Religious Experience

[Radio Frequency X]

There are three kinds of religious experiences from which Mankind draws its faith in divinity. The first is cultural experiences, encompassing those feelings experienced during religious ceremonies, rituals, celebrations, worship, group prayers, and other communal or cooperative activities. The second comes in the form of emotions experienced in the presence of unexplained and incomprehensible phenomenon. This includes miracles, hallucinations, and hysterias; also including feelings derived from near-death experiences. The third is comes in the form of inner-subjective experience, mainly through a conscious psychological attempt at directly connecting with and/or communicating with the divine.

Of these three, which do you feel offers the most objective evidence for the existence of divinity, and which of these three have played the largest role in your own religious experience.

 

[arielmessenger]

I would still be an atheist if I hadn't gone through a profound religious experience of three days of non-stop synchronicity experiences. My science-mindset could not explain what had happened to me but religious theology could. God had tapped my shoulder and let Itself be known. Since my original conversion experience I've had a number of extraordinary religious visions, enough so they fill a book which I will share with those interested in a modern gnostic theology.

 

[Radio Frequency X]

For me, I simply gave god a shot. I had no idea if God was real or false, but I thought, "what would it hurt to try?" "Let's see if there is a personal god". My experience since that time has been wonderful and vivid. Now I'm trying to learn how to better that relationship.

 

[michel]

Quite funny that my answer to:- Which do you feel offers the most objective evidence for the existence of divinity? should be "Personal/Psychological Experience" ....

The more I explore my relationship with God, the more I feel assured that God is not Fiction. And believe me, I am not as gullible as I think I may come across.

 

[YmirGF]

^ - What he said... and...


Given that I am a believer in "Aspect Psychology" and "Probable reality" this wasn't a difficult choice for me.

 

[dbakerman76]

I am a theist. But I don't believe that there is any objective evidence to believe in the divine. All of my evidence is purely subjective and has no relevance to anyone else.

 

[arielmessenger]

For years my religious visions were only relevant to me as nobody else could see anything special them, just another religious fanatic's improbable ideas. But then things changed..as I followed my visions they started to produce some downright miraculous results, enough so that I have no doubt now whatsoever that there's divine intervention going on with them.

God thus exists as the Source of these religious visions which will change the world of course..:angel2:

 

[GiveCharity]

I believe that God each of us th eability to recognize his existence and that we make the choice wheter we let our desires get in the way.

 

[Willamena]

I chose "supernatural experience" as it most closely describes the concretized or objectified "self".

 

[Real Sorceror]

Tough question. I can go on all day about things that have proven to me personally that the divine exists, but at the end of the day I don't really have anything tangible. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to test any of my experiences in a controlled situation and I have no proof that I'm not just responding to emotion or preconcieved notions. Doesn't bother me much, as I don't feel the need to prove myself to other people.

 

[Wandered Off]

IMO, none of the above. The universe itself is the only potentially objective evidence, but even whether that is evidence is subject to interpretation.

 

[sojourner]

Of these three, which do you feel offers the most objective evidence for the existence of divinity, and which of these three have played the largest role in your own religious experience.

I'm not convinced that "objective evidence" is what believers are after -- it is what the atheists keep trying to wheedle out of us, but I think that "objective evidence" obfuscates the thrust of revelation. Belief, while fostered in the culture, is a highly subjective thing. Revelation, while also fostered within the culture, is also a very subjective thing.

Personal revelation or experience is probably the most convincing aspect of evidence, but it does not consititute objective evidence.

 

[!Fluffy!]

Well I see I voted wrong. I would have voted Supernatural experience, but it said superNATIONAL so was confused and went with personal/psychological which really is not the same thing.

While it (a personal supernatural experience) may not *seem* to be objective, it is overwhelmingly more persuasive than the others, IMHO:

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42217

 

[sojourner]

Well I see I voted wrong. I would have voted Supernatural experience, but it said superNATIONAL so was confused and went with personal/psychological which really is not the same thing.

W wants us all to vote "supernational." That way, he can sit behind God and backseat drive...

 

[lunamoth]

There are three kinds of religious experiences from which Mankind draws its faith in divinity. The first is cultural experiences, encompassing those feelings experienced during religious ceremonies, rituals, celebrations, worship, group prayers, and other communal or cooperative activities. The second comes in the form of emotions experienced in the presence of unexplained and incomprehensible phenomenon. This includes miracles, hallucinations, and hysterias; also including feelings derived from near-death experiences. The third is comes in the form of inner-subjective experience, mainly through a conscious psychological attempt at directly connecting with and/or communicating with the divine.

Of these three, which do you feel offers the most objective evidence for the existence of divinity, and which of these three have played the largest role in your own religious experience.

Well, I would rephrase the second set of criteria as 'mystical experiences' because many such have been reported, but perhaps that is part of what you mean in your third category. Each of the three you mention play a role in our 'religious' experience, in different proportions for different people, but I would not say that any of them are objective.

I would say that the first and third categories play the largest role in own religious experience.

luna

 

[lunamoth]

W wants us all to vote "supernational." That way, he can sit behind God and backseat drive...

ROFL! And here I am out of karma again...

 

[sojourner]

Well, I would rephrase the second set of criteria as 'mystical experiences' because many such have been reported, but perhaps that is part of what you mean in your third category. Each of the three you mention play a role in our 'religious' experience, in different proportions for different people, but I would not say that any of them are objective.

I would say that the first and third categories play the largest role in own religious experience.

luna

I personally agree with your last sentence. However, for some, the supernatural is perceived as very personal...either you believe it, or you don't.

In order to experience the supernational, one would have to worship in the National Cathedral...:liturgy:

 

[Buttercup]

I am a theist. But I don't believe that there is any objective evidence to believe in the divine. All of my evidence is purely subjective and has no relevance to anyone else.

I agree with this statement. Personal experiences of deity cannot be objective to anyone else. They are what they are....personal.

To me, there is no objective evidence as to the existence of deity. It all boils down to personal belief.

 

[YmirGF]

Well I see I voted wrong. I would have voted Supernatural experience, but it said superNATIONAL so was confused and went with personal/psychological which really is not the same thing.

While it (a personal supernatural experience) may not *seem* to be objective, it is overwhelmingly more persuasive than the others, IMHO:

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42217

*Hands the glorious Moon Woman the "Detail freak of the day" award.*

Well done. I know my brain stopped processing the word at "Supernat...". Kudo's to you!!! :bow:

 

[lunamoth]

I personally agree with your last sentence. However, for some, the supernatural is perceived as very personal...either you believe it, or you don't.

Yes, I see a lot of overlap between the second and third categories.

In order to experience the supernational, one would have to worship in the National Cathedral...:liturgy:

I think we have to make it a date Soj. :yes: