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#1
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Warm fuzzies, peace, a burning in the busom, a moment of clarity are a few ways to describe the influence of the Holy Spirit. Some say that this is the means by which God communicates with us, a way to confirm the truth.
My position is that these feelings are natural human emotions. Who doesn't feel good when they realize they are loved unconditionally? Who wouldn't feel a burden lifted from their shoulders if they were told that an all powerful force was guiding and protecting them? Who wouldn't feel a sense of euphoria knowing that they are immortal and will live in a paradise for eternity? Isn't it much more likely to have a moment of clarity when you take the time away from the busy world to quiet down and focus? Is there any reason to believe that these experiences come from anywhere outside of our own mind? Do we not have these feelings even when reading something we know is fictional? Could this all not be the placebo effect of having an omnipotent, omniscient, loving, imaginary friend? |
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#2
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i thank we need to find some crateria to be able to explore this... just asking question only get people ideas not any facts...
would you agree to that this needs to be established?
__________________
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one call things in Christ... EPH 1:10 |
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#3
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#4
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Many people associate a feeling and perception of all embracing love such as they've never felt before with the Holy Spirit.
__________________
Then I came back from where I'd been. My room, it looked the same - but there was nothing left between The Nameless and the name. - Leonard Cohen. |
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#5
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__________________
Give them not hell, but hope and courage. Preach the everlasting love of God. –John Murray |
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#6
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Now think about how this could apply to God. God is at a distance, untouchable. All we have is a rough sketch of ancient stories to go by. We read that He is perfect in every way. He created us. He's our Father in Heaven. He knows each and every one of us. He loves us more than we can imagine. We build a glorious image of him in our mind greater than any human being. If we follow Him and have faith and pray we can have a personal relationship with Him. We start talking to Him in our mind and even out loud when we're alone. We want so much to make contact, we want more than anything for it to be true. We imagine Him in heaven with outstretched arms welcoming our prayers, telling us He loves us. It's overwhelming. It triggers a rush of euphoria, love, warm fuzzies, an indescribable experience and because of it we'll never be the same. Was it something that came from up above or just something we built up in our own mind? Is there really any way to know? |
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#7
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i did this a long time ago to really figure out what each ment i didn't under stand fully why i felt this way... some were just feeling some were just becouse of the envroment and some were completely unexplanable and tend to deal with truth... and some dealt with loving to be in love, instead of being in love... with relationships...
__________________
That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one call things in Christ... EPH 1:10 |
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#8
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Have you ever experienced a feeling you attributed to God? A revelation, a feeling of love, a confirmation of something you were praying to ask about, even visions or hearing God talking to you? Where were you, what were you doing, what did you feel/experience, and why do you attribute this experience to God? What made it different from other everyday experiences? Do you think there could possibly be another explanation? Questions like that?
__________________
Give them not hell, but hope and courage. Preach the everlasting love of God. –John Murray |
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#9
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Well, as to the statement about normal feelings...I guess I can tell you that I feel very close to God and also VERY much at peace when I am with someone or helping some one who is dying. I don't think that would be generally a normal emotion or reaction, but it is what I have and what called me to ministry and the thanatology study. I don't know if that qualifies as a fact or not, but it is my routine experience in that situation.
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#10
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Personally, I think that the term numinous is the most accurate way of describing the necessary components of a religious experience. That is such experience must feel awe-inspiring (which may perhaps evidence itself as belittlement, love, duty etc) and sourced outside of the self.
This is indeed a possibility that religious experience might be a delusion but I would hope that such a possibility need not be pointed out when it should be fairly evident. The person who has a religious experience is unable to verify the source of that experience. So it does not matter whether the experience is real or not since the theory that it is real lacks the explanatory power of accounting for it in some other way that is verifiable.
__________________
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