(September 6, 2010 at 10:50 pm)Watson Wrote: I believe in one God. All others are real, however, in the sense that they are attempts at articulating aspects of the same being.

I've heard this line of reasoning before and find it a vacuous generalisation that glosses conveniently over the massive differences/contradictions that are contained in the various beliefs.

Is xenu the scientologists powerful entity included in your pantheon of gods that are the same god?
if not why not?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu

Quote:I believe in one God. All others are real, however, in the sense that they are attempts at articulating aspects of the same being.

How do you know they don't feel exactly the same about 'jesus.' After all, the story is pretty far-fetched!

(September 2, 2010 at 10:26 pm)AngelThMan Wrote:

(September 1, 2010 at 9:18 am)Thor Wrote:

(August 31, 2010 at 10:37 pm)AngelThMan Wrote: Maybe if unbelievers would experience what you and I have, they'd be believers.

And what exactly have you "experienced"?

I've experienced the presence of God.

And how can you know that it was "the presence of God" and not something else?

Quote:And how can you know that it was "the presence of God" and not something else?

And how do we know that he isn't simply crazy?

(September 7, 2010 at 12:41 pm)Thor Wrote:

(September 2, 2010 at 10:26 pm)AngelThMan Wrote:

(September 1, 2010 at 9:18 am)Thor Wrote:

(August 31, 2010 at 10:37 pm)AngelThMan Wrote: Maybe if unbelievers would experience what you and I have, they'd be believers.

And what exactly have you "experienced"?

I've experienced the presence of God.

And how can you know that it was "the presence of God" and not something else?

Indeed Thor in every other walk of life we question our assumptions and live our life as though our experiences are a result of our interactions with the material world and brain chemistry. But the moment someone who wants to believe experiences joy or calmness or something similar, the action of brain chemistry on our emotions is dismissed and the vaccuous god talk starts. The fact that most people claim to have an experience albeit different ones and different gods is better evidence of our common genetic inheritance rather than an invisible and impossible being.

@downbeatplumb- Cool, you know big words. Good for you. If you had bothered to absord what I said about my beliefs, you woul dhave gathered that yes, Xenu is included in the list of gods, but in a much much much different way.

(September 6, 2010 at 1:46 pm)Watson Wrote: @Entropist- Maybe the god experienced by he or others is or could be one of thsoe gods?

Yes it could be. Be what does the do for the theist truth claims? It leaves us wondering whether it was any of these gods, a different god or the only explanation which explains it all that of there is no god/s.

(September 6, 2010 at 12:52 am)chatpilot Wrote: AngelThMan when I was a Christian fundamentalist I too thought that I felt God's presence around me all the time, I was constantly praying in my mind and thought I was in touch with God at all times. I later came to the conclusion that what I was experiencing was not God but rather my own mind stimulating my body through the use of emotionalism coupled with my unwavering beliefs. Many religious groups outside of Christianity claim to feel the deity of their choice in various ways, they all claim the feeling of the divine. But in the end it is nothing more than psycho-emotional.

Chat, earlier in this thread I had asked you a question which you never answered. I don't know if you care to answer, but if you do, here it is again...

Question

(September 2, 2010 at 10:26 pm)AngelThMan Wrote: I've experienced the presence of God.

Many choirboys have experienced the presence of their priests as well. You should sue!

(September 2, 2010 at 10:26 pm)AngelThMan Wrote: I was first a Christian, and then an atheist. But it wasn't until I let myself be open to experiencing God that I was able to experience him. Before that I never really did, even as a Christian.

This crap never fails to amaze me. You can't feel god until you want to feel god. It's called self-delusion. Circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because....

And WTF does experiencing God actually mean?

(September 10, 2010 at 4:04 am)Loki_999 Wrote:

(September 2, 2010 at 10:26 pm)AngelThMan Wrote: I've experienced the presence of God.

Many choirboys have experienced the presence of their priests as well. You should sue!

(September 2, 2010 at 10:26 pm)AngelThMan Wrote: I was first a Christian, and then an atheist. But it wasn't until I let myself be open to experiencing God that I was able to experience him. Before that I never really did, even as a Christian.

This crap never fails to amaze me. You can't feel god until you want to feel god. It's called self-delusion. Circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because....

And WTF does experiencing God actually mean

Couldn't agree more Loki. You can't win. If you do experience god, you're correct; if your don't you're heart is 'open' enough (which is just an ad hominem). Menaingless twaddle, the argument from personal experience is self refuting, because if true you'd have to follow all religions as they all claim to have personal expereinces, oh and be an atheist who also have personal experiences of awe at the universe.