How to Authentically Experience God

[athoughtfulman]

I meant it was a very one sided take, not at all balanced. You couldn't say absolutely that no one experiences God, and so the opposite could also be concluded. To be fair, you should include all possibilities. You also put a very negative spin on your conclusions, which doesn't necessarily follow. For those Christians who are actually sane, this is the opposite of what they experience.

I just had a discussion with someone about this. They kept talking about these different experiences and so on. I'm not talking about my personal experience, for it is not valid evidence to base an argument on. One of the reasons why there is so many different religions in this world is because people base their ideas on personal experience, but if we always do that, when can we ever be certain of anything? We can't take everyone's experience as valid for their ideas contradict.

Or are you saying that a muslim's experience of the 'almighty allah' is just as valid experience as yours is of god? I doubt it. But that is where your argument takes you. For those muslims who are actually sane, your idea about god is the opposite of what they've experienced. This is why we can't use personal experience as evidence, for it's self defeating.

Until any empirical evidence is found to support the existence of god, spiritual experiences cannot be proven in any way possible, that they are real. It is for that reason that I, and evidence, do not believe they (Or you I suppose) are actually experiencing is god. What your actually experiencing is a process in the brain causing you to feel and think in a certain way.

And part of me wants god to be real, hopes he is real. I'm not sure exactly why, but I know it's something to do with the idea that the world seems more mystical when shrouded by religion. Heaven would be cool if it were real right? I don't think so anymore.

But the case is still against religion and god. Leaving my personal feelings aside, I am looking at the observable evidence around me. If evidence comes of gods existence, then I will probably try to find him. But until that day comes, god is less than dead; he is an idea; a philosophy; a dream.

Religious experience could be misinterpreted information, or it could be correctly interpreted information. The mimicking of base human instinct could be entirely positive and not negative. In my experience it's entirely positive. You may have experienced it differently.

Why would mimicking base human instinct be at all positive? Where as evolution is trying to evolve us further, leaving behind the past, you're proposing that we assume the way we felt as a child was reasonable, or positive? And even if it were positive and not negative, it still does not prove god. It just proves that mimicking base human instinct was positive.

Is there anything atheism can't do that religion can? And if there is, please enlighten me. If not, why are we keeping religion?