Former agnostic, now Christian

[frankiej]

I've even met some who claimed to be pastors but didn't know anything about scripture.

You would be surprised about how many out there don't know much.

[lucent]

Believe it or not, it's the truth. I did study every type of religion and idea about God for around 6 or 7 years before I became a Christian, and I have the blogs to prove it. I did not become a Christian because of my studies, however..I became a Christian because God led me directly to it.

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Hello. Welcome to the forums.

For the record, and up front-

I am incapable of sincerely believing that you were once a skeptical agnostic, and are now a Christian. I know a lot of Christians just like to say that because it adds impact to their claim of a supernatural experiences and faith. Do you think that your mind is so exceptional that it is incapable of delusion? Silly! You have an animal brain just like the rest of us. It is highly susceptible to any form of psychosis. If you were REALLY a skeptic, you would have questioned it tirelessly, maybe even seeking professional help until you had found the truth behind your gloriously spiritual euphoria.

I am not calling you a liar, but I am suggesting that you may not have ever been what you thought you were.

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[frankiej]

Believe it or not, it's the truth. I did study every type of religion and idea about God

I HIGHLY doubt that. Every type?

[lucent]

Hey, nice to meet you bro. Thanks for the welcome. I'll read your experience and tell you what I think..as far as my experience goes, it was definitely not a hallucination. I've hallucinated before, on cough medicine or from a fever..(i dont normally hallucinate but i have hallucinated)..and it was nothing like that. And it wasn't an isolated incident..I have had many such experiences, far too many and too powerful to dismiss.

Hope springs eternal Skepticism isn't the answer, it isn't even a worldview..but it is used by people who claim to be skeptics to justify their worldview, of which of course they are not skeptical of. If you're a true skeptic, you are skeptical of everything, not just religious claims. To be skeptical is to try to be as objective as possible, because all claims to knowledge are equally suspect, for or against. Most people don't seem to realize that empiricism is a philosophical discipline.

It's not just that the alternative to hope is unpalatable, it is unnatural. People will accuse believers of embracing hope because of fear, and maybe that is true for some, but I think it is far more true that we embrace hope because it is the natural state of affairs. Specifically, because of the love of God. It's that love that gives us hope, because it is larger than life and tells us there is something more.

Lucent, thanks for sharing these personal experiences with us.
I understand to some extent where you are coming from. I shared an experience I had, which is on this thread:

http://atheistforums.org/thread-8077.html

I must admit, that since sharing my 'experience', I have become far more skeptical about it. The guys here, for all their 'sharp' words at times, did make me re-evaluate what I thought I had experienced. I'm open to it having been 'in the mind', although I'm still not sure.

When I read about your 'landscape' experience, I'm straightaway thinking that you did have some kind of hallucination, due to you admitting you have had them before. I would be very interested in hearing the rest of your story. Please pm me if you have the time. I'm a reluctant Christian at best, but some days I'm veering to atheism- but not quite. The one thing I don't seem to ever lose, is hope - hope that there is more to this life, that love (in us) does live on. Glad you've joined the forum and thanks again for sharing this very interesting personal experience.

[frankiej]

you still can't discard the possibility of a hallucination, it would be ignorant to do so.

[lucent]

Every type that ever existed? Obviously not. But I did study every type that I could find, from the common to the esoteric.

Believe it or not, it's the truth. I did study every type of religion and idea about God

I HIGHLY doubt that. Every type?

[frankiej]

Well, I would advise that you are careful on how you word things on here... I am one of the kinder ones around

[lucent]

I discard it because it wasn't an isolated incident..I've had many such experiences since then, visions, prophetic dreams, etc..

you still can't discard the possibility of a hallucination, it would be ignorant to do so.

[frankiej]

You could live somewhere or often visit somewhere that has something in its area that you react to...
Or you could have something wrong with you... I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but I am just calling it as I see it.

[lucent]

I will be more careful I guess the trick is to never assume anyone will take what you mean to be the case unless it is explicitely stated. This medium is so difficult for communication sometimes.

Well, I would advise that you are careful on how you word things on here... I am one of the kinder ones around