Experiencing the Divine

[KnockEmOuttt]

I don't really understand any of his reasoning really. I'm trying to not bring up religion anymore around him. Of course now he's got to bring it up every time I enter the room. Tonight he called Dawkins and Hitchens the Bishops of atheism, which he is convinced is a religion.

Don't get me started. I've been "debating" with the forums special needs pupil about whether Atheism is a religious position.
I say "debating" in inverted commas because his retorts are about as relevant and informative as if he had just posted a youtube video of himself engaging in interpretive dance and written
"pwned " underneath.

Who is this you speak of?

[Reforged]

Don't get me started. I've been "debating" with the forums special needs pupil about whether Atheism is a religious position.
I say "debating" in inverted commas because his retorts are about as relevant and informative as if he had just posted a youtube video of himself engaging in interpretive dance and written
"pwned " underneath.

Who is this you speak of?

That guy who got his ring destroyed.

[Minimalist]

[Whateverist]

Experiencing the divine ... MS. M (Bette Middler & Rosie O'Donald) do "Twisted" ... which your father must surely be.

http://youtu.be/yO9xGFvkvC4

[pgrimes15]

So I got into it with my father about religion today. I asked him how he could possibly believe in the Christian god without any shred of evidence, and he told me because he's had "divine experiences." When I asked for examples, he told me about how he's talked with the dead...like I mean straight up "I see dead people" stuff. Could there be a reasonable explanation for why he may have "experienced" this or should I just come to terms with the fact that my father is far crazier than I ever would have believed? Mind you it was mostly when he was younger and during a period of severe illness. Like a near death experience type of thing?

In my experience, this is the Xtian trump card, since it cannot be refuted, and any theological "discussion" with a god-botherer usually ends up here. (I of course make exception for the distinguished theists on AF !!). I find that to dissect their individual claims is quite effective i.e. "Was it a real voice that someone else could have heard or was it just in your head ?" or "Was it speaking English ?" or "Was it an actual manifestation that could have been recorded on video or seen by someone else ?".
Going down this road seems to sometimes cause difficulties for people who do not want to admit to "voices in the head".

Regards

Grimesy

---

Whiskey is the cure for everything.

Oh no no no no no no no my dear boy

Whisky is the cure.

Whiskey comes from some other country.

Regards

Grimesy

[catfish]

So I got into it with my father about religion today. I asked him how he could possibly believe in the Christian god without any shred of evidence, and he told me because he's had "divine experiences." When I asked for examples, he told me about how he's talked with the dead...like I mean straight up "I see dead people" stuff. Could there be a reasonable explanation for why he may have "experienced" this or should I just come to terms with the fact that my father is far crazier than I ever would have believed? Mind you it was mostly when he was younger and during a period of severe illness. Like a near death experience type of thing?

In my experience, this is the Xtian trump card, since it cannot be refuted, and any theological "discussion" with a god-botherer usually ends up here. (I of course make exception for the distinguished theists on AF !!). I find that to dissect their individual claims is quite effective i.e. "Was it a real voice that someone else could have heard or was it just in your head ?" or "Was it speaking English ?" or "Was it an actual manifestation that could have been recorded on video or seen by someone else ?".
Going down this road seems to sometimes cause difficulties for people who do not want to admit to "voices in the head".

Regards

Grimesy

A "Christian" who reads the Bible should know that talking to the dead is a no-no.

Soooo, tell him he's either talking to demons or he needs to see a shrink.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

That guy who got his ring destroyed.

That is even funnier in Oz; 'ring' is sang for "rectum",as are 'date' and 'quoit'.

[pgrimes15]

That guy who got his ring destroyed.

That is even funnier in Oz; 'ring' is sang for "rectum",as are 'date' and 'quoit'.

Are you saying that in Australia, 'date' and 'quoit' are slang terms for rectum ?

What is a 'quoit' anyway ?

Regards

Grimesy

[KichigaiNeko]

So I got into it with my father about religion today. I asked him how he could possibly believe in the Christian god without any shred of evidence, and he told me because he's had "divine experiences." When I asked for examples, he told me about how he's talked with the dead...like I mean straight up "I see dead people" stuff. Could there be a reasonable explanation for why he may have "experienced" this or should I just come to terms with the fact that my father is far crazier than I ever would have believed? Mind you it was mostly when he was younger and during a period of severe illness. Like a near death experience type of thing?

I'll have what ever HE is drinking...sounds great!

[FemmeRealism]

There's a plethora of reasons one could have a "Divine experience."
Dehydration, iron depletion, mental illness, high blood pressure, biochemical imbalance, disease such as distemper or anything that targets and/or perverts the neurological center may cause a very convincing hallucination, which a weakend/perverted mental state may immediately adopt as fact.
Or, if one believes something firmly enough, one may simply imagine an event and label it as a Divine experience.
I myself have contracted distemper from a stray before. I already have a mental illness (depression) and thus the virus was able to target my mucous membranes in a way that it could not in a healthier individual. The virus made me see and hear things that were not there, I could sometimes feel thing touch me that did not, and I still have seizures (though mild ones) to this day.