IS GOD REAL? HOW DO YOU KNOW?

by still thinking 778 Replies latest jw friends

  • tec
    tec

    I can reason to the e x istance of a creator, because it makes sense to me.

    But I know God is real because He speaks to me, through His Son and spirit.

    It is hard to doubt (at least not for long) after that.

    Peace,

    tammy

  • still thinking
    still thinking

    Star tiger...good luck with your search!...I know it was extremely painful for me to admit to myself that there may not be a god. I felt grief as if I had lost a member of my own family. It is not something I see believers do lightly. I think we are all on a journey and mine at the moment is to try and figure out if I am merely trying to convince myself there's a god because it is too uncomfortable to let the concept go...or...if in fact there is a god.

  • still thinking
    still thinking

    This is where I come unstuck tec...how does he speak to you? Is it a feeling? Do you hear him? Do you attribute things that happen to him?

    Thank you for contributing by the way.

  • iCeltic
    iCeltic

    Personally I've not seen any evidence that suggests that god is any more real than Zeus or the tooth fairy. Figures in fairy tale stories have never spoke to me. People of faith may well feel that they believe that god exists but knowing, that requires solid evidence. Just my view and not intended to offend anyone.

  • sizemik
    sizemik

    I used to be hung up on the question of a first cause . . . you know, what came before the "big bang". Who created space, matter, energy and time . . . but it doesn't beg an answer anymore.

    There is ample proof that the universe is expanding. If it expands it can also contract. The big bang may have been the result of the contraction of a previous universe . . . who knows? It may all be a cyclical . . . like everything else. Space, matter, energy and time are simply human constructs to explain the parameters of existence . . . we don't know their true nature yet. They may have always existed . . . just as believers claim God has always existed.

    The universe is not full of "order" Cataclysmic random events are it's hallmark . . . an unstable earth, celestial collisions etc. (There are even two vast galaxies colliding right now). Life as we know it, is a struggle for survival and nothing is "perfect" or ever will be, simply because it all changes. It is the same for every living thing.

    Humans have reached a level of intellectual complexity that derives self-awareness, hence empathy. From this comes the human construct of morality, often attributed to a superior supernatural source . . . hence religion.

    There is simply no evidence for the presence of a benevolent theistic entity who takes interest in, and controls all matters.

    I'm quite content to accept that I am a small insignificant biological entity who "struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more", living according to that higher self-awareness and empathy while I'm still here.

    If I'm wrong, I don't expect to find out before I die . . . and then it will come as a pleasant, or not so pleasant, surprise.

    I'm a believer in this . . . subject to change . . . just like the rest of the universe. Somewhat paradoxically . . . it leaves me feeling happy, content and without fear.

  • Lozhasleft
    Lozhasleft

    Oh dear...I'm probably inviting all kinds of ridicule here...and the predictable suggestions of craziness...but here goes...

    I've always known God was real, all my life. As a JW I had a spiritual experience, an anointing. This was back in 1992. I was (I feel) unjustly disfellowshipped in 2007 and it crippled me, I mean really, almost completely. I knew I could never go back because they destroyed my trust so entirely and I could never survive it twice.

    My relationship with god wasn't destroyed, in fact if anything it was strengthened, despite their grave warnings. Over time I began researching and discovered the truth about the 'truth' very gradually. I found myself here just over 2 years ago, my first post explains it all.

    I've come to understand that many people from all different faiths have had spiritual experiences similar to mine, it's not exclusive to JWs at all, but I didn't know that back then, of course. It's never left me and it never will.

    So I know God is real. Unquestionably, undeniably real.

    Loz x

  • tec
    tec

    This is where I come unstuck tec...how does he speak to you? Is it a feeling? Do you hear him? Do you attribute things that happen to him?
    May I say all of the above? That would be the most accurate. Always, when I hear from Him - be that in words, or in understanding of something being granted, or in images, or in a reminder of a scripture - the feeling that accompanies is peace, calm, quiet and sureness.

    I do attribute some things to Him. But that is something other than 'hearing'.

    Peace,

    tammy

  • tec
    tec

    Loz, I just noticed that you and I joined within a couple weeks of one another.

  • cofty
    cofty

    Spiritual experiences are common to people of all religions and none. They can be induced in the lab very precisely and although they exist only in the mind of the subject, to them they are totally real.

    "Know" is a word that believers like to use because "believe" doesn't sound certain enough.

  • paulnotsaul
    paulnotsaul

    I cannot deny what I have been shown. I have asked this question more resently than I care to admit to myself. So many times in my life, even when things ended up bad, God always got me thru them. For that I cannot deny. I guess I could deny God and rely on my own reliance and understanding but at the end of this life I would like to think my faith in God meant more than believing in nothing at all. Everyone has thier own path to follow. My path may have an imaginary invisible God to some people, but God is very real to me. peaceAll paulnotsaul

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