I have had enough experiences, experiences that were clearer to me than, for instance, whether a musical note that’s almost true is slightly sharp or slightly flat, that I am convinced I’ve seen evidence of Deity. I feel it would be intellectually dishonest for me to claim a lack of belief when I have always believed, though logical evidence caused me to discard the particular description of Deity that was taught to me in childhood.
I went through a period of time when I wondered how I could believe in this “God”, when so many of the things I’d been taught were clearly not accurate. But that inner sense said that Someone was there, even if my elders were completely wrong about who that Someone is.
Also, it is my personal opinion that an essential part of Deity is Mystery. I don’t think Deity is like gravity, easy to prove and applying in the same way equally to everyone. (Deity might be more like an operating system—the same operating system, when interacted with through different programs, can behave very differently, sometimes not working at all.)
But even if the existence of Deity can someday be proved to the scientists and entrenched atheists, so long as the only tools we have to perceive Deity are the human mind/body/spirit system, and so long as people remain as different as they are today, there will be disagreement about who or what Deity is. (But then, even with all the evidence we have, there is disagreement about something as simple as the character of our current President, so that’s no surprise.)
I also think Deity is multiple—though either “multiple in actuality (for instance separate Gods and Goddesses)” or “a single being or force that manifests in multiple aspects/roles” would fit my experiences.
I don’t have scientific evidence; that’s why I say I “believe” in Deity, rather than “I know God exists, and God is (insert particular description)”.
I’m certainly not going to insist that anyone else should believe just on my say-so (not even my own daughter). But I’m also not willing to discount the evidence of my own senses and experiences, whether or not they can be repeated in a laboratory.
no subject
I went through a period of time when I wondered how I could believe in this “God”, when so many of the things I’d been taught were clearly not accurate. But that inner sense said that Someone was there, even if my elders were completely wrong about who that Someone is.
Also, it is my personal opinion that an essential part of Deity is Mystery. I don’t think Deity is like gravity, easy to prove and applying in the same way equally to everyone. (Deity might be more like an operating system—the same operating system, when interacted with through different programs, can behave very differently, sometimes not working at all.)
But even if the existence of Deity can someday be proved to the scientists and entrenched atheists, so long as the only tools we have to perceive Deity are the human mind/body/spirit system, and so long as people remain as different as they are today, there will be disagreement about who or what Deity is. (But then, even with all the evidence we have, there is disagreement about something as simple as the character of our current President, so that’s no surprise.)
I also think Deity is multiple—though either “multiple in actuality (for instance separate Gods and Goddesses)” or “a single being or force that manifests in multiple aspects/roles” would fit my experiences.
I don’t have scientific evidence; that’s why I say I “believe” in Deity, rather than “I know God exists, and God is (insert particular description)”.
I’m certainly not going to insist that anyone else should believe just on my say-so (not even my own daughter). But I’m also not willing to discount the evidence of my own senses and experiences, whether or not they can be repeated in a laboratory.