experiencing god...

[Ana the Ist]

I have frequently heard god described in such a nebulous way that it leaves me confused. The description is as follows, god is timeless, non-physical, outside this universe, everywhere, invisible, limitless in power and knowledge. Sometimes all these descriptors are present, other times just some. Obviously if this isn't how you define/describe god then the following question doesn't apply. How do you experience or perceive such a being? Also, to those who claim to have "felt" god or heard him "speak" to you, how do you know the feeling or emotion you experienced are not entirely natural and not in any way related to god? How do you know the voice you "hear" isn't simply your own conscience? Please consider carefully before answering what it means to think you experienced god, and what it means to know. I'm interested in those who "know".

 

[GrowingSmaller]

I am not sure I know but I have had a religious experience. I do not want to go into details as I fond that suddenly 101 skeptics will blow the battle horn and attack, attack, atack! But roughly speaking there is something in the phenomenology of the experience that suggests "God" is behind it. You might want to read Theresa of Avila's book "The Interior Castle" for a presentation of one person's mystical experiences.

 

[juvenissun]

I have frequently heard god described in such a nebulous way that it leaves me confused. The description is as follows, god is timeless, non-physical, outside this universe, everywhere, invisible, limitless in power and knowledge. Sometimes all these descriptors are present, other times just some. Obviously if this isn't how you define/describe god then the following question doesn't apply. How do you experience or perceive such a being? Also, to those who claim to have "felt" god or heard him "speak" to you, how do you know the feeling or emotion you experienced are not entirely natural and not in any way related to god? How do you know the voice you "hear" isn't simply your own conscience? Please consider carefully before answering what it means to think you experienced god, and what it means to know. I'm interested in those who "know".

First, accept Jesus Christ as your God and Savior.

Do that. Then the rest will gradually follow.

 

[Ana the Ist]

@ growingsmaller I for one will not be attacking any experience you would be willing to share since that is what I'm asking for, what your experience was and how you knew it was god
@junisson doesn't it seem a bit backwards to say that I must first believe in god or Jesus or anything really before I can experience god? Wouldn't this process work much better if I could experience god first and then decide if its the god of Christianity or whatever religion? It's the normal way in which we decide what to believe isn't it?

 

[Ana the Ist]

First, accept Jesus Christ as your God and Savior.

Do that. Then the rest will gradually follow.

Sorry, I'm new to the forum and getting used to it still. My point was, if belief is a prerequisite to knowing, then how can we ever know anything objectively? It's like saying you must be biased towards a particular answer before you can know the answer that confirms your bias.

 

[juvenissun]

Sorry, I'm new to the forum and getting used to it still. My point was, if belief is a prerequisite to knowing, then how can we ever know anything objectively? It's like saying you must be biased towards a particular answer before you can know the answer that confirms your bias.

The irony is that you can not.

You may start with any of the mainstream religion of the world. You can not even really "know" any one of them in your whole life. I faced the same question when I was in my 20's. I did comparison religion, read this and that. It is useless. You can't really know anything unless you settle down your mind and study ONE of them. Have you done that? Or are you just browsing them like walking in the mall?

My suggestion is: Choose one, sincerely study it for three years and see how would you feel about it. Since you are in this forum, my suggestion is that you start with Christianity. In this world, there are two main religions: Christianity and Buddhism. The rest are associated ones. So, pick one to start.

To do this, you must do one thing: Tentatively accept the religion, then start to understand it based on the tentative faith. So, in Christianity, you need to first accept that Jesus is the God, and is the Savior. You do this BEFORE you start to understand anything about Christianity. Otherwise, you probably won't understand anything about it.

What is the next? You may start to ask questions. Why is Jesus the God? What does He save? etc. etc. Then you will start to get some answers.

 

[juvenissun]

@ growingsmaller I for one will not be attacking any experience you would be willing to share since that is what I'm asking for, what your experience was and how you knew it was god
@junisson doesn't it seem a bit backwards to say that I must first believe in god or Jesus or anything really before I can experience god? Wouldn't this process work much better if I could experience god first and then decide if its the god of Christianity or whatever religion? It's the normal way in which we decide what to believe isn't it?

No.

You can walk into a religion, then back it out.
But you can not learn anything about a religion unless you walk into it first.

Walk into a church and find out what's going on in there. It is useless to look at a church from outside and try to understand it.

 

[Ana the Ist]

The irony is that you can not.

You may start with any of the mainstream religion of the world. You can not even really "know" any one of them in your whole life. I faced the same question when I was in my 20's. I did comparison religion, read this and that. It is useless. You can't really know anything unless you settle down your mind and study ONE of them. Have you done that? Or are you just browsing them like walking in the mall?

My suggestion is: Choose one, sincerely study it for three years and see how would you feel about it. Since you are in this forum, my suggestion is that you start with Christianity. In this world, there are two main religions: Christianity and Buddhism. The rest are associated ones. So, pick one to start.

To do this, you must do one thing: Tentatively accept the religion, then start to understand it based on the tentative faith. So, in Christianity, you need to first accept that Jesus is the God, and is the Savior. You do this BEFORE you start to understand anything about Christianity. Otherwise, you probably won't understand anything about it.

What is the next? You may start to ask questions. Why is Jesus the God? What does He save? etc. etc. Then you will start to get some answers.

My brain seems to be the problem here. I can't just accept things as true without proof, there are a few exceptions, but I can't simply accept the claims of Christianity without evidence. I can say that I believe them, or act like I believe them, but on a very basic level I will always remain skeptical without evidence. If you're claiming I must first believe before I can know the truth of god, then I'm afraid I will always fail. This is a bit off topic, I wasn't looking for a method by which I can experience god. I wanted to hear about other people's experiences with god, how that coincides with their concept of god, and finally how they distinguish this experience as god and not a completely natural event.

 

[GrowingSmaller]

I call to mind Teresa's advice about poisonous reptiles which lurk in the outer courtyards of the Castle of mystical experience. Bye.

 

[juvenissun]

My brain seems to be the problem here. I can't just accept things as true without proof, there are a few exceptions, but I can't simply accept the claims of Christianity without evidence. I can say that I believe them, or act like I believe them, but on a very basic level I will always remain skeptical without evidence. If you're claiming I must first believe before I can know the truth of god, then I'm afraid I will always fail. This is a bit off topic, I wasn't looking for a method by which I can experience god. I wanted to hear about other people's experiences with god, how that coincides with their concept of god, and finally how they distinguish this experience as god and not a completely natural event.

That is fine. You DO that first.

Many Christians are not solid in their faith. There is no shame about it. I claimed to be one when I was 25. My faith became a little bit better when I am 45. I am much better now.

As I said, if you don't like it, nobody is stopping you to look at something else like Buddhism. In fact, I am still looking at Buddhism, Daoism (Taoism), etc. right now.

Religion is personal. What other people said does not apply to you.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I call to mind Teresa's advice about poisonous reptiles which lurk in the outer courtyards of the Castle of mystical experience. Bye.

Lol well who can argue with that? I'm afraid Teresa's book about the soul holds little relevance with me, as I don't believe in souls either. Also, I'm highly skeptical of anyone who writes a book saying it contains some important message from god. It seems to me that if an all powerful god had an important message he would tell everyone, not just some 16th century nun.

 

[Ana the Ist]

That is fine. You DO that first.

Many Christians are not solid in their faith. There is no shame about it. I claimed to be one when I was 25. My faith became a little bit better when I am 45. I am much better now.

As I said, if you don't like it, nobody is stopping you to look at something else like Buddhism. In fact, I am still looking at Buddhism, Daoism (Taoism), etc. right now.

Religion is personal. What other people said does not apply to you.

Not that you asked, but I'm actually quite happy without any faith. I have looked into other faiths and see no need for any of them. That wasn't really the point of the post as I already said.

 

[juvenissun]

Not that you asked, but I'm actually quite happy without any faith. I have looked into other faiths and see no need for any of them. That wasn't really the point of the post as I already said.

So, you will not experience God.

 

[Ana the Ist]

So, you will not experience God.

Nope, nowhere in the OP does it say I want to or I'm trying to, I don't believe in god. Just interested in the experiences of other people.

 

[ChristianT]

You might find a greater response in the "Exploring Christianity" or "Struggles with Christianity" from Christians. God bless you.

 

[juvenissun]

Nope, nowhere in the OP does it say I want to or I'm trying to, I don't believe in god. Just interested in the experiences of other people.

What do you think of other people? Are they just imagining, pretending and self-deceiving? Or they, in general, lack of the sense of security?

 

[DisingenuousChristian]

I have frequently heard god described in such a nebulous way that it leaves me confused. The description is as follows, god is timeless, non-physical, outside this universe, everywhere, invisible, limitless in power and knowledge. Sometimes all these descriptors are present, other times just some. Obviously if this isn't how you define/describe god then the following question doesn't apply. How do you experience or perceive such a being? Also, to those who claim to have "felt" god or heard him "speak" to you, how do you know the feeling or emotion you experienced are not entirely natural and not in any way related to god? How do you know the voice you "hear" isn't simply your own conscience? Please consider carefully before answering what it means to think you experienced god, and what it means to know. I'm interested in those who "know".

My issue is less with our ability to perceive God, and more God's own inability to perceive the world and Himself, should God be bereft of things such as a body and "invisible" in an abstract sort of way. God may not be physical, but does that mean he does not have a form?

If God does not have a form, that must mean he does not have a mind. For mind partakes of form; namely, the five senses (as is the case for us), housed within a bodily medium. Without sense contact, both the senses and matter so sensed, there cannot be any content for the mind. Without content for the mind how can there be a will? Without will, how can God be personal?

Ultimately, I believe God has senses, a body and a mind. All of them entail each other logically.

 

[Ana the Ist]

You might find a greater response in the "Exploring Christianity" or "Struggles with Christianity" from Christians. God bless you.

Thank you! I think you're absolutely right. I was wondering why I haven't received a single answer to my original post yet. I'm still very new to the forum and its not immediately obvious where non-Christians can post. Thanks again.

 

[Ana the Ist]

What do you think of other people? Are they just imagining, pretending and self-deceiving? Or they, in general, lack of the sense of security?

I wasn't really interested in judging the validity of anyone's experiences with god. In general, I think they genuinely believe their experiences to be real. I was curious about the nature of the experiences themselves, and how they reconcile the experiences with their personal conception of god. The only cases that I would doubt the person's sincerity are when they use their experience for personal profit or to further some agenda.

 

[ChristianT]

I have frequently heard god described in such a nebulous way that it leaves me confused. The description is as follows, god is timeless, non-physical, outside this universe, everywhere, invisible, limitless in power and knowledge. Sometimes all these descriptors are present, other times just some.

I'll tell you how I define God:
Perfectly Holy: He is perfectly pure
All-knowing: He knows everything that has, is, and will happen/ing/ed
Almighty: He has control over everything and everything is sustained and held together by Him
Omnipresent & Independent: He is everywhere at once, timeless, and does not consists of anything of the universe. Physical laws do not apply to Him unless otherwise stated (i.e. in Jesus Christ's temporary situation)
Just: His standard is perfectly righteous, honest, and equal.
Loving: His love for His creation boggles minds and "drove" Him to willingly die for our sins
Sentient, Eternal & self-existent: He always existed, always will, and is conscious of His existence and lone status of God.
Triune: He is one God, three co-equal, distinct but not separate "Persons."
Mind-boggling: No one can fully know Him outside of the ways He has revealed Himself to the world;
etc.

How do you experience or perceive such a being?

Through prayer and the Holy Spirit.

Also, to those who claim to have "felt" god or heard him "speak" to you, how do you know the feeling or emotion you experienced are not entirely natural and not in any way related to God?

Because the "feeling" never ended, changed my life for the better since I started to serve Jesus, follow Him, and study the Bible.

How do you know the voice you "hear" isn't simply your own conscience?

The "voice" I hear guides me to do things I would never do of my own power and will, such as reading the Bible constantly, thinking when I read, apply it to my life, and help others who are in need. If I had never felt the "feeling" of the Holy Spirit moving in me, I would just be in my room all day, watching TV, and doing homework. I wouldn't have the compassion for other people I do after finding Jesus.