek myth where Zeus offers a girl he was hot for one wish, and she wishes to see him in his glory. He argues against it, finally agrees, and she's burned to ashes. I felt, obviously to a lesser extent, exactly the same way.

The only honest answer I can give you - and I know it's not a good one - is that some people are more sensitive to it than others. I think if I had not accepted Christ for other reasons, I would not have experienced the presence of God those three times. All I can say is, I think it's something you sometimes have to believe before you can see it - and I hate that answer as much as you probably do.

For what it's worth.

Answer 5

The bible is written by human beings, and at the time the bible was written, homophobia was at an even higher peak than it is now, so that influenced what people believed. I believe that whether or not God wrote the bible through people, there are some major inaccuracies in the bible, seeing as it contradicts itself so often. And homosexuality being a sin is definitely one of those inaccuracies. But even if it was a sin, it also says in the bible that no sin is greater than another, so homosexuality is no greater of a sin than swearing or lying or hatred in the eyes of God, and almost every christian I've ever met does at least one of those three things, along with many other "sins".

Answer 6

I have no explanation for you Linz. It took me a number of years to have this "experience". It honestly caught me by surprise. I don't know why some experience it, and some don't. It's not because those who do are more "open" and those who don't are more "closed".

I know there are some atheists on this board now humming a paraphrase to the Boomtown Rats:

"The silicon chip inside their head got set to overload..."

(Haha)

Hey, people may disagree with the conclusion that these experiences are God, but I think its shortsighted to get locked into a purely materialistic view where love is a chemical reaction and there is nothing transcendent.

But again, I'm not trying to convince...to each his own.

Answer 7

In your case, in my opinion, it is only a difference in naming. I feel sure you've had the same peak experiences that I have. In particular, there are those times of our own non-existence when we become love to someone else (being a good person). Christians believe that God wants more from us than just being good people, but I believe he is available to all and that in loving others you are loving and being loved by God (Matthew 25).

As CS Lewis wrote in Surprised by Joy, it isn't any amazing spiritual euphoria necessarily (though I have at times experienced God this way). It is a feeling of contentment within, of feeling at home and yet havnig no separate existence, being swallowed up by something larger, something ineffible and good.

You just don't think of this experience and this reality as something separate from the natural world (and I don't believe it has to be considered separate), and you do not name it via metaphor to a person acting upon you. A completely secular way of explaining the experience of God would be to say that when you become an integral part of nature, of the universe, you exist and act in accordance with the way of the universe, which is love, and that experience affects something deep inside you.

Answer 8

Well, the idea of God flows from the Bible itself.

One of the better translations is the New King James Version of the Bible in English.

Start reading the Psalms of King David (Old Testament), then read the four Gospels and the Book of Acts (New Testament).

By then, you may likely experience aspects of God - the God idea.

Best wishes.

You might also consider watching Daystar Christian TV and Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) TV.

God is love.

God loves you.

Answer 9

Personally, I think I have experienced this presence. I am an atheist now because I have concluded that the mind is incredibly powerful.

I can close my eyes, concentrate on my mother, and almost feel her presence next to me.

That doesn't mean she travelled 1,000 miles in a few seconds. I've experienced staggering wonder about the universe. But I don't confuse that for divinity.

[edit] People who say it is a lack of desire have no idea how much some of us wanted to believe.

Answer 10

First of all unless a person comes to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and is born again by the Spirit of God that person is spiritually dead ie he will not be sensitised to experience things in the spirit. As an athiest your spirit is dead and there is no way for you to experience God at all. I invite you to become spiritually alive by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Then get yourself baptised in the Holy Spirit and receive God's power and the gift of praying in the Spirit. As you pray in the Spirit you will build up your spirit man to be senstive to the things of the Spirit and you will experience God. Many Christians do not experience God because their spirit men although they are alive are not developed. Jesus Christ is the only way to God. God bless you.