(April 16, 2010 at 3:43 pm)Dotard Wrote: You still haven't quite answered the question.
What "God" are you believing in? "One true God" doesn't answer anything.
I have seen/experianced Santa, Zues and the tooth fairy. Your 'one differance' is now voided. So why do you believe?
The "why" in why I believe isn't so simple that it can be explained or otherwise conveyed in a few paragraphs.
Call me cynical, but simply stating that you've seen santa, Zeus and the tooth fairy to deliberately "void" or otherwise call out my argument is akin to walking into a shop to demand a refund for an item, and upon being told a refund cannot be given unless the item is damaged, then dropping it on the floor - smash. Oops, item "voided", now give me my refund....
So lets say you have indeed experienced those entities - then I'm quite sure you are alone, or very nearly so. Whereas many have experienced what they believe to be God, so no I don't feel your claim detracts from my earlier statement that there is a difference between the true God and the aforementioned fictional characters.
By "true God", I'm referring to the eternal Creator who is responsible for the creation of the universe, and all that lies herein. It is the God who cannot truly be known or even described or even imagined.
I know you believe with firm conviction that this IS just imagined, but once experienced it is clear to the beholder that this cannot be the product of the imagination, as much as you may disagree.
Of course these are just words on a computer screen, they could not even even begin to describe what I wish I could convey here - not even a scratch off the tip of the iceberg. But then, thats how a mystical experience will change a person. If it were just a case of "Oh, I heard a voice and it must have been God", well we would just laugh at that and put it down to hallucination. Spiritual experiences can be breathtakingly beyond words. God is truly to be found within, not in the library, and not in any book. Though a book can certainly help you on your journey, ultimately it is you who must find God by connecting with the divine which lies within you. God will not come to you, its always (or very nearly so) the other way around. No need for a "There is no divine within in me because this is all nonsense." comment, I already know the atheist doctrine - many of us have been there at some stage in our lives.
I believe there are many so called believers who have never truly experienced God (such as the ones who eventually abandon their faith), but by that same token its worth remembering many others have - or at least have had such convincing experiences as to cause them to "believe" they have.
I understand that to the atheist, believers are just gullible people. People so lacking in mental dexterity as to confuse a mere emotion with a deity of some description. This may be the case with some people (nutters come in all shapes, sizes and beliefs!), but this isn't always the case.
As with all things subjective, how does one go about proving such a claim? Can it be proven?
Perhaps it isn't meant to be proven, though I personally believe that the proof is everywhere and everything.
I have no reason to disbelieve that the universe is near 14 billion years old, no reason to doubt science. I also emphatically believe in evolution AND creation: they are not mutually exclusive as so many would have us assume. I also believe the evolution is all part of the creation.
I realise this still doesn't answer the "why" in why I hold these views, but I'll perhaps save it for a later time.
