I have converted to Christianity

[ohh EPiC FAiL]

It fills the void but not with knowledge. Just a baseless assumption. Better off putting a question mark there instead, at least that way you're being honest about it.

Yeah I completely agree. I'm not saying its necessarily a good thing but it works for small minded people. I couldn't care less what anyone believes, as long as it makes them happy and they don't force it on anyone then it's okay with me.

[NoMoreFaith]

Its quite a simple rule when it comes to "arrogant" "superior" knowledge of reality.

You're welcome to your own opinion, you simply aren't welcome to your own "facts".

[Logic]

I am aware of the definition of "atheism".

Let's be clear about this, I do not believe The Bible is the literal word of God. I believe it is a set of books developed by individuals trying to make sense of what they experienced with Jesus. Furthermore, I do not believe that hell exists. I consider myself more of a liberal Christian like John Shelby Spong; Spong is extremely realistic in his approach. I would recommend that you watch some of his videos on YouTube. Alister McGrath is also an individual whom I admire greatly.

I can fully empathise with people who believe that Christianity is unable to provide a satisfactory explanation of why things are the way they are. I used to hold this position vehemently, but I have changed due to certain experiences that I have encountered recently.

It seems to me that the individuals who are in strong disagreement with me are heavily ignorant of philosophy and associated history. You must realise that science, reason and logic subscribe heavily to the philosophies of material reductionism and empiricism; these philosophies are hugely dominant in terms of how the general population presently perceives reality. The entire scientific method is dependent on the assumption that absolutely everything in the universe can be reduced to the sum of its parts by using pure logic, reason and mathematical models; science was once known as "natural philosophy". Unfortunately, I personally now believe this approach to be ultimately futile when attempting to understand the more complex problems in reality, such as the nature of human subjective consciousness (science is nowhere near explaining subjective consciousness, other than neural correlates in human brain).

I now see Christianity as more than a set of concepts, but more of something that can be experienced in a relational sense.

[FallentoReason]

(science is nowhere near explaining subjective consciousness, other than neural correlates in human brain).

I don't want to put words into your mouth, but here it seems like you recognise that science is approaching a coherent explanation.

Because science doesn't have an answer now, does it really mean with 100% certainty that it won't ever?

---

I now see Christianity as more than a set of concepts, but more of something that can be experienced.

Can you please elaborate, because I'm pretty sure from the very start it was all about experiencing God. Are you saying you have encountered God?

[genkaus]

I am aware of the definition of "atheism".

Let's be clear about this, I do not believe The Bible is the literal word of God. I believe it is a set of books developed by individuals trying to make sense of what they experienced with Jesus. Furthermore, I do not believe that hell exists. I consider myself more of a liberal Christian like John Shelby Spong; Spong is extremely realistic in his approach. I would recommend that you watch some of his videos on YouTube. Alister McGrath is also an individual whom I admire greatly.

I can fully empathise with people who believe that Christianity is unable to provide a satisfactory explanation of why things are the way they are. I used to hold this position vehemently, but I have changed due to certain experiences that I have encountered recently.

It seems to me that the individuals who are in strong disagreement with me are heavily ignorant of philosophy and associated history. You must realise that science, reason and logic subscribe heavily to the philosophies of material reductionism and empiricism; these philosophies are hugely dominant in terms of how the general population presently perceives reality. The entire scientific method is dependent on the assumption that absolutely everything in the universe can be reduced to the sum of its parts by using pure logic, reason and mathematical models; science was once known as "natural philosophy". Unfortunately, I personally now believe this approach to be ultimately futile when attempting to understand the more complex problems in reality, such as the nature of human subjective consciousness (science is nowhere near explaining subjective consciousness, other than neural correlates in human brain).

I now see Christianity as more than a set of concepts, but more of something that can be experienced in a relational sense.

I could have actually respected your view had you not made that statement without giving any justification.

[LastPoet]

Define "Christianty".

[Faith No More]

Although I have severe mental illness, I am a genius according to Mensa.

I never said you were an idiot. I was just wondering how you can be certain of the nature of your experiences given your diagnosis.

As stated by others, as long as your beliefs aren't used to oppress others you can believe whatever you want.

[Logic]

It is extremely difficult to explain my experiences in the limits of language, but I will endeavour to do so.

Over the past month or so, I have encountered a number of experiences that I attribute to God, so yes I believe that I have encountered God. The experiences are primarily based on emotion. Rather than being an experience of extreme mystical euphoria, which is how most seem to describe it, it was more of a gentle sense of emotional wisdom and having a profound feeling of what is "right". The fact that it feels true, right and profound is important to me. This could obviously be explained by neuroscience as a neural biochemical reaction within the monoamine system in my brain. There have also been instances of synchronicity, which could be explained in a mathematical/probabilistic sense. I have learned to accept what I truly believe deep down, instead of suppressing my beliefs.

Another interesting question: I define Christianity as an extremely complex system of beliefs. To sum it up into a simple sentence, the central messages that I see in Christianity are based on being "good", moralistic, forgiving and loving.

[michrelvoik]

but my recent feelings have been so profound that I can no longer attribute them to anything other than God.

See a doctor. You probably have a brain tumor.

Having a brain tumour is not very pleasant. I hope you never have the misfortune of having one.

[NoMoreFaith]

Having a brain tumour is not very pleasant. I hope you never have the misfortune of having one.

Having a religion is not very pleasant. I hope you never have the misfortune of having one.

Although if, as you seem to indicate, you have had one, you have my sympathies, but theres nothing wrong with a touch of flippancy (Either a religion or brain tumor)