What reassures you gods real?

[shabbo148]

Hey guys,

2 years ago I stopped going to church. And i've noticed that as a result I'm now questioning things I never would have thought of. Because at church everyone seems so sure and certain about god, givin me no reason to ever question things.

But recently i've realized there really is no linking evidence to god. You cant even physically prove the bible is real.
Also when I was pretty strong with religion I fainted in the holy spirit and spoke in tongues. which felt absolutely amazing. But then I heard of the placebo affect. Which is where if your body is so convinced something will cause it to do something, it will happen even though nothin physically caused it to. Like your body can heal itself faster by taking sugar pills if it thinks it's getting medication.
I'm now questioning weather tongues and the feeling of god is just a placebo affect.

So I was just wondering, what reassures your about gods existence?

For me, i've come to the conclusion that weather god Is real or not he only brings good an positivity. And the feeling he brings is just amazing, and makes me want to be a better person even if it is just my body being crazy.
I've also decided to start going to a youth group again, and once again very strongly felt gods presence. I'm just so confused about it,but I'm hoping I can strengthen my relationship with god and put these questions behind me.

Also sorry if this was hard to understand or if I changed the topic every sentence. I'm typing this on my iPod and its taking to long to edit it all so I'm just leaving it

 

[Girder of Loins]

Firstly, I believe we can find physical evidence to prove God's existence, and my current theory that I use is Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity. Basically, since the universe is made of time, and time is not infinite(or there would be no now, as time is linear), then it had a start, and science cannot explain the beginnings of the universe. And I'm talking about the universe here, not matter.

Secondly, there are personal experiences in my life. Here are a few that didn't have placebo-induced outcomes.

Back in high school, I belonged to a ministry team. The director had lupis. She had been prayed for many times for the lupis to be healed, and it never worked. My friends went to a mini-conference put on by a local church, and they were talking about healing and using the H.S.'s power. So we called her and texted her to get over here to pray for her. She reluctantly came, and did not expect anything to happen, as she was in the middle of a flare-up. Two weeks later, she went to the doctor, got two different blood tests, and she was doctor-proven free of lupus. This was not placebo-induced, as she did not think of her being healed. She had come to the point where she thought this was her burden to bear in life(and had made that point clearly in previous dialogues before the healing).

Next, is my stuff. My first time going to a conference in portland called Generation Unleashed, I didn't really want to go. I mainly went because I wanted to fit in with everyone else at my new school(I was a freshman at a Christian school). So i went and didn't expect much. Sure, CBC is a big place, but I had seen bigger in Louisiana, so I wasn't intimidated. About five minutes into the worship, the Lord just washes over me, and I am forced to sit down. Once again, I had no feelings of intimidation or happiness in me. In fact, I was actually kinda mad at choosing to go. This was my first encounter with God, and it has exploded ever since. Also, my asthma has been healed, and I had almost had an a asthma attack a few months before. I have seen legs grow, I have seen backs straighten, I have seen eye muscles grow, and other healings as well.

Finally, another evidence of mine, and this is one of the coolest, IMO. The ministry group travelled in the summers around the Northwest. We were in Idaho doing a carnival, and we were doing all the booths, and a puppet show every thirty minutes. The forecast called for rain. We were super-bummed, and didn't want the rain to wash out all the people who would have come. We saw the dark clouds begin to come at us, so we prayed. We prayed that God would sent it some other direction ,and not at us. It kept on coming. We prayed again. During the carnival, I looked up and noticed something awkward. You could see a literal point in the sky where the clouds would break, circle around the park, and meet up on the other side. We were the only ones not under cloud cover. And, to add to this, about a mile away, it was raining. And when I mean raining, we had guys go get some duct tape, and they came back drenched.

For me, this has kept me going strong in my faith. I try not to let doctrinal issues cloud my mind with doubt, and instead know that there is a God, and I have been saved.

 

[shabbo148]

Wow that's crazy. Thanks for the story. I guess when you really think things out, religion makes more sence than some science based theories. It annoys me so much when science tries to provide explanation for religious events. It's no coincidence miracles and things happen, nor that everyone seems to see the same thing during a near death experience.

Hey I'm just wondering, when you were forced to sit with your first godly encounter, what exactly did it feel like?

When I had my first encounter it felt like I was sinking into the ground, everything was just blocked out and I felt like a tingling warm dizziness. I then lost complete control of my body and fell over. Experiences after that i've noticed my eyes seem to flicker in the back of my head and the same thing happens . It's weird.

When I had my first encounter I was the only one in the room that fell. So I gues I felt like I may have overdone things and started doubting that what happened was real. That's when I learned about the placebo thing. But you helped me change my views on that

 

[Girder of Loins]

Well, what you described as your first experience sounds like being "Slain in the Spirit", where the encounter between you and the H.S. is so powerful ,your body cannot keep up with it. I'm super jealous.

I never lost control of my body, but I did feel something I had never felt before that. I felt loved. I don't come from an abusive family or anything, but a lot of bad things have happened in my life before that, so going into it, I barely believed in God, or, if He did exist, that He loved me. Then He came over me, and I felt a warm presence fill me up, I had goosebumps, and my mind went completely blank. It was also the first time I experienced joy.

Placebo is definitely a way to interpret some "miracles", but I can distinguish between miracles and placebo within my life(I tend to be a rational person).

Another miracle I forgot to mention(if it matters to anyone), is one that happened early on, that I just now attribute as a miracle. I used to live in upstate New York, where it snows a lot. We lived in the middle of nowhere, and had a thousand acres of forest out our back door. We had a sledding hill that went through our driveway at the bottom, and I was using it. my dad was coming home in our Explorer, and it was icy and snowy, and the car had barely any traction(it was sometimes faster to walk than to drive places). So I'm sledding, and I get to the bottom of the driveway. My dad is turning in and slams on the brakes(or else he would have run me over). I have no idea how he stopped. As I said before, he didn't have any traction, but that thing stopped as if he were driving on mollasses. I attribute that to a miracle status now that I think back to it.

 

[shabbo148]

thats awesome, I wish to experience a miracle one day. I love the stories, and i can just imagine the feeling that would come over me as I notice god had just visited and done something so amazing.

 

[Girder of Loins]

That's a funny video. I'm not sure if Benny Hinn is legit, or if it is just placebo. I would like to think that he is legit, but you never know. I've heard stories from my friends of their pastors doing stuff, but I have never personally encountered such a thing. SO I can make no comment on the legitimacy of being "Slain in the Spirit".

May Your Journeys find Truth, DaneaFL.

 

[shabbo148]

Hahahahahaha oh gosh.
another reason to doubt my encounter

ohwell, placebo or not it was a pretty cool high haha

 

[DMMullinax]

Hey guys,

2 years ago I stopped going to church. And i've noticed that as a result I'm now questioning things I never would have thought of. Because at church everyone seems so sure and certain about god, givin me no reason to ever question things.

But recently i've realized there really is no linking evidence to god. You cant even physically prove the bible is real.
Also when I was pretty strong with religion I fainted in the holy spirit and spoke in tongues. which felt absolutely amazing. But then I heard of the placebo affect. Which is where if your body is so convinced something will cause it to do something, it will happen even though nothin physically caused it to. Like your body can heal itself faster by taking sugar pills if it thinks it's getting medication.
I'm now questioning weather tongues and the feeling of god is just a placebo affect.

So I was just wondering, what reassures your about gods existence?

For me, i've come to the conclusion that weather god Is real or not he only brings good an positivity. And the feeling he brings is just amazing, and makes me want to be a better person even if it is just my body being crazy.
I've also decided to start going to a youth group again, and once again very strongly felt gods presence. I'm just so confused about it,but I'm hoping I can strengthen my relationship with god and put these questions behind me.

Also sorry if this was hard to understand or if I changed the topic every sentence. I'm typing this on my iPod and its taking to long to edit it all so I'm just leaving it

What reassures me about God's existence is, for one, the change Jesus Christ evokes in people. I'm talking about the change that comes when people are legitimately seeking Him out and living in His grace. God's word in the Bible coupled with prayer and faith is huge, and most of all it works. Works more than any other method or teaching.
There's no total satisfaction without Jesus. No living as a human was meant to live without Jesus. I've watched people live their lives without Jesus, and I've seen them live (sincerely) for Jesus and there's just no comparison. None at all. I'm not talking about people who say they're following Jesus, but turn around and live a completely different lifestyle and see no results and create a terrible image of Christ to others. The world is replete with that, but I mean when someone is genuinely living in Jesus, there is no comparison.

It's also difficult for me to look at the Bible, New and Old Testaments, and decide that it's false and without any divine authority. The principles and the thought behind the Bible make so much sense in so many aspects of human living. Relationally it shows the ideal way of living that leads to satisfaction (which is achieved through a relationship with Jesus) on both an individual basis, for marriage, for families, and for communities as a whole- there's no human text that ever gets or got it right, other than the Bible. The Bible is also rational too, people like to say it isn't, but I don't understand how it is contradictory or irrational.

As well, and as a big physical representation for me that God exists, is the vast amount of demonic oppression in the world. Too much exists to be shooed away as either purely psychological or hoax. Too much secret knowledge and darkness being displayed by demonic entities, and all of them having to acknowledge the authority of Jesus. Jesus says in Matthew 28 that all power and authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him. We, in Christ, have the authority of His name to not have to come under dark oppression. I know plenty of people who have first-hand used Christ's name and authority to ward physical demonic attacks. To write all of that off as nonsense is impossible for me. How can this type of thing exist without there being a supernatural level we can't always see displayed?

These are really just a few of a number of reasons why I believe God exists and is true in how He reveals himself in the Bible and other means. I encourage you to seek more evidence and most of all think for yourself and ask questions. There is a ridiculous amount of evidence for God, obvious and not so obvious.

 

[shabbo148]

your right.
it's probably just from being so overwhelmed.
it disappoints me because just as I think I've found god something else gives a
much better explanation.

 

[Shane Plew]

What reassures me that God is real?

Not a thing.

 

[HarborOrange]

Check out the Torah, my friend. Follow the Feast days outlined in the Bible. You'll see how they coincide with astronomical events as well as natural disasters/significant events in humanity year after year, and you see how they tie into everything in the Scriptures. No man could have woven all of that intricacy together.

The church is full of fake smiles and lies. Everyone there pretends their life is perfect... but usually they tend to be the most broken and empty. You must question to grow and learn. It's natural and healthy. Just read the Bible and start to follow the Feasts, Festivals, and Torah, and you will figure it out.

 

[emily catherine]

my existance and the world around me.

 

[iAlive]

Reassurance? I simply have faith. I believe in God, even though I see no physical evidence. Isn't it better to believe right away than after seeing evidence.

I'll stop before I get all preachy, but simply, I just believe in God. I questioned Him and left Him once, but I got back on my walk and believed on Him in faith.

 

[Chris Blanks]

There is no really best term. An agnostic is someone who wants no back in the argument, they just don't care about the subject, but have prior knowledge of the subject. An atheist would be someone who is neutral on the subject, but could see each side of the argument, and would be inclined to lean towards, a deity not existing. They will however, acknowledge that a deity or omnipotent being could exist. An anti-theist is someone who declares that there is definitive evidence that a omnipotent being does not exist. As Logan X said before. There are strong atheists and weak atheists. A strong atheist is an anti-theist, while a weak atheist is what I described above.
The best way to describe someone with no prior knowledge to either concept would be unaffiliated, as they can't make the decision to believe or not believe.

 

[Chris Blanks]

Nothing, god isn't real. Lol

You can't go around making crazy claims. No one can say that will any amount of certainty. Nor can anyone say God or any other deity is real with any amount of certainty.

 

[graciesings]

This thread looks like a fun one to read.

Hey I'm just wondering, when you were forced to sit with your first godly encounter, what exactly did it feel like?

When I had my first encounter it felt like I was sinking into the ground, everything was just blocked out and I felt like a tingling warm dizziness. I then lost complete control of my body and fell over. Experiences after that i've noticed my eyes seem to flicker in the back of my head and the same thing happens . It's weird.

When I had my first encounter I was the only one in the room that fell. So I gues I felt like I may have overdone things and started doubting that what happened was real. That's when I learned about the placebo thing. But you helped me change my views on that

Well, when I had my first encounter with God I thought "God doesn't really exist" and then a ball hit me in the forehead. Same tingling dizziness and falling over. And then the second encounter was a few days later. "I don't really need God" and then I hit my head
against the roof of the car. By the third encounter I was really resisting conversion as much as I could, and then I ran into a door. Long story short, after getting hit in the head half a dozen times, I believed that God exists. I also believe that God knew exactly how to convince a hard headed person like me!

 

[iAlive]

Faith is believing in something with no evidence, as I am sure you know. So why don't you believe in Allah, Thor, or The Flying Spaghetti Monster? They all have text documenting what they can do and they all lack evidence as well. Please give me an answer besides I have faith and that is all I need, because all of the people that are of a different religion than yours also have faith in their god/gods. There must be some reason you think you are right other than that, otherwise you might want to look a little more into your religion and possibly others.

To reply and start a debate would be getting off topic from the thread's original question. But..

It's not like I've become a braindead religious person that believed Christianity right away as an automatic response. I make mistakes, I've tried leaving God, did wrong things, and doubted a lot of times.
To try and give you an answer.. I couldn't ever do it. You can never explain the deep things with accuracy, nor can you capture its moments.
Flying Spaghetti..? lol.
I'm convicted in my heart that God is real, and the Bible is His word. I'm convicted that Jesus sent His only Son to die for my sins. I'm convicted that Christ is the Messiah.

Now, some questions.

Atheism is a 'no-god', whose faith relies on lack of physical evidence, and is strengthened with touchable things in this world. So what makes it different from Christian faith? (other than the different things it puts faith in.) So.. does it takes just as much faith as does the other religions?
If you were God, would you want people to believe you by faith and not through evidence? Wouldn't you be pleased if people just believed you in faith?
Why are humans different from the animals?
If there is no God, then does humanity have any true purpose other than live and die?
How could everything build/create itself on its own?

To me, it just makes perfect sense that there is a God. I don't find anything ridiculous or questionable with it. There were times when I was trapped in depression, and then I prayed to God before praising Him, then I just felt joy and peace erupt in my soul and heart. There other similiar times, and other events that strengthened my belief. If someone ever asks me if God is real, the answer will always be a firm 'yes.' Like I said, I can't explain the deep things. You need to know them yourself to understand what I mean, but you can't just 'sample' Christianity like a food product. There's more to it than just belief. plus, with God/Christ, we have a purpose, and also answers those other life questions.

I often get off topic or explain things badly. I'm not the best at explaining, but I try.

 

[Girder of Loins]

The issue with this statement is that we do not yet have a clear understanding of time. Right now the existence of time as we perceive it is at question. Here are a couple of interesting links.

Newsflash: Time May Not Exist | DiscoverMagazine.com

"There Is No Such Thing As Time" | Popular Science

I read both, and both are very... meh. I'm sorry, but I only trust stuff from peer-reviewed journals, not magazines.

The questions posed in those articles can be answered in quantum mechanics. Quantum particles don't exist in time, nor do they exist in space, but they do exist in this universe. The statement I made before about time has changed into a question about quantum particles. Why do they exist? What is the "string" that holds it all together?

To further question those articles, specifically the second, I don't see the "Now" theory working very well. He equates it to integers, but 3 doesn't exist without 2 or 1, as the definition of 3 is 1+1+1. So each "Now" requires there to have been a "Then" in order for the "Now" to exist. Is the freeze-frame moment he describes even possible? Not at the quantum level. At that level, even in frame, the quantum particles exist everywhere and nowhere at once. In fact, quantum particles require time to exist. They know they are going to be observed in the future and will become matter rather than waves. So time is a necessary evil. It may not be what Einstein said it was, but it will always exist.

 

[Kurama]

Personally I am more of a spiritual person. I do not need physical or scientific evidence to truly believe in God, for He has already shown Himself through Christ. I am welcome to all scientific theories proving God's existence (though they are mainly rejected by mainstream scientists, who prefer an agnostic approach), but honestly I do not need them.

The fact that I am alive, the sun rising each morning, the bond I have with my family and friends...those are enough for me to realise that I'm not just a piece of matter on a large rock, I realise that there is intelligence behind my life. The funny thing is that the more I learn about science, the greater my faith towards God strengthens (for many, especially young people, it does the opposite). To see the natural world, in all its beauty and majesty...clearly shows that some ''force'' must have created it. Even the Big Bang...how could an atom explode and release all that energy, what made it explode? Did it just randomly happen? Even Einstein said that there was a ''force'' behind it...

I actually believe in evolution, and I do not compromise my faith by doing so. I believe that the Lord, in all His love and grace, allowed us to evolve and improve from our ape ancestors. I believe that Adam and Eve is pretty much a parable, since it is accepted that the Bible is not word-for-word correct (unlike the Quran, which is the impeccable, perfect and irrefutable word of Allah) and many of it stories that might not be true, that are more to do with symbolisms.

Anyway I think we need to move away from all the ''Christian science'' and start focusing more on Christ. Jesus taught us that we do not need proof to believe in Him, for it is our faith in Him that will grant us Eternal Life.

''Blessed are those who do not see and believe'' -John 20:29

Ultimately I don't know whether God exists... I believe God exists!. It is our faith that will save us, not our reassurance or superstition.

 

[Girder of Loins]

For medical stuff, pubmed central is free and includes every single medical/autonomical/biology-related stuff that is peer-reviewed(in the USA). My college belongs to a large datatbase with like fifty different online journals, as do most community colleges. If you can get into a local community college's library they usually do the same thing. If that doesn't work, I used JSTOR and sites like those. They let you read the abstracts, so you get the gist of what is going on and their results, but not all the interesting stuff.