Theists, are you immune to being decieved?

[Medi]

In recent conversations with a few of our resident Theists, I've been asking them a question that has yet to be answered.

How do you know you are not delusional?

I can see how somebody would find this to be a question intended to offend. Theists are convinced that the feelings they derive from their belief confirm the truth of the God they associate them with, and so to them, of course it's not a delusion.

They feel it in their hearts, and their mind backs it up. It all falls in line with exactly what they've been told to expect. All one has to do is expel all doubt and give in to the truth of their God, and others would experience what they experience. (coincidentally, this would be true for any God claim). The fact that so many others make exclusive and yet incompatible claims makes no difference. The others must be mistaken because the convinced Theist needs only to know what they feel personally about their God to know that they are right, and the others are wrong. Their subjective experience of the belief they hold in God could not allow them to misconstrue the truth.

But the question remains...How do they know they're not delusional? How can they trust what they've attributed to this personal experience that creates an unwavering conviction? I saw this video today and a creepy feeling came over me. I recommend it to Theists and Atheists alike. It's provides some interesting insight on the mind of the believer. As usual, I look forward to reading everyone's feedback. See ya around the forums!

And yet, the same people would say 'there is only one way to God', or some other thing, as though only they have the right one. They often fail to recognize just how much of a part their personal perspectives play in shaping what they specifically believe, just like everyone else's do.

To be honest, the only thing I know about religion is that the evidence for good-will as being a better, more beneficial human pursuit than ill-will and lack of conscience is staggering.

So, anything that totally promotes that is probably the best form of religion there is. I'd say that people with that selfless mindset are the ones with conviction that's merited, if only for the results it creates.