Has anyone felt they've "experienced" God only to eventually become an atheist?

Question

By "experience" I mean felt the presence of God like so many have claimed.

Answer 1

Yep. That experience when I was 13 was just my wonderful brain.

Answer 2

If my experience of God was only a feeling, then I can predict that I would've become a non-believer PDQ. But my own experience of God has been a knowledge first and a feeling, if ever, only 2nd.

Probably for the best, since nobody knows better than God how little faith I have in capricious human emotions.

Answer 3

My mother forced me to go to church and attend a Christian school when I was growing up. For nearly 11 years, I did everything I could think of to experience the presence of God, but it never happened.

Answer 4

Never experienced a god. The idea of an apple , virgin birth, raising someone from the dead, and not caring about any living being until 2000 years before JC came along made no sense. To think that I had to eat a body and drink its blood was the most nauseating thing I could ever reason ..... Illogical...Disgusting and farcical. Thanks but no thanks

Atheism is built on reason and logic. Not fairy tales, mythology and a flat earth belief.

Answer 5

I'm not an atheist, myself, but I have spoken to atheists who did feel what they thought was God while they were believers, but who later discounted that experience. As they came to question everything, they also came to believe that the uplifting emotions they felt in church were the same kind of psychological lift people get at concerts, while touring impressive architecture, when viewing the splendor of nature, and so on.

Answer 6

What do you mean by "experienced" god? This is so much of the problem with religion in general is that it has invented a language it speaks in that is so vague and meaningless that in the end you're speaking only to yourselves.

Answer 7

Nope..and those who did never really "experienced" God to begin with.

1Jo 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

Answer 8

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Yes, it is possible. Human experience may be deceptive. Remember the science experiment putting one hand in cold water, and the other in hot water; and finally bring both to 'feel' lukewarm water? Our senses can be deceived, and many of us had been deceived! Let us be doctrinal and look at Biblical examples and characters.


POSITIVE EXAMPLES:
Take these people for example, where they had encounters with God and the Spirit of God worked in them to the salvation of their souls.

Abraham - had an encounter with God and exercised faith in Gen 12, but not until years later Gen 15:6 before he was soundly converted.

Jacob - had an encounter with God in Gen 28:13, yet see his prayer in Gen 28:20-21 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: Do you think he was saved then? No, it was years later before Jacob was imputed righteous aka justified

NEGATIVE EXAMPLES:
Take the people for example, where they had encounters with God but the Spirit of God did not work in them to the salvation of their souls.

Saul - the Spirit of God was upon him....
1Sa 10:10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.
1Sa 11:6 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.

but we all know that the Spirit of God departed from king Saul
1Sa 18:12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.

and though he had experience and encounters with God, he was not saved.

Apostle Judas Iscariot - I think we need not elaborate



Thus we see, the Spirit of God may work in someone to the salvation of their souls (eg Abraham and Jacob) or not (king Saul, Judas Iscariot and atheists). This is especially so, if anyone holds the truth in unrighteousness (eg Rom 1:18, 2 Thess 2:10-12) the Spirit of God may depart, to the eternal damnation of those souls. Thus, we see the steps to perdition of many atheists! May God have mercy to save us!! That is why we see the depth of putrefaction, the bitterness and vehemence of the atheist against God - because they all hold the truth in unrighteousness. The Spirit of God departs and bitter, spiteful vehement spirit(s) come to fill them! These are all tokens of perdition!


Thus, even if we have the Spirit of God, have we true saving faith? Abraham had 'legal faith' (as theologians would put it) in Gen 12 but it was only in Gen 15:6 before he had true saving faith! Majority of us have legal faith, as did many of the Israelites.

Furthermore, you need someone with the Spirit of God to be ministered to you!! See Christianity is not magic show....poof and the Holy Spirit appears (speaking reverently). See how it was the Apostle Paul who ministered the Spirit of God to believers....Galatians 3:5. If a person or pastor is not converted, he cannot minister the Spirit of God, as he himself does not have the Spirit!!

Thus, we see that even if one may experience God, yet depart, what more when our senses can be deceived by Satan, the angel of light!!! May God have mercy to help us discern our experiences!

If you are interested, please write to me.



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Answer 9

Yes. I absolutely did. I felt what I believed at the time to be the Holy Spirit, etc.

Looking back, it was wishful thinking. I WANTED to, so I did.

Answer 10

I've experienced what I thought was God through prayer. But these days I believe it was actually just my subconscious mind.