How many agree with this

[MoNiCa4316]

As far as the "high" you get: I was raised Christian and I remember the feeling when everyone gets excited in church and so on. That is a mental emotion that is triggered by stimulating certain parts of the brain.

I've experienced both and it's different than that

it's not like being excited or whatever, it's pure peace..the peace of Christ.. I've never felt that before anywhere ..it's not just an emotion.. it changes people.. and I'm not talking about being with other believers but with Him, one on one..

 

[nitecrawlur]

I was actually brought up as an agnostic, and wasn't taught anything I even made fun of Christians at one point of my life



No, cause the child does not actually hear from their imaginary friend, but we can hear from God, and not only that but get prayers answered in concrete ways... and when children grow up they usually see that the 'friend' was imaginary, but in the Christian's life, you just see God more and more with time and He becomes more real to you... it's not something you grow 'out of', unless you decide to reject Him

it's hard to describe...to put into words...knowing Jesus is not quite like anything else that we experience

That's strange that you say you hear from God.

Some people don't "grow" out of their imaginary friend issue. They are called insane and they do hear from the imaginary friend talking to them

When only one person hears a voice of an invisible person talking to them, they are crazy, but when many people hear that voice, it's religion. But most likely, it's a bunch of crazy people.

Having a subconcious imaginary friend has also been proven, almost like a multiple personality but a little different.

 

[namericanboy]

I've experienced both and it's different than that

it's not like being excited or whatever, it's pure peace..the peace of Christ.. I've never felt that before anywhere ..it's not just an emotion.. it changes people.. and I'm not talking about being with other believers but with Him, one on one..

Yep..a deep abiding peace..also tangible during worship...

 

[MoNiCa4316]

That's strange that you say you hear from God.

Many Christians do it's by the Holy Spirit...it's not something audible btw (well in most cases, some Saints have heard Jesus' voice or seen Him, but that's real rare)

Jesus said:

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10)

Some people don't "grow" out of their imaginary friend issue. They are called insane and they do hear from the imaginary friend talking to them
When only one person hears a voice of an invisible person talking to them, they are crazy, but when many people hear that voice, it's religion. But most likely, it's a bunch of crazy people.

I never heard any 'voices' or anything before I became a Christian (or indeed in any other context..I never even had imaginary friends as a child)...so how would you explain that? Would you say that I 'became insane' when I started to believe? haha

Having a subconcious imaginary friend has also been proven, almost like a multiple personality but a little different.

yup I know I've taken psych. courses

Yep..a deep abiding peace..also tangible during worship...

 

[nitecrawlur]

Many Christians do it's by the Holy Spirit...it's not something audible btw (well in most cases, some Saints have heard Jesus' voice or seen Him, but that's real rare)

Jesus said:

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.

7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10)


I never heard any 'voices' or anything before I became a Christian (or indeed in any other context..I never even had imaginary friends as a child)...so how would you explain that? Would you say that I 'became insane' when I started to believe? haha



yup I know I've taken psych. courses

If your mind wants something to be real, it can make it real, whether it's visual or audible. So if you believe your being spoken to by a supernatural being, then your mind will make it real. That also has been proven.

For example: If a woman wants to be pregnant (granted this takes a determind woman to do this but the mind still controls it) and she really believes she is, even if she isn't, she can show signs of pregnancy, such as lactating.

So once again, to answer your question "I never heard any 'voices' or anything before I became a Christian (or indeed in any other context..I never even had imaginary friends as a child)...so how would you explain that?" You never wanted to hear those voices before you were christian that's why they weren't there.

 

[MoNiCa4316]

If your mind wants something to be real, it can make it real, whether it's visual or audible. So if you believe your being spoken to by a supernatural being, then your mind will make it real. That also has been proven.

what if He tells me things sometimes that I really don't want to hear? that's like..the opposite of wishful thinking

For example: If a woman wants to be pregnant (granted this takes a determind woman to do this but the mind still controls it) and she really believes she is, even if she isn't, she can show signs of pregnancy, such as lactating.

sure, but I didn't actually 'try' to hear from God or anything when I became a Christian, it just happened one day as I was praying.. and it was only after that, that I began to want to really know Him more

So once again, to answer your question "I never heard any 'voices' or anything before I became a Christian (or indeed in any other context..I never even had imaginary friends as a child)...so how would you explain that?" You never wanted to hear those voices before you were christian that's why they weren't there.

How do you know? I had some times when I was real lonely and wished that I had a friend a lot. But..nothing happened. Also when I was a kid I had a wild imagination, I thought I'd be able to fly someday LOLL. I was a weird kid. But I never heard any voices or anything...

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Nitecrawlur, let me ask you a question...what would convince you that there is a God? if you saw Him right now before you..would you think that is a hallucination? (I'm not saying that's gonna happen or anything, just a hypothetical situation)

 

[Rick Otto]

quote=nitecrawlur; If your mind wants something to be real, it can make it real, whether it's visual or audible. So if you believe your being spoken to by a supernatural being, then your mind will make it real. That also has been proven.

So then if if your mind wants a creation without a creator to be real, it can make it real?

For example: If a woman wants to be pregnant (granted this takes a determind woman to do this but the mind still controls it) and she really believes she is, even if she isn't, she can show signs of pregnancy, such as lactating.

Or if a guy wants to convince others of his reality, he can display symptoms of it being real?

So once again, to answer your question "I never heard any 'voices' or anything before I became a Christian (or indeed in any other context..I never even had imaginary friends as a child)...so how would you explain that?" You never wanted to hear those voices before you were christian that's why they weren't there.

Maybe she wanted to, but she was surrounded by others with stonger desires that she wouldn't. Maybe their manifistations of their mental realities bullied her child mind & frightened off her mind's desires.

Maybe we are all crazy & you are the manifistation of our desire to be sane.
Or maybe you are crazy, and we are all the symptomatic manifistation of your desire to be sane.


Did you ever have an imaginary friend?
I tried more than once to have one, but it was too boring & took too much energy to sustain.

I remember reading a set of books that had children's stories in it. One thing I remember vividly is that it said you can't see fairies & elves, etc. unless you realy believe in them. So I tried to "realy believe" for minute.
I almost sprained my brain. Now it sounds like an invitation to madness.
Paul, on the road to Damascus, didn't realy believe, as he was on his way to deliver letters of authorization to execute Christians in Damascus when, "his mind" took over. I guess his mind was so powerful it knocked him off his horse & blinded him for 3 days. His sidekick even heard the same voice Paul did, so I guess you'd call that "religion", eh?

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Good point about Apostle Paul

 

[sunlover1]

I understand what you are saying...kind of. But again there is no evidence. You SAY these things, but they are only words. Not physical evidence. For example we know dinosaurs lived because we have physical evidence of them. As for Jesus or God there is nothing of that type to support it.

Seriously. I had no idea. Hmmm. Besides the shroud
of turin you mean or the stigmatas. (kidding, those
are hoaxes imo)

When you say he answers specific prayers: you can make anything out of anything when your mind looks for it. It's a natural occurance and is scientifically proven.

Oh heavens yes, shoot look at the horoscope followers,
etc.
So... when they came to shut of my power because
I didnt have cash til the next day, and I prayed that
HE'd keep it on (i had babes) and the woman couldnt
turn it off (accused me of rigging the box) I'm sure
it was probably coincidence.
And When praying in the shower one day, (a single
mom at the time) asked God to provide winter boots
for my kids, and while STILL in the shower, little guy
comes banging on the bathroom door , "MOM, the lady
down the street gave me these two pair of boots"
it was certainly by chance.
LOL I'm such an idiot, I prayed for a diamond one
year for Christmas, (thought I should get married since
we had a kid already) This guy wasnt about to get
off of his wallet and buy me a ring but danged if I didnt
get this huge rock for Christmas. A diamond necklace,
(big ole thing too). God sent a foster kid to my home
the week before Christmas, someone who'd visited our
home one time and afterthat his dad moved their family
to another state, he'd asked his daddy can he live with
my family. Kid, no kidding, gave me a big close to half
carat diamond necklace. It's genuine too.
I got my first house on my birthday, got my second
house on mothers day. But obviously those were
just by chance, just mentioning it.
Oh oh oh. One time, God told me that He wanted
to show me how He was a Father to me. I'd suggested
to my son the week prior, that he should reconsider
college. He said no, he didnt wanna go.
That same week, son came home from church, said
a man in their church (no one he knew) approached
the youth pastor after hearing my son preach to
the youth, and said he wanted to send my son to
a private college. (he's in his fifth year at college,
all expenses paid)
Here's a good one. A man tried to kill me, twice,
and Im still here (I prayed)
This one is pretty cool. One night after attending a wedding,
I prayed for this couple to have children (she
was close to forty and wanted a family so bad) as I prayed
suddenly I was prompted to pray for a relative who was
sterile (doctors had said) and was over forty. She hadnt
considered pregnancy for years. As I said the words,
I knew it was God prompting them, because I hadnt
thought of her at all. She became pregnant that very
month with what I called her miracle.
I can go on. So many times He's brought tears to my
eyes by doing incredible things for me that no one could
have known I needed or thought of. He's my all in all.

 

[MoNiCa4316]

When you say he answers specific prayers: you can make anything out of anything when your mind looks for it. It's a natural occurance and is scientifically proven.

My grandma was in the hospital and the doctors had lost all hope..she was unconcious and had internal bleeding and much more.. and me and some of my friends prayed for her and the next day, the doctors were amazed, she was conscious and had normal temperature, blood pressure, etc.. she recovered praise God.. I just keep on praying for her..

I have a friend and her family member's brain cancer went away in one night before surgery, after they prayed for her like the whole night

oki I heard soo many stories loll I can't possibly tell them all!!

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Seriously. I had no idea. Hmmm. Besides the shroud
of turin you mean or the stigmatas. (kidding, those
are hoaxes imo)

No, stigmata is not a hoax (except in some cases, where it was faked, but there are many real cases too)

 

[sunlover1]

When you say he has healed before your eyes, I'm willing to bet that there was no medical follow up to assess possible theories what what really happened.

Heck, there are plenty of documented cases!
For me, no, except that I did have arthritis in my
hips years ago, documented, and I dont now.
But when I was a baby Christian, and my baby was
in my arms with a fever of 101 ish, and it was the
middle of the night, and I was starting to worry
because of her wheezing, barely breathing, and the
doc said "call back in the am if it's not better"
(she had asthma at that time) and I prayed to God
as I'd read in the Bible and one moment, she's
deathly ill, the next moment she's fine. I just
cant see that as coincidence, but hey, it's just
my story, and no proof of it.

And if you mean literally that he saved your life, I'm sure that it was mearly coincidence on whatever the scenerio was. I could be more specific if you provide more detail.

No, I dont care to go back there, but I can appreciate
your unbelief.

As far as the "high" you get: I was raised Christian and I remember the feeling when everyone gets excited in church and so on. That is a mental emotion that is triggered by stimulating certain parts of the brain. Basically what I'm saying is you are capable of creating any feeling you want whether it be concious or not. I get a high when I watched this years superbowl on tv in the fourth quarter.

OH yeah, that 'feeling'. NO , I wasnt talking about
that, but I do pray with my boys every day, and
most of the time, this incredible peace and calm
.. almost surreal and mmmm heavenly? comes
into the room. I just attribute that to where
two or more gather in my name, there I am among
them. Dunno why that happens sometimes and not
other times. But no, I wasnt talking of any physical
high or feelings.

To add, I hope you're not implying that I abuse controled substances. Or for that matter I hope you aren't trying to bribe me into your belief under the assumption that I do by saying "your high" is better than mine

Get outta here. You kidding me?
Nothing like that nitecrawler.
Sup with the name? you a fisherman?
I love going out in the lawn late at night
snatching crawlers from their holes if I"m
fast enough lol.

sunlover

 

[MoNiCa4316]

OH yeah, that 'feeling'. NO , I wasnt talking about
that, but I do pray with my boys every day, and
most of the time, this incredible peace and calm
.. almost surreal and mmmm heavenly? comes
into the room. I just attribute that to where
two or more gather in my name, there I am among
them. Dunno why that happens sometimes and not
other times. But no, I wasnt talking of any physical
high or feelings.

Sometimes if I'm going through something, like if I'm in pain (emotionally) or really worried about something, lol I almost lose my mind with worry sometimes but then I turn to Jesus and I just spend some time with Him, and He fills me with this beautiful peace, it's not just an emotion or a feeling... I don't create it in myself or even try to feel anything, I just try to seek Him... and I just know that whatever happens, even if my situation doesn't improve, Jesus will be there and that is enough. It's soo true how He said that He gives peace that's unlike what the world gives.

Also when I am at church before the Eucharist (during Mass) I could be feeling nothing one moment and then I'm just filled with His peace again.

God never leaves us

 

[Rick Otto]

hey!
God (or my mind) did sorta the same thing for me when I was a single parent & the Utility Company truck pulled up in my driveway to shut off the power.

I was so exhausted & feeling so defeated by the world at that moment, that my strength to resist was gone.
All I had was my conscience & it didn't want to hide & pretend I wasn't home.
I answered the door, and the guy looked totaly surprised that I did. He said, "Do you know who I am?"
I said, "Yeah, I know."
He said, "Do you know what I'm here for?"
I said, yeah, I know. You gotta do what ya gotta do."

The only furniture in the house was the back seat from a VW bus, and an electric cable spool for a table. That's it.
The guy looked around, and said"Do you live here?"
I said, "Yeah, just me & my son", pointin' to my 3yr old.

The poor old guy was just totaly stupified.
He agonized for a second & then just said,"I can't do this!", and ran back to his truck.
As he was leavin', I yelled out the door, "I won't tell anybody you were here."
LOL.
Another time, I was in a hurry leaving the Community College & had my son with me in the car.
I got pulled over for speeding, and my son, still 3 or 4, started to get very upset, not understanding what was happening. The cop was realy angry about something. He was realy mean at his approach and with his initial remarks, and my son yelled, "Daddy that's a bad man!"
I instantly tried to reassure him, saying,"No son, he's a good man, he just has difficult job to do - he doesn't realy want to hurt us!"
The cop had aggressively placed his hands on the door, the window being open. Now, he pushed himself away, sayin' "Wait here just a minute." He went back to his car, said somethin' on his radio, and then came back & only gave me a verbal warning.

Boy, ya realy gotta watch out for those co-inky-dinks. They can goad your mind into makin' invisible friends, I guess, huh?

 

[sunlover1]

Sometimes if I'm going through something, like if I'm in pain (emotionally) or really worried about something, lol I almost lose my mind with worry sometimes but then I turn to Jesus and I just spend some time with Him, and He fills me with this beautiful peace, it's not just an emotion or a feeling... I don't create it in myself or even try to feel anything, I just try to seek Him... and I just know that whatever happens, even if my situation doesn't improve, Jesus will be there and that is enough. It's soo true how He said that He gives peace that's unlike what the world gives.

Also when I am at church before the Eucharist (during Mass) I could be feeling nothing one moment and then I'm just filled with His peace again.

God never leaves us

Amen praise God.
I often have to seek God for
that peace that only He can
give.

(are you drinking caffeine? Because
we sure can post tonight . I'm
on decaf so dunno my excuse yet)

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Amen praise God.
I often have to seek God for
that peace that only He can
give.

yup =) and sometimes He surprises us too hehe

(are you drinking caffeine? Because
we sure can post tonight . I'm
on decaf so dunno my excuse yet)

coffee is good I had some this morning! but no..not right now...I did have some chocolate though!!

I'm having fun, recovering from the stress of my statistics exam earlier today

 

[Rick Otto]

Ahhh... my shift is over.
I gotta make the 1/2 hour commute home.
BRB

 

[sunlover1]

hey!
God (or my mind) did sorta the same thing for me when I was a single parent & the Utility Company truck pulled up in my driveway to shut off the power.

I was so exhausted & feeling so defeated by the world at that moment, that my strength to resist was gone.
All I had was my conscience & it didn't want to hide & pretend I wasn't home.
I answered the door, and the guy looked totaly surprised that I did. He said, "Do you know who I am?"
I said, "Yeah, I know."
He said, "Do you know what I'm here for?"
I said, yeah, I know. You gotta do what ya gotta do."

At least you didnt tell him, "good luck with that"
thats why the lady thought I'd fiddled with the
box I'm guessing.

The only furniture in the house was the back seat from a VW bus, and an electric cable spool for a table. That's it.
The guy looked around, and said"Do you live here?"
I said, "Yeah, just me & my son", pointin' to my 3yr old.

Man those were the DAYS!
Life is good int it?

Boy, ya realy gotta watch out for those co-inky-dinks. They can goad your mind into makin' invisible friends, I guess, huh?

Yeah lol. I've had an "invisible" friend since childhood.

yup =) and sometimes He surprises us too hehe

YES, those times, I figure hey, someone must be
praying for me...
Hey was that YOU? lol

coffee is good I had some this morning! but no..not right now...I did have some chocolate though!!

Mmm, I had one half square of a hersheys bar,
hardly qualifies!

I'm having fun, recovering from the stress of my statistics exam earlier today

Oh that SO explains it.
I love that 'after' feeling.

Ahhh... my shift is over.
I gotta make the 1/2 hour commute home.
BRB

Woo Hooooooo, freedom!

 

[Rdr Iakovos]

That's strange that you say you hear from God.

Some people don't "grow" out of their imaginary friend issue. They are called insane and they do hear from the imaginary friend talking to them

When only one person hears a voice of an invisible person talking to them, they are crazy, but when many people hear that voice, it's religion. But most likely, it's a bunch of crazy people.

Having a subconcious imaginary friend has also been proven, almost like a multiple personality but a little different.

I think it strange that you don't hear from God- perhaps you are defective in some way? A color blindness of a type, or a spiritual sociopathology...

People who hear voices are not crazy, they are ill. Perhaps we are also ill, afflicted with a conscience. What are the voices telling us to do? Acts of kindness, forgiveness. And what are the voices saying about us and others? Words of mercy and peace.

If you knew anything of psychopathology and the content of psychotic thoughts, you wouldn't say something so patently and completely stupid.