new thread for old RE: Atheists, what do you believe is the best argument for the existence of a deity?

[Whateverist]

In reply to both Zen and Fallen ; and what seperates me or makes me different. From your perspective nothing but your subjective view and judgement of me from what you see and hear from me and about me through the lens of your experiences and beliefs . as far as subjectivity being a form of proof I never said it can be accepted as a proof in the sense you apply just that personal experience is what people tend to put their greatest trust in.

But then, realizing that trusting subjective experience has led individuals in 2800 different belief systems to believe in different gods, doesn't it at least make you wonder if your standard for belief is too low?

In experiencing a hallucination, perception doesn't have to result in cognitive acceptance. The first time I had acid was with a young woman I visited at the house she lived in on the beach. I brought her a picture I'd drawn of her running across the night sky in front of an old tree in which I'd drawn her hair as the tail of a comet. She pinned it up when I first came in. After taking the acid we decided to go for a walk. At the door, I saw in my drawing that the figure I'd drawn of her was actually running. Realizing I was experiencing a hallucination, I looked closer. Every line I'd drawn looked like blood vein under magnification. I could see blood and light coursing through each one. At that time, I couldn't look at it without seeing this but at no point did I think it was objectively happening. Perception need not equal cognition, and seeing need not be believing.

So, one way to respond to a private religious experience is to accept it on face value. But another way is to reflect on the fact that other people having their own private experiences aren't getting the same message you are, so perhaps the mystery goes deeper than the particular manifestation that it presents to you. It is okay to decide "this is the coolest thing that ever happened to me and I want to live the rest of my life around what I felt in this moment", but it isn't the only possible reaction.