(August 12, 2016 at 11:42 am)SteveII Wrote:(August 12, 2016 at 9:47 am)Crossless1 Wrote: Ok, I'm tired of this non-stop nattering about a 'personal relationship with God'. Since you have one, tell me something about this close personal friend that I can't learn about by reading the Bible.
Why would there be something that you cannot learn from the Bible? The Bible describes the benefits. You seem to be implying that a new divine revelation should be expected with new data. You can see below that the content of that relationship is perspective, character changing, peace, hope etc. (all internal looking) and not one of a source of new data. A Christians experience will differ in specifics but generally you get the following.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phillippians 4:6-7
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27
"The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." Psalm 34:17-19
"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on the wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6
"Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered for ever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes." Psalm 112:6-8
"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7
Remembering the Lord loves and cares for you.
"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:31-32
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." Psalm 86:15
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39
All you are doing is claiming that they are different people. If they really are different people then there should be evidence that they have changed. But you don't have that evidence. So you just keep repeating the claim. Repeating the claim doesn't make it true.
Moreover, this is only evidence that different people respond to the same conditioning in similar ways. It isn't evidence that the underlying cause lies outside themselves. Have you heard of the 'god center' in the brain? It appears that we are pre-wired to have religious experiences. If that is so, then all those experiences are evidence for is that pre-wiring, not of the religious experience itself. How do you know these 'billion' people aren't simply experiencing the same fundamental neural events having nothing to do with an actual religious experience. I've heard Buddhists claim that their experience of meditation has changed their lives as well. Same experience, different interpretation. You're holding up the feelings and claiming that they are evidence of a particular interpretation. They're not. They're just evidence of common feelings. Despite your claims that Christianity is unique, these same feelings pop up in all sorts of different religions. So what we have are nothing but evidence of the feelings, which isn't unique to Christianity.