RE: No Proof = No Knowledge
January 16, 2014 at 9:04 am
(This post was last modified: January 16, 2014 at 9:35 am by Sword of Christ.)
(January 15, 2014 at 7:54 pm)pocaracas Wrote: Can you say "epilepsy??
"Experiences" from 2k+ years ago mean squat, considering the sheer number of psychological disorders currently known to affect people.
Perhaps an epileptic fit can in some cases awaken/heighten your consciousness to a far greater level allowing for an intense mystical encounter of the living God and that's what St Paul experienced on the road to Damascus? Or perhaps it can just drive you a bit nuts/crackers the thing is we don't actually know, you can have a belief either way though.
(January 15, 2014 at 8:15 pm)Pickup_shonuff Wrote: You do realize that "born-again" experiences are a natural phenomenon triggered by a variety of occurrences, studied by psychologists, and certainly not exclusive to Christians...right?
An experience God isn't necessarily exclusive to Christian or Christians that's something to factor in the equation. I'm aware that it's possible that this could still occur if God doesn't objectively exist beyond the human mind but I don't think that's the kind of thing we can know for certain either way. It's a question of what you believe based on the arguments/ evidence/experiences you find to be convincing.
Quote:For example, I've had "born-again" experiences as a Christian as well as an atheist. When I first finished reading The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins, I felt disoriented, enlightened, fulfilled... same thing when I got drunk up north and gazed through clear skies at our awesome Milky Way galaxy. It was not all that dissimilar than I felt in church at different times as an ignorant teenager...except nowadays, it is far more real.
You were filled by the wonder of Gods creation in the Biblical style though you were misdirecting this awe to the universe itself rather than what lays behind it all. Of course the Bible is full of the exact same kind of awe of the cosmos and life you experienced.
"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139:14
"But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8
"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." Revelation 4:11
"and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM." Acts 14:15
"Thus says the LORD, `If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established" Jeremiah 33:25
"All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." John 1:3
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:15-17
"He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things." Ephesians 4:10
Though you're saying it was all a random/coincidental byproduct or meaningless process of some kind that just happened to exist for no reason or purpose at all. I don't see how that increases it's awesomeness.
Come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant.
