I don't think they are - at least some of them, anyway. This is most evident in circumstances that are painful, or tragic, or frightening. THe mature Christians I've seen walking through such circumstances with God do so with a stability, peace, and even joy, that dumbfounds onlookers.
I don't think there is a strong correlation between either. I have seen both Christians and non-Christians react negatively to painful circumstances. I have also seen Christians and non-Christians equally handle painful or tragic circumstances with poise and peace.
I went traveling to Cambodia and Laos this summer and one thing that struck me was the general lack of fear over death. They are surprisingly calm about death while here in the "Christendom" of the West we obsess about youth and avoid death at all costs.
A great book I suggest you read is called The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. It is a fascinating look into another culture's views on tragedy, death and dying.
I would also suggest you be wary of confirmation bias when you only notice the Christians that are handling tragic situations with peace and calm because it confirms your hypothesis while neglecting to notice those Christians which handle such situations with fear and panic.
Fellowship with God is a unique thing. It can be described in terms of other things, but in the end these only approximate what fellowship with Him is like. Fellowship with God is a joyful experience; it is marked by peace, and contentment, and love for God; it is characterized by a sense of fulfillment, and gratefulness, and a profound awareness of one's dependence upon God; it is a communion that provokes one toward greater and greater holiness.
What about Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and atheists which feel similar things by other means? I know a few atheists that respond quite spiritually to music and poetry and it empowers them to do good and love their neighbour more fully. If the ends are equal regardless of belief then what of the means? In other words, does the means justify the end?
I'm not sure what you mean by "abstract belief in the risen Christ." My belief in his resurrection is quite concrete unlike, say, my belief in honor or beauty. As far as I'm concerned, Christ's resurrection is a historical fact, not a vague idea.
Fellowship with God is predicated upon one's belief in the risen Christ. If Christ is not raised I am yet in my sins and thus cut off from fellowship with my perfectly holy Maker. Paul explains this in the chapter from 1 Corinthians I mentioned in my last post.
How does being "cut off from fellowship" manifest itself? What can you point to that is concrete with which you can say, "That person is cut off from fellowship."?
Many non-Christians feel fulfilled. Many non-Christians are happy. Many non-Christians do biblically-derived good. Many non-Christians have experiences which they label as God.
Many Christians feel unfulfilled. Many Christians are unhappy. Many Christians do not do biblically-derived good. Many Christians have experiences which they label as God.
This is what I mean by abstract. Its a "mean", but it doesn't correlate with any unique "end". For something to be concrete it should be able to be identified specifically.
If you say there is a causative relationship between the abstract idea "fellowship with God" and some unique manifestation, then I do not see it. I don't see the causative relationship and I do not see the unique manifestation.
I believe the Bible when it tells me that no one can truly know or fellowship with God apart from the mediatorial work of Christ.
1 Timothy 2:5-6
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
Does this verse imply that recognition or belief is required on the part of us in order for this to be true? Can a Buddhist have an experience which is objectively defined as "God" and yet label it as something else while the truth of this verse remains? In other words, can a Buddhist commune with God via Jesus Christ without recognizing he is doing so?
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
The same reasoning here applies as above.
THe strength of what I feel is not the litmus test of the reality of my faith. I believe as I do because I believe the Bible tells me the truth, not because I have some powerful sensations about it. People of other faiths have powerful emotional and sensory experiences, too. If strength of feeling was what decided the truth of a thing, we'd all be in terrible trouble!
Ah! Here we go! So you don't define your faith based off experience, right? But isn't
everything about you experiential? Even reading the Bible is a conscious experience which must be processed and interpreted by your mind. Your whole existence is founded purely on experience.
So you may have strong experiences with regard to the Bible, but this is still in itself an experience. So I guess we are in terrible trouble!
It's much the same sensation or experience as being told by someone that they love you, or they think you're smart, or attractive, or a good athlete, etc.
"My sins are forgiven" is a statement that is grounded in reality by the Ultimate Source of Reality from which it comes: God Himself. I believe the Bible is the Word of God and so, when God tells me in Scripture that my confession of my sin to Him results in His forgiveness of that sin, I am confident that it is so
I appreciate this statement of faith. I can and do understand the spiritual truth of forgiveness of sin. In the spiritual sense this is reasonable. I just don't see how it manifests itself in a unique, causative way. Keep in mind that I don't think that this necessarily undermines the value of it.
