Messin' With Atheists

[Whateverist]

That's what I usually say to anyone who complains that atheists do not understand God.  Who does?  How are we supposed to tell you if a god exists?  Maybe they all do.  Maybe none do.  If gods are things separate from the natural world, how are we supposed to access one?  So the only question is, are you tempted to think that imperceivable things exist.  Meh, I just ignore the possibility that sketchily defined things may exist until such time as they become obvious.  Yeah I know .. lake of fire .. yada, yada, yada.  Oooh spooky.

Who understands God? The only understanding of God that will ever mean anything to you is your own life experiences--please share! What you know was given you by the Living God regardless of whether you acknowledge God's interplay with your life, or not, and your life is valuable info to many because we never went there, you did! The most important thing then is your own life. Anyone can read Scripture yet, how many have lived it? Anyone can read, "We live by faith, not by sight" yet, how many have lived and experienced that? Life will always supersede Scripture which itself is life--God demands it! Or else it's all sola scriptura and the man behind the pulpit. [edited to add] and the Wicked Witch!

There are things our bodies know how to do which it does less well when we try take the wheel consciously.  There is an art to seeing it happen without taking over which I'm sure a surfer dude would realize.  If I was religious that would be so confirming.  It takes some faith to go with the flow and allow know-how to happen that only requires a willingness to participate.  Insert joke about the scientist who can no longer take a dump without reading a schematic.  Some things (more than one might suppose) do not require our over eager decision making capacity.

I am capable of faith but what I have faith in is not something I conceptualize as 'out there'.  There is simply more to me than what flows from my deliberate decision making.  The rest of what I am is best conceptualized as 'other internal', it will never be subsumed under my conscious decision making capacity.  It is potent in its own way but what (narrow) I does is also important, vital really.  What need is there for any scriptura at all?