God says this, and God says that

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Originally posted by forgiven:

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Originally posted by schrafinator:

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Originally posted by Chara:

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Originally posted by schrafinator:

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Religions say they know. I say that nobody can know. Therefore, religion is not valid. Not any of it.

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Schraf,
Can you explain how you got to "therefore" from the previous statements? I'm confused.

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Hmm. Religions claim to know the unknowable. If someone claims to know the unknowable, their claims are not valid.

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not very convincing, schraf... what religions claim that? who invalidated another's knowledge claim? i know God, are you saying God is unknowable? if so, on what basis do you make that statement... if not, please clarify your position

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I sometimes think that God is unknowable, even if God does exist.I mean, why do we assume that we can know God?This part of my worldview is not very firm, however, and I vaccilate sometimes.The only part I am sure of is that I don't know if there is a God or not.

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Originally posted by Chara:

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Originally posted by schrafinator:
Something is unknowable if we cannot detect it with our senses.

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This is of course presuming that we can trust our senses.

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True, but that is all we have with which to interact with our environment.

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I'm trying to avoid being condescending or preachy here, I'm just saying if someone is claiming a personal relationship with God, that maybe they have an extra "sense" or a divinely given "understanding".

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...or maybe they are making up a fantasy that comforts them and helps them get through their life.How do you tell the difference between the two?You can't.That's why I'm an Agnostic.

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Originally posted by Chara:

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Originally posted by schrafinator:

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I'm trying to avoid being condescending or preachy here, I'm just saying if someone is claiming a personal relationship with God, that maybe they have an extra "sense" or a divinely given "understanding".

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...or maybe they are making up a fantasy that comforts them and helps them get through their life.

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How do you tell the difference between the two?

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You can't.

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That's why I'm an Agnostic.

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This is an interesting thought though schraf. When I first read your statement that we can only know what our senses tell us, I thought of a blind person and how limited their knowledge must be if they were to rely on ONLY their own senses. They must trust others whose sense of sight is "working". They would miss out on a lot if they did not. (I realize of course that they couldn't believe everything they were told). In the same way, presupposing that there is a spiritual sense, (like forgiven's example of Elijah praying that his servant would see the heavenly host encamped around them), those whose spiritual sense is not "working" can only rely on those whose is. I wonder if we shouldn't at least be open that idea?

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Sure, we can be open.However, how do you tell the difference between "spiritual sense", meaning a "real" connection to God, and a self-constructed fantasy, perpetuated and strongly reinforced by culture?We can see hints of which way is the more likely way.One of the biggest hints, to me, it the fact that people generally believe in God in the way they are taught at childhood to believe in God. People raised in Christian communities are extremely likely to be Christians their whole lives; the same is true of Islamic, Hindu, Shinto, Buddhist, etc. communities.(Actually, Buddhists don't believe in God, and Hindus believe in many gods)This indicates to me that the culture one lives in determines one's beliefs much more than any special sense abilities.Your blind person analogy is weak for another reason. Sight is one of the natural senses. We understand how eyes work and we even know where in the brain much of visual perception occurs.Are you proposing that "spiritual sense" has a physical basis? (I think it does, but this, of course, doesn't mean that the supernatural has anything to do with it)It has been shown that people who are very religious have a larger-than-average part in their brain which seems to relate to feelings of euphoria/religious high.I conclude that the capacity for "spiritual" feelings was an evolutionary advantage to our ancestors because it strengthened social bonds.

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Originally posted by Chara:
Schraf,

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You've raised some excellent questions. I honestly do not know how to answer the question, "how do you tell the difference between "spiritual sense", meaning a "real" connection to God, and a self-constructed fantasy, perpetuated and strongly reinforced by culture?" Not scientifically, anyway. I do know that there are many exceptions to the general rule that you stated in regards to culturally influenced belief, but I'm not sure if that has any bearing on it.

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I knew that the "blind person analogy" was not an absolute. It was more or less just a pondering on my part. Does "spiritual sense" have a physical cause? I don't know. hehehehe

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Anyway, now that I've not answered your questions , can I ask you one? Several times in this forum I have noticed people talking about "religious feelings", what is that? I cannot say that I have ever experienced anything that I would categorize that way.

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Wish I had better answers for you .... "I know, that I know, that I know" .... and I know that you don't have to, nor should you take my word for it.

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Well, a lot of people report religious feelings as feeling that they are "one with God", or "one with the universe". Euphoria or joy, and the feeling of great contentment and peace are also common descriptions.

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Originally posted by funkmasterfreaky:
I'm confused, what difference? Difference in what?

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The difference between a "real" religious experience and "just emotions", according to you.How do we tell the difference between what someone experiences in their church and what they experience while certain parts of their brains are being activated in an experimental setting?