I would like to know how each of you know what you believe is the truth or the right way to believe. Now some are going to answer that they do not think they are the only way but one way. I still want to know how you came to this point in your life. This is for everyone. If you had some sort of spiritual experience please explain how it was manifest to you. If you have come to the conclusion that there is nothing explain how you came to this conclusion. I know I have asked this before and if you have and don't want to repeat yourself I understand.
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How do you know
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jacknife
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Well I was a christian till one day I guess I had a crisis of faith, realizing I had no proof of what I believed I started looking for proof. Hearing stories of spirits and demonic possession I thought I would look into that find one of those and I would have some proof. So I started looking into the paranormal and the occult. eventually I simply discovered that the emperor had no clothes.
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Albion
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I was impressed that, of all the world religions, the Christian "saga" or explanation, i.e. the Bible, is the only one that actually makes a case for divine revelation and a divine plan. And it, the Bible, has held up remarkably well to all the skeptics over the past 2000 years.
Some of the other "great" religions have merely "played off from" the information in the Bible when forming their own beliefs. This is a backhanded affirmation of the Christian religion IMHO. So because reason and experience convince me of a power greater than myself, I am directed towards the Bible and from that to the Christian religion as the embodiment of God's revelation.
Some of the other "great" religions have merely "played off from" the information in the Bible when forming their own beliefs. This is a backhanded affirmation of the Christian religion IMHO. So because reason and experience convince me of a power greater than myself, I am directed towards the Bible and from that to the Christian religion as the embodiment of God's revelation.
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I don't know. Were I not connected to Judaism through being a Jew, I probably would be an atheist. I've never experienced anything that would make me believe it is all true based upon nothing, but the survival of the Jewish people as a distinct people against all the odds convinces me that there is truth in our beliefs.
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awitch
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Really short version: identified as atheist, went to college, was invited to attend Wiccan ritual, had nothing better to do so said OK, thought it was a profound experience, studied up for a while, and then started practicing on my own. I would happily provide more details upon request.
I'm not making claims that my current path is "the truth". It's sufficiently convincing for me and I have no expectations that it's necessary for anyone else.
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What I "see" is that there are as many ways as there are human beings. What brought me to where I am is the awareness of a unifying creating force with in life and through out all of the cosmos at every level of existence. As such, I see and experience the blessings of the Divine expression with in every human being as well as with in Creation itSelf.
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It is a long story for me, but I’ll condense it. I was born Jewish (Reform) but spent most of my childhood in the South as the only Jew in my school. My friends were all Christian and had convinced me by my teens that they were somehow right and I was wrong. I attended Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Church of God, Catholic, LDS and even Islam. With the exception of the Lutheran and Church of God, I attended all the others for at least two years. It was only after I met some observant Jews that exposed me to the beliefs, traditions and rituals that the Reform movement had gotten got rid of 100 years ago in order to fit in better or assimilate into Christian communities that I saw that my religion was certainly not “Incomplete”.
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"John Wesley was a good a man as has ever walked the earth." - Bringham Young
My experience was similar to that of George Clark Rankin. Who got his religion, as did I, the Wesleyan way.
http://www.christianforums.com/threads/im-so-confused.7929734/page-3#post-69239883
My experience was similar to that of George Clark Rankin. Who got his religion, as did I, the Wesleyan way.
http://www.christianforums.com/threads/im-so-confused.7929734/page-3#post-69239883
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Reading books about the origins and Judaism and Christianity has helped me lose faith in all the Abrahamic religions. I still wonder if a God of some kind might exist. Maybe this God pretends to be the God of various religions to reach people.
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gord44
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I don't subscribe to absolute truth in spirituality. So I usually find a path that works for me and not worry much about what other people think or weather it's the 'truth'. When I allowed other people to tell me what the 'true path' was, it usually lead to a mediocre experience.
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It is not too personal, but a lot of in depth answers might violate forum rules.
When the answers to my questions were “The Bible says so” without and knowledge of where or even if it say so said a lot to me. “Because” was another popular answer. The attempts to minimize the “Old Testament” or remove it all together (nailed to the cross) but running to it to cement and confirm the legitimacy of the New Testament always struck me as odd. The rush to baptize me and some historical problems turned me away from the LDS, but I did stick around for two years before I had enough. Islam was interesting, but not for me.
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roamer_1
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This was a very long process for me, but in a nutshell: For me, it came down to proof.
Every 'god' that matters has to throw his hat in the ring... he/she has to communicate, and do so sensibly (some reasonable instruction), or the entire subject is rendered moot - That which we don't know about, or can't understand, cannot be quantified, and therefore cannot be considered.
This generally boils down to a god delivering his declarations to hoomanity by way of a prophet... So, examine the proofs proffered, judge the veracity of the text (is it what was delivered), and then the veracity of the words, because this seems to be the primary communication of value. One must also consider his acts (supernatural signs and wonders), but without some sort of coherency in doctrine, great acts give no direction that can be validated.
What drew me inexorably back to Yahova are his extraordinary proofs.
First, He is the ONLY one who does not allow his prophets to change his words - What was said in the beginning WILL BE. That's a neat trick, as far as prophecy is concerned. No other god has laid down such a comprehensive doctrine, and made it wholly set in stone. *none*.
Secondly, the protection of the text - Especially Torah - is extraordinary (to the point of being supernatural in it's own right). The text is unarguably true to what was delivered. I found *no* other text to contain such protections.
So, it IS his words. And his words do not change... All that's left is to judge the veracity... And that's where it really gets cool.
Every 'god' that matters has to throw his hat in the ring... he/she has to communicate, and do so sensibly (some reasonable instruction), or the entire subject is rendered moot - That which we don't know about, or can't understand, cannot be quantified, and therefore cannot be considered.
This generally boils down to a god delivering his declarations to hoomanity by way of a prophet... So, examine the proofs proffered, judge the veracity of the text (is it what was delivered), and then the veracity of the words, because this seems to be the primary communication of value. One must also consider his acts (supernatural signs and wonders), but without some sort of coherency in doctrine, great acts give no direction that can be validated.
What drew me inexorably back to Yahova are his extraordinary proofs.
First, He is the ONLY one who does not allow his prophets to change his words - What was said in the beginning WILL BE. That's a neat trick, as far as prophecy is concerned. No other god has laid down such a comprehensive doctrine, and made it wholly set in stone. *none*.
Secondly, the protection of the text - Especially Torah - is extraordinary (to the point of being supernatural in it's own right). The text is unarguably true to what was delivered. I found *no* other text to contain such protections.
So, it IS his words. And his words do not change... All that's left is to judge the veracity... And that's where it really gets cool.
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AionPhanes
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I think you hit on something important there about connection to a community. I don't know** if God actually exists. Being part of a long lasting, meaning rich and helpful (when I was struggling, getting clean off heroin etc ..) community makes me want to continue being a part of it though.
I also have pragmatic reasons to "act as if" even if I don't know for sure. If there does turn out to be a God it would be a good choice to have lived that way and if there isn't life would be rather depressing (for me at least maybe not for everyone) so I'm not missing out on anything by beleiving. At worse it would turn out to have been a useful/beneficial fiction. Montaigne and William James make some good points in that direction imo.
** I've had "mystical" experiences I interpret as being of "God's presence" but honestly looking back a them I have to admit they could be interpreted in a different framework. The same experience had by a Buddhist would probably be interpreted in that framework or an by an atheist merely as a mental disturbance or highly emotional and impacting fantasy for example.
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