(October 6, 2012 at 12:49 am)Akincana Krishna dasa Wrote: Yeah, they've seen God with their own eyes. I knew a man for 12 years that had seen God (he has since passed on). I lived with him, spent zillions of hours talking with him. He's reliable to me (I'm sure not to you). He's someone I knew well. Well enough to trust him and his experience. He's taught me a lot about how to live my life so that I can eventually fully see God too.
If the same man claimed to see Elvis or aliens probing dead cows, would you have trusted him enough to believe that also?
What I'm getting at is, how do you know this man's experiences are any more real than the millions of people that claim all sorts of other supernatural beings that you do not believe exist?
What algorithm do you apply to such claims that allow you to conclude that this man's experiences are real, but allow you to reject other supernatural claims by others?
Quote:Is that the type of proof I can walk around with and insist everyone accept. Obviously not, nor do I do that. Still, if someone is wondering why I believe in God, why I know He exists, what evidence I have, etc. that's my answer.
The same evidence others have for the existence other gods and all sorts of supernatural claims, many I'm sure you disbelieve, is the same evidence you accept for the existence of god.
Again,what is the method that you use to accept the claims of this man, believe he is reliable, yet reject other supernatural claims based on the same sort of personal experiences?
Quote:I think all of the logical arguments for God are inconclusive, if that's what you were hoping for.
No, they are simply fallacious.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
