Direct line to God?

Deeje · Oct 31, 2019

Eddi said:
Many crazy people claim to have a direct line to God

Crazy people claiming to have a direct line to God are a fairly common thing in this world

However, (as a Christian) I believe God interacts with humankind through the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, thus negating the need for individuals who have a direct line to him!

I think you answered your own question right there.

God's only communication with man today IS via the Bible, especially through the teachings of Jesus and definitely with the help of the holy spirit.

When Jesus foretold that an apostasy would occur after the death of the apostles, God made sure that there would be no miracles in this time of the end because the devil would mimic them and lead people away after those miracles rather than through the Bible's message.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 speaks of these 'lawless' ones (those deviating from God's laws)....
"But the lawless one’s presence is by the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and wonders 10 and every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth in order that they might be saved. 11 That is why God lets a deluding influence mislead them so that they may come to believe the lie, 12 in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness."

Do you see that if God were competing with his own "signs and wonders", speaking directly through prophets or working miracles, people would be in confusion about which was from God and which was from the devil.....so its easy to tell if God removes his miracles to expose the frauds. It is only those who do not love the truth who can be fooled....deluded.

I have some questions:

Is it possible for a person to have a direct line to God - an extraordinary relationship that's beyond the usual relationship humans have with God?

The Bible has accounts of such individuals....Abraham comes to mind......along with others who acted as God's prophets. God spoke to them and these conveyed his message to others. Such individuals were specially chosen.

What would you call a person who truly does have a direct line to God?

Prophets fit that description.....but anyone can have access to God in prayer as long as they use the one means that God instituted so that a line of communication could remain open for us. We are to offer our prayers to God, through the name of his appointed Mediator....Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 2:5)

And would God ever actually give someone a direct line to him – and if so, why?

Since God already has given certain individuals a direct line to him, it is only with a view to carrying out his will and purpose for man and this earth, which we see in the Genesis account. Everything that happened after the fall was to demonstrate how foolish it was to disobey our Creator. Telling us that we should obey God didn't work....showing us what happens when we fail to obey is way more powerful.....but what have we learned all these thousands of years later?

I’m not sure how I’d answer these, but I don’t think God would ever communicate with humankind through a person humankind would consider insane: I believe his message is far too important to be placed in the care of schizophrenics

You can rest assured that no one in a mental institution is going to be a prophet in this day and age.....God always backed up his prophets no matter how hard it was for them to convey his message. Even someone like Jonah who ran away rather than fulfill his assignment.....yet when he finally took up his mission, he did such a good job that when he had finished warning the people, they all repented.....and then he got mad because all his proclamations fell in a heap and he felt stupid because God forgave the people when they repented. All that time, God was teaching Jonah and us something about his forgiveness and mercy...and the value of just doing as God tells us.....and heeding his warnings.

(as a Christian) I believe that the age humankind is currently in is a post-prophet age, and that although God sent prophets in the past, since Jesus came there has been no need for any further prophets. If someone came to me telling me he or she was a prophet I would demand miracles as proof they were from God – and I bet none of the people in this age who claim to have a direct line to God can perform miracles!

Exactly......that is how the first century followers of Jesus saw first hand that God had shifted his favor from the old Jewish system to the new Christian arrangement......but it wasn't to last.
Concerning those first century 'gifts', Paul wrote....

"But if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9 For we have partial knowledge and we prophesy partially, 10 but when what is complete comes, what is partial will be done away with. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, to think as a child, to reason as a child; but now that I have become a man, I have done away with the traits of a child. . . . .Now, however, these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:8-13)

He linked witnessing the miracles to the traits of a child.....when Christianity was in its infancy people needed to see the proof, and they did. But once the Christian congregation was firmly established, the 'traits of a child' would be 'done away with'. The more mature traits of a Christian were shown in "faith, hope and love".

I’d therefore say that such a person (with a direct line to God) would be a prophet, however I do not believe we are in an age of prophets, and would be massively skeptical about anyone claiming to be a prophet – I’d want miracles! So basically, I'd consider a person claiming a direct line to God insane!

And you would probably be correct.

Basically, I'd say a person claiming a direct line to God to be a false prophet but not necessarily a malicious false prophet, I'm sure you can get benign false prophets!

Right again....
2 Cor 11:13-15....
"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps disguising himself as an angel of light. 15 It is therefore nothing extraordinary if his ministers also keep disguising themselves as ministers of righteousness. But their end will be according to their works."

Samantha Rinne · Oct 31, 2019

Eddi said:
Many crazy people claim to have a direct line to God

Crazy people claiming to have a direct line to God are a fairly common thing in this world

However, (as a Christian) I believe God interacts with humankind through the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, thus negating the need for individuals who have a direct line to him!

I therefore very much doubt the idea that people can have a direct line to God but nonetheless find the idea interesting

But putting this to one side, I have some questions:

Is it possible for a person to have a direct line to God - an extraordinary relationship that's beyond the usual relationship humans have with God?

What would you call a person who truly does have a direct line to God?

And would God ever actually give someone a direct line to him – and if so, why?

I’m not sure how I’d answer these, but I don’t think God would ever communicate with humankind through a person humankind would consider insane: I believe his message is far too important to be placed in the care of schizophrenics

But I’d still be interested to hear how people would answer these three questions of mine, even though I don’t believe God would ever give people a direct line to him!

(as a Christian) I believe that the age humankind is currently in is a post-prophet age, and that although God sent prophets in the past, since Jesus came there has been no need for any further prophets. If someone came to me telling me he or she was a prophet I would demand miracles as proof they were from God – and I bet none of the people in this age who claim to have a direct line to God can perform miracles!

I’d therefore say that such a person (with a direct line to God) would be a prophet, however I do not believe we are in an age of prophets, and would be massively skeptical about anyone claiming to be a prophet – I’d want miracles! So basically, I'd consider a person claiming a direct line to God insane!

I would therefore consider such a person insane, but if I didn't consider them insane I'd say they were a prophet. However, I don't believe we are in an age of prophets. So I'd think they're insane...

Basically, I'd say a person claiming a direct line to God to be a false prophet but not necessarily a malicious false prophet, I'm sure you can get benign false prophets!

It's not a "direct line to God." It's a personal relationship with Jesus. And Jesus in fact desires this. The Bible? Without love (of God and his people) it's words on a page.

in fact, if you say you negate such a need, when there is clearly a need for humanity to directly connect with Jesus, you are not living the Gospel at all.

Read this, please.

Tearing Of The Temple Curtain: Why Was This Significant?

Not only is a "direct line" through a personal relationship not schizophrenic, but it is I daresay necessary to fully grasp what Jesus meant by "no one comes through the father but through me." Any other interpretation casts Chrisianity as an exclusive club that damns somewhere between 7 0 and 90% of all people who ever lived, particularly anyone who lived before Jesus. Whereas if we believe what Jesus is really saying is directly linked to the tearing of the Temple curtain, then Jesus is essentially saying that to put up barriers against a direct relationship with God is the thing that is false. That the early Jews who had no such boundaries were saved (Moses, Abraham, etc). But the Jews in the Temple were not.

You should see God in all people, including your girlfriend you had sex with, your priest, a random beggar on the street, and even your enemies. This doesn't mean at all times you will, but you should aspire to this. You should pray to God not with long strings of formality, but as one prays to a lover. Because the Bible literally mentions God being wedded to the Jews, and Jesus mentions a bride awairing her groom.

The one who has swallowed false teaching is you. A personal relationship with God is not onlt allowed but important.

Native · Oct 31, 2019

Eddi said:
However, (as a Christian) I believe God interacts with humankind through the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, thus negating the need for individuals who have a direct line to him!

What do you then think of the multiple examples of a direct connection mentioned in the Old and New Testament?

Eddi · Oct 31, 2019

Native said:
What do you then think of the multiple examples of a direct connection mentioned in the Old and New Testament?

I think that they occurred in a different heavenly epoch to what we're in now - the time before Jesus was born is a different epoch to what we are currently in, as were the early days of Christianity (as in the gospels and Acts)

I don't think we have individuals who have direct connections in this current age, I don't believe it's necessary

Hence I am weary of people claiming direct connections

Samantha Rinne · Oct 31, 2019

Read my post, please.

Having known someone who was so disconnected (isolated) that she was ready to kill herself, it is absolutely necessary that you figure out how to talk to God, one way or another.

Windwalker · Oct 31, 2019

Deeje said:
God's only communication with man today IS via the Bible

Who says this, you? Of course, this is not backed up by the scriptures:

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world."

"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made"

Not sure where you got this theology that God's only communication is through a book. That seems rather, convenient, for a church which claims they are the only ones who have the right version of that book.

"The only way you can hear from God is from this book. And the only correct version of this book is the one we translated and have right here, which is lucky for you, by the way. It's a good thing for you we happen to be here with it! Want us to tell you what it says? We offer free study classes at our church. Wanna join?"

Nothing fishy about that.

Vinayaka · Oct 31, 2019

"Honey, what should we have for breakfast?"
"Hmmm... not sure, let's look in the Bible. It will most surely give us the answer!"

Windwalker · Oct 31, 2019

Vinayaka said:
"Honey, what should we have for breakfast?"
"Hmmm... not sure, let's look in the Bible. It will most surely give us the answer!"

Why yes! I found it! We're having Ezekiel 4:9 granola! It's biblical!!

Ezekiel 4:9 Almond Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal | Food For Life

“Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. 10 Weigh out twenty shekels[a] of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. 11 Also measure out a sixth of a him of water and drink it at set times. 12 Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.” 13 The Lord said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”

"Honey? Have you pooped yet this morning? We need some fuel to cook this stuff"

Eddi · Oct 31, 2019

Samantha Rinne said:
Read my post, please.

Having known someone who was so disconnected (isolated) that she was ready to kill herself, it is absolutely necessary that you figure out how to talk to God, one way or another.

I've read your post and I agree with what you say

But please, allow me to explain where I'm coming from, I have something of a personal back story regarding this matter:

I fully believe you can talk to God - prayer, and that prayers may be answered, and that people may receive signs etc.

And I have nothing against cultivating a relationship with God, indeed one of the aims of my life is to do this

I personally want a personal relationship with Jesus and obviously many others do too and I believe this is both possible and healthy

I'm talking about when God talks back to you directly as in communicating through one's senses

I think "direct relationship" doesn't necessarily equate to "personal relationship" - it is "direct" relationships I am wary of, as being potentially schizophrenic

Since 2004 I've had a thing that talks to me by touching my body - which claims to be God

I have now learnt to ignore it as the paranoid symptom of a mental illness

I used to think I was a prophet - can you imagine! We're in 2019!

It's an enormous challenge trying to relate to God and Jesus when you have some symptom going on at you saying you're a prophet, for me my illness has come between me and God but I'm fighting the good fight

That's why I have a personal interest in the matter - and I'm concerned for others who are in a similar position to me

I feel that in my life I have had bogus religious experiences but also genuine ones

And I feel that in this day and age any potentially direct connection to God is more likely to be bogus than authentic

But I am of course open to the possibility of miracles

It's just that I've grown to be very sceptical of such things due to personal experience, perhaps too sceptical?

So perhaps in my original post I was more dismissive of having a close relationship with God than I should have been, I accept that

Vinayaka · Oct 31, 2019

Windwalker said:
Why yes! I found it! We're having Ezekiel 4:9 granola! It's biblical!!

Ezekiel 4:9 Almond Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal | Food For Life

“Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. 10 Weigh out twenty shekels[a] of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. 11 Also measure out a sixth of a him of water and drink it at set times. 12 Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.” 13 The Lord said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”

"Honey? Have you pooped yet this morning? We need some fuel to cook this stuff"

Shekel? Him? Is that a little or a lot? If I have Celiacs, is there some substitution that would be satisfactory to God Almighty? I need more guidance for these important life questions. Surely, oh holy one, you can provide them.

Deeje · Oct 31, 2019

Windwalker said:
Who says this, you? Of course, this is not backed up by the scriptures:

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world."

"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made"

Not sure where you got this theology that God's only communication is through a book.

I believe that the OP was speaking about direct communication....so not sure why you needed to state the obvious there? Unless of course you actually have a direct line to God and he actually speaks to you that way? :shrug:

That seems rather, convenient, for a church which claims they are the only ones who have the right version of that book.

Funny, I don't remember ever seeing a claim that the NWT is the only "right version" of the Bible. We certainly find it more accurate than most but it is certainly not the only translation we use, especially if people have their favourite version. The truth is found in all Bibles. I personally studied the KJV when I was first gaining my knowledge of the Bible's truths. It was all there.

"The only way you can hear from God is from this book. And the only correct version of this book is the one we translated and have right here, which is lucky for you, by the way. It's a good thing for you we happen to be here with it! Want us to tell you what it says? We offer free study classes at our church. Wanna join?"

Nothing fishy about that.

Now that is just plain funny

.....you do realise that no one can "join" JW's....Christianity is not a club. You can study any Bible of your choice and make up your own mind about what it teaches. But at the end of the day, it is God who directs people to the value of the teachings of his son....and it is the preaching work that is the means of offering those teachings. Surprisingly (or not) the churches do not preach as Jesus directed. (Matthew 10:11-14; Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:19-20) Jesus said he would be with his disciples in this work......how can Jesus be with those preachers if they are MIA?

The point to note is this.....

John 6:44....
"No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him, and I will resurrect him on the last day." (NWT)

"44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. " (NASB)

John 6:65...
"He went on to say: “This is why I have said to you, no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” (NWT)

And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” (NASB)

You think people choose God? He chooses us too.....and those he does not choose are left to delude themselves as they wish.....(2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

In the big picture, God is not interested in those who have no interest in him.....and those who do manifest an interest have to be able to accommodate all that Jesus taught, not just the convenient bits. You have to love the truth enough to lose the stuff that God rejects. It's his will verses our will. (Matthew 7:21-23)

Windwalker · Oct 31, 2019

Deeje said:
I believe that the OP was speaking about direct communication....so not sure why you needed to state the obvious there? Unless of course you actually have a direct line to God and he actually speaks to you that way?

You stated that the Bible is the only way God communicates with people today. That's why I needed to state that. It's not true. Unless you consider the Bible to be a "direct communication" to you? I actually find nature to far more direct, than having to go through the trouble of interpreting scripture. It's full of a myriad of obstacles to understanding, at its best. That's hardly direct by comparison. That was and still is my point. God does communicate directly with everyone, who has "eyes to see and ears to hear". It's right there, writ large upon the whole of Creation.

Deeje said:
Now that is just plain funny .....you do realise that no one can "join" JW's....Christianity is not a club.

You seized on that one word, but didn't dispute the rest of it in its irony. What is funny about it, is the truth of it. My saying "Wanna join?", was meaning the study group they just tried to pitch at the door in my little story, not join Christianity. However, when one does join your group, that is in a sense a club, because you set yourself apart from the rest of Christianity. You don't fellowship with other Christians, or consider them brothers and sisters, do you? That makes it a sort of club, as it is specialized in its own separate identity, apart from the larger Christian community.

Bird123 · Oct 31, 2019

Eddi said:
Many crazy people claim to have a direct line to God

Crazy people claiming to have a direct line to God are a fairly common thing in this world

However, (as a Christian) I believe God interacts with humankind through the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, thus negating the need for individuals who have a direct line to him!

I therefore very much doubt the idea that people can have a direct line to God but nonetheless find the idea interesting

But putting this to one side, I have some questions:

Is it possible for a person to have a direct line to God - an extraordinary relationship that's beyond the usual relationship humans have with God?

What would you call a person who truly does have a direct line to God?

And would God ever actually give someone a direct line to him – and if so, why?

I’m not sure how I’d answer these, but I don’t think God would ever communicate with humankind through a person humankind would consider insane: I believe his message is far too important to be placed in the care of schizophrenics

But I’d still be interested to hear how people would answer these three questions of mine, even though I don’t believe God would ever give people a direct line to him!

(as a Christian) I believe that the age humankind is currently in is a post-prophet age, and that although God sent prophets in the past, since Jesus came there has been no need for any further prophets. If someone came to me telling me he or she was a prophet I would demand miracles as proof they were from God – and I bet none of the people in this age who claim to have a direct line to God can perform miracles!

I’d therefore say that such a person (with a direct line to God) would be a prophet, however I do not believe we are in an age of prophets, and would be massively skeptical about anyone claiming to be a prophet – I’d want miracles! So basically, I'd consider a person claiming a direct line to God insane!

I would therefore consider such a person insane, but if I didn't consider them insane I'd say they were a prophet. However, I don't believe we are in an age of prophets. So I'd think they're insane...

Basically, I'd say a person claiming a direct line to God to be a false prophet but not necessarily a malicious false prophet, I'm sure you can get benign false prophets!

God will not send prophets, messengers, holy books or religions to tell you what to do. Why? There is no need in God's system. On the other hand, There are people who have had interaction with God. I think one must have a certain level of understanding before any direct interaction could meaningfully take place.

That's what I am seeing and It's clear to me.

Deeje · Oct 31, 2019

Windwalker said:
You stated that the Bible is the only way God communicates with people today. That's why I needed to state that. It's not true. Unless you consider the Bible to be a "direct communication" to you?

Well, yes it does serve as God's direct commands on so many matters.....personal things that nature will never provide answers to. Things about God's actions in the past and how they translate into future events. There is advice on relationships, marriage and divorce, raising children and how to treat our fellow humans and most importantly how to worship God acceptably.

It identifies human emotions that make you realize that human nature does not basically change, no matter what age you live in. What humans felt back then, they still experience to this day. It doesn't just tell you to be peaceable with all but shows you how. Where will I find that kind of instruction in nature?

I actually find nature to far more direct, than having to go through the trouble of interpreting scripture. It's full of a myriad of obstacles to understanding, at its best. That's hardly direct by comparison. That was and still is my point. God does communicate directly with everyone, who has "eyes to see and ears to hear". It's right there, writ large upon the whole of Creation.

The fact that you can speak of "the trouble interpreting scripture" shows me that God isn't talking to anyone who believes that. Scripture interprets itself.....you just have to know what it teaches, overall, because it does not contradict itself. You might find minor discrepancies in inconsequential things that does not alter doctrine....but the big things remain cast in concrete. God's purpose has remained unchanged from the beginning, just like he has. His standards are unwavering.

You seized on that one word, but didn't dispute the rest of it in its irony. What is funny about it, is the truth of it. My saying "Wanna join?", was meaning the study group they just tried to pitch at the door in my little story, not join Christianity. However, when one does join your group, that is in a sense a club, because you set yourself apart from the rest of Christianity. You don't fellowship with other Christians, or consider them brothers and sisters, do you? That makes it a sort of club, as it is specialized in its own separate identity, apart from the larger Christian community.

Think back to the situation in Jesus' day and ask yourself if the Jews considered Jesus and his disciples to be their "brothers" in the faith? Jesus separated himself from the Pharisaic traditions because their teachings were not anything like the ones that God instituted with his nation on Mt. Sinai. You have exactly the same situation today in Christendom.

Weren't the first Christians a "club" of sorts then? A small group (by worldly standards) comes along and shoots down all the false doctrines and practices of an old corrupted system and says "come study the Bible with us and see what lies you have been taught for centuries". Its nothing new.

Now in these "last days"...another small group is telling people....."the good news is you're not all going to heaven...God has wonderful plans for the earth which will be ruled by his Kingdom". (Revelation 21:2-4) People who have their eyes and ears opened by God respond to the message that his people are preaching and have been doing so consistently for over 100 years.

What church in your neighborhood preaches as Jesus instructed his disciples to preach? (Matthew 10:11-14) Its a search and rescue mission, but you cannot save people who don't believe that they are in danger.

I can honestly say that no church ever came knocking on my door to tell me "the good news of the Kingdom" for the simple reason that, if you ask them, they have no idea what it is, or what it will do in the future. If you don't know what the Kingdom is, how can you preach to people about it? (Matthew 24:14)

Most church goers parrot off the Lord's Prayer each week without ever knowing what it is they are praying about. I was one of them. They were my 'brothers and sisters in the faith'...or so I thought....but those who want to hang on to the old ways once they are alerted to the truth, are no longer related to me in the faith.

How does sitting in a building, listening to boring sermons or attending something that masquerades as a rock concert for collecting money, translate into anything close to what Jesus taught? There is no prosperity gospel.

I wanted to know the truth and when I studied the Bible I found it.....I realized that I did not know God at all, nor was I ever taught the important things that the Kingdom would accomplish for the earth, once it 'came'. (Matthew 6:9-10)

God's command to "get out of" "Babylon the great" (Revelation 18:4-5) resonates with those who see the need to vote with their feet and separate themselves from an apostate system of worship that contributes nothing to people's lives in any real way. It teaches those same old false doctrines that were adopted centuries ago, and it has nothing of any positive value to add to anyone's hope for the future.
I am proud to be separated from that rabble. No one can speak in agreement. (1 Corinthians 1:10)

Samantha Rinne · Nov 1, 2019

Eddi said:
I've read your post and I agree with what you say

But please, allow me to explain where I'm coming from, I have something of a personal back story regarding this matter:

I fully believe you can talk to God - prayer, and that prayers may be answered, and that people may receive signs etc.

And I have nothing against cultivating a relationship with God, indeed one of the aims of my life is to do this

I personally want a personal relationship with Jesus and obviously many others do too and I believe this is both possible and healthy

I'm talking about when God talks back to you directly as in communicating through one's senses

I think "direct relationship" doesn't necessarily equate to "personal relationship" - it is "direct" relationships I am wary of, as being potentially schizophrenic

Since 2004 I've had a thing that talks to me by touching my body - which claims to be God

I have now learnt to ignore it as the paranoid symptom of a mental illness

I used to think I was a prophet - can you imagine! We're in 2019!

It's an enormous challenge trying to relate to God and Jesus when you have some symptom going on at you saying you're a prophet, for me my illness has come between me and God but I'm fighting the good fight

That's why I have a personal interest in the matter - and I'm concerned for others who are in a similar position to me

I feel that in my life I have had bogus religious experiences but also genuine ones

And I feel that in this day and age any potentially direct connection to God is more likely to be bogus than authentic

But I am of course open to the possibility of miracles

It's just that I've grown to be very sceptical of such things due to personal experience, perhaps too sceptical?

So perhaps in my original post I was more dismissive of having a close relationship with God than I should have been, I accept that

Okay, I'll to read this post, even though (like many of mine) it heads towards TL;DR territory.

Basically, I'm not sure what you mean by something that communicates by touching your body and claims to be God, but it sounds like you have some issues. And I can totally get those. Some of my friends were raped, so yeah I know issues.

Where I'm coming from: In about 2011, I had a psychotic break/midlife crisis. Basically, I was working for this guy at gardening, volunteering at the library but essentially my life was headed nowhere. I worked at a thing for a few weeks for this new lady, and made a fair deal of money but it was rigged to fail basically. Somehow or other, I met her daughter at a birthday party. We kept in touch for weeks by email, but then I realized things didn't add up. Let's call her Kyria after what I called Rinoa in FF8.

Anyway, I decided weird stuff was going on, and fled to maybe kill myself. Since I had no idea what was happening, I decided someone wanted to control me or something, and I just wanted to live my life. Also, I'd decided she was a spy or something. Over the next year or so, I managed to keep seeing ppl like her(complete with her catch phrase "no worries" and certain facial features) and kinda wrote down my own text messages to try to find out a pattern. After all, she was probably a master of disguise. The problem with this theory was that not only did she have to have a huge range of height, voice, and other changes (including gender) handy but I eventually decided that given the actual time changing, it would be more plausible that she was a shapeshifter or something. And then I realized everyone I knew seemed involved, and not only would a conspiracy make me paranoid and insane, but the simplest answer was just that I was continually meeting God or Jesus.

So yeah, when I talk to everyday ppl, I believe in odds of talking to God. It's like my priest said, you have to eliminate options that are insane, and whatever is left will lead you to truth. So, no to me hearing any voices in my head. But I am fine believing you could be on email or forum with God.

j1i · Nov 1, 2019

Eddi said:
Many crazy people claim to have a direct line to God

Crazy people claiming to have a direct line to God are a fairly common thing in this world

However, (as a Christian) I believe God interacts with humankind through the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, thus negating the need for individuals who have a direct line to him!

I therefore very much doubt the idea that people can have a direct line to God but nonetheless find the idea interesting

But putting this to one side, I have some questions:

Is it possible for a person to have a direct line to God - an extraordinary relationship that's beyond the usual relationship humans have with God?

What would you call a person who truly does have a direct line to God?

And would God ever actually give someone a direct line to him – and if so, why?

I’m not sure how I’d answer these, but I don’t think God would ever communicate with humankind through a person humankind would consider insane: I believe his message is far too important to be placed in the care of schizophrenics

But I’d still be interested to hear how people would answer these three questions of mine, even though I don’t believe God would ever give people a direct line to him!

(as a Christian) I believe that the age humankind is currently in is a post-prophet age, and that although God sent prophets in the past, since Jesus came there has been no need for any further prophets. If someone came to me telling me he or she was a prophet I would demand miracles as proof they were from God – and I bet none of the people in this age who claim to have a direct line to God can perform miracles!

I’d therefore say that such a person (with a direct line to God) would be a prophet, however I do not believe we are in an age of prophets, and would be massively skeptical about anyone claiming to be a prophet – I’d want miracles! So basically, I'd consider a person claiming a direct line to God insane!

I would therefore consider such a person insane, but if I didn't consider them insane I'd say they were a prophet. However, I don't believe we are in an age of prophets. So I'd think they're insane...

Basically, I'd say a person claiming a direct line to God to be a false prophet but not necessarily a malicious false prophet, I'm sure you can get benign false prophets!

Every believer has the right and ability to communicate directly with God by pray and call (asking needs)

God sends a message in dreams and this is a direct communication
I mean only sincere dreams
Because there are nightmares and they are from satan

The claim that God was a human being may be considered a mental illness
Because who created the heavens and the earth and the greatest in size
Do not sit in a small planet that is magnetized and this planet on path orbiting around sun
Means that God is a follower of the sun and revolves around

I hope that i understand the question

JesusKnowsYou · Nov 1, 2019

Eddi said:
Many crazy people claim to have a direct line to God

Crazy people claiming to have a direct line to God are a fairly common thing in this world

However, (as a Christian) I believe God interacts with humankind through the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, thus negating the need for individuals who have a direct line to him!

I therefore very much doubt the idea that people can have a direct line to God but nonetheless find the idea interesting

But putting this to one side, I have some questions:

Is it possible for a person to have a direct line to God - an extraordinary relationship that's beyond the usual relationship humans have with God?

What would you call a person who truly does have a direct line to God?

And would God ever actually give someone a direct line to him – and if so, why?

I’m not sure how I’d answer these, but I don’t think God would ever communicate with humankind through a person humankind would consider insane: I believe his message is far too important to be placed in the care of schizophrenics

But I’d still be interested to hear how people would answer these three questions of mine, even though I don’t believe God would ever give people a direct line to him!

(as a Christian) I believe that the age humankind is currently in is a post-prophet age, and that although God sent prophets in the past, since Jesus came there has been no need for any further prophets. If someone came to me telling me he or she was a prophet I would demand miracles as proof they were from God – and I bet none of the people in this age who claim to have a direct line to God can perform miracles!

I’d therefore say that such a person (with a direct line to God) would be a prophet, however I do not believe we are in an age of prophets, and would be massively skeptical about anyone claiming to be a prophet – I’d want miracles! So basically, I'd consider a person claiming a direct line to God insane!

I would therefore consider such a person insane, but if I didn't consider them insane I'd say they were a prophet. However, I don't believe we are in an age of prophets. So I'd think they're insane...

Basically, I'd say a person claiming a direct line to God to be a false prophet but not necessarily a malicious false prophet, I'm sure you can get benign false prophets!

I don't want to be "that guy", but the Bible you claim to follow contradicts many of the things you just claimed.

The Bible teaches that we all have a "direct line to God" through prayer.

The Bible teaches that it is an "adulterous generation" that asks for a sign.

The Bible records that there were prophets in the Church after the death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eddi · Nov 1, 2019

JesusKnowsYou said:
The Bible teaches that we all have a "direct line to God" through prayer.

Yes, but such direct lines are merely one way

In our culture:

When you talk to God that's prayer

But when God talks back that's schizophrenia

Deeje · Nov 1, 2019

JesusKnowsYou said:
The Bible teaches that it is an "adulterous generation" that asks for a sign.

Actually he was addressing the Pharisees when he said that. They asked him for a sign and he refused to give them one.

He did in fact give his disciples a sign concerning his return. (Matthew 24:3-14)

The Bible records that there were prophets in the Church after the death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Can you please identify these prophets....

Windwalker · Nov 1, 2019

Deeje said:
Well, yes it does serve as God's direct commands on so many matters.....personal things that nature will never provide answers to. Things about God's actions in the past and how they translate into future events. There is advice on relationships, marriage and divorce, raising children and how to treat our fellow humans and most importantly how to worship God acceptably.

It identifies human emotions that make you realize that human nature does not basically change, no matter what age you live in. What humans felt back then, they still experience to this day. It doesn't just tell you to be peaceable with all but shows you how. Where will I find that kind of instruction in nature?

None of this I would qualify as a direct line of communication with God. All of this is dependent upon the interpretation of the person reading it, as well as what bits of information we have tried to reconstruct about the period of time in which it was written, in order for us to try to shed some further light upon our limited abilities in interpretation. That is hardly the same thing as God talking directly to you. It's like reading the writings of Plato or any other philosopher of ages past.

As far as knowing the law of God by nature, this certainly can be done. This is the law written on the tablets of the heart. It arises from within us, not externally to us chiseled in stone. We are part of nature, and if God is in us, which according to scripture he is, and we know how to listen, then we can hear. But it's not in a bunch of words, but a silent guiding and leading of consciousness through the heart. This is something very many Christians who externalize God as an external "law-giver" from outside of us struggle with. They don't know how to listen. They expect answers in black and white ideas spelled out for them from outside themselves. All of this is biblical, by the way, that we need to move this to the inside. Jesus taught this.

Deeje said:
The fact that you can speak of "the trouble interpreting scripture" shows me that God isn't talking to anyone who believes that. Scripture interprets itself.....you just have to know what it teaches, overall, because it does not contradict itself. You might find minor discrepancies in inconsequential things that does not alter doctrine....but the big things remain cast in concrete. God's purpose has remained unchanged from the beginning, just like he has. His standards are unwavering.

No it does not interpret itself. That is impossible. They are just words on a page. It takes your human mind to translate what those words mean into meaningful statements. Everything in life, everything you encounter on a daily basis, everything you read, everything you hear, everything you taste, everything you smell, all of it, without exception requires you engage your mind which has filters and processes for taking in outside information and interpreting it. This is the basic human reality for everyone who has ever lived.

Even in direct mystical experiences, what you "think" about it after the fact, is a process of translation and interpretation within the given frameworks of language and conceptual reality we pass them through. It has nothing to do with not "getting" what is being said. What you, and everyone else who has ever lived does is "colorize" whatever they see, think, read, etc., because of the nature of the human mind and how it is designed to work.

It doesn't matter if the person is standing right in front of you talking to you. You still have to interpret what is being said. And when you make that person someone you've never met, who you only have scant and sketchy information about, whose writings are from a time and culture you, nor anyone alive today actually participated in, the quality of that interpretation will plummet rapidly. What we imagine the meaning of these to be in our thinking today, can hardly qualify as authoritative. Scripture does not work like this. It operates at a far more fluid, open-ended interpretative way, like poetry. That is its strength. Not as a "rules book from God".

Deeje said:
Think back to the situation in Jesus' day and ask yourself if the Jews considered Jesus and his disciples to be their "brothers" in the faith? Jesus separated himself from the Pharisaic traditions because their teachings were not anything like the ones that God instituted with his nation on Mt. Sinai. You have exactly the same situation today in Christendom.

But they all accept Jesus and try to follow him as best they can, as you do in your own ways. Each of them can claim they have the "right" interpretation like you do. Each of them can claim you are not following the truth too. Is it supposed to be about having the right interpretations? That's seems a pretty shallow relationship with God. Is it a relationship, or passing a spelling quiz on a test handed out in the 3rd grade in order to graduate to the next grade level? Is it about getting the answers right, or about love in the midst of our many errors?

I suggest reading the entire chapter of Romans 14, in light of this. And ask yourself how well this calling of other Christians as the Whore of Babylon squares with any of this. In fact, to judge others as "not true followers of the faith" because they aren't following what you think scripture says, is exactly what the Pharisees were doing whom Jesus rebuked. Unlike them, God sees through the eyes of Grace, and doesn't not care about differences like they were elevating in their minds as all-important to God. I see a direct parallel here.

Deeje said:
Now in these "last days"...another small group is telling people....."the good news is you're not all going to heaven...God has wonderful plans for the earth which will be ruled by his Kingdom". (Revelation 21:2-4) People who have their eyes and ears opened by God respond to the message that his people are preaching and have been doing so consistently for over 100 years.

May I share my personal history with you? In my naive youth, and in my sincere desire to learn more of God and follow the path of Love, I joined a small group, which in very many regards looked a lot like the JWs, in that they too were some small startup group in American religion from around the same time all that was going on in American history around the turn of the 20th century, late 1800's to early 1900's. They were popping up everywhere at that time, following on the heels of the Great Disappointment. Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and a parade of other Last Days religious movements were birthed, as variations on the same overall theme, reflective of that time in American culture and religious institutions.

The group I was in was just like the JW's in that they believed all other Christians but themselves were not following the truth. They had the "restored gospel" in the "last days". The end was coming, and only those who had the truth as they had "restored" to them in the last days, would be saved. All of Christian history had lost the truth of the early church. They were the Apostate Church, the Great Whore of Babylon, and all that.

So when I hear you imagine that it's only the last 100 years that God has been speaking to people, and people hearing God only in that last 100 years, is exactly the sort of reasoning that led me to critically examining the teachings of the group I was part of. It was heartless. It seemed a little too self-congratulatory on our specialness, above all other Christians before us, upon whom so much of our own information about the Bible came from! They were viewed as the "scaffolding" that God used to "restore his true church" in the last days.

All those people, lost. According to them. And themselves, saved. It was far too unloving a view of not only their fellow believers in God, but unloving of God, using these people this way in order to get us the goods to be saved. You would not have Christianity, if it were not for them. And you call them lost?

That is what led to me being honest in myself before God to critically examine these claims of exclusive line on the truth. It was very frightening to do this of course, as it would mean the end of my relationship with them. It didn't take very long to see the facade crumble. The same thing applies to all of these 20th century
American startup "last days" religious movements. They are all the same. Just waving a different colored triangle flags in front of their shops, promising the same things in competition with one another.

Continued in next post....

Direct line to God?

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