I've had three events in my life that confirmed my belief in God

[buttercup]

I have no doubt that God exists and that He loves His children.

watch the life drain out of a child's eyes, and get back to me on that please

~S~

Just because you can't understand why certain things happen doesn't mean God doesn't exist. This world is only temporary. This is not even the true reality, just a temporary place.

 

[sparky]

I understand free will Buttercup

I'm just in denial of it's consequences

~S~

 

[sparky]

the human mind is capable of believing all kinds of odd/unreal/fake/etc stuff

Isn't that why we're here ?

~S~

you mean to make up fake stuff?

Not necessarily ,although that exists as well Mr harmonica, it's more the human mind needs diversions to be capable of dealing with reality that was my aim

thx

~S~

 

[Avatar4321]

you just think it was god..you rationalized it/imagined it/etc
you can't prove it was god

When you’ve experienced the Divine, there is no doubt about it.

The beauty of it all is you can find out from the Lord for yourself

the human mind is capable of believing all kinds of odd/unreal/fake/etc stuff

I’m aware of that. Some have even convinced themselves that there is no God

 

[Avatar4321]

I have no doubt that God exists and that He loves His children.

watch the life drain out of a child's eyes, and get back to me on that please

~S~

Jesus Christ died so that little child would live again. Now that is love.

 

[Marion Morrison]

I have no doubt that God exists and that He loves His children.

watch the life drain out of a child's eyes, and get back to me on that please

~S~

I have, and I still believe. It was a nice girl that had invited me to her birthday party. I went home and took a bath and got dressed, went over to her house and paramedics had her on the sidewalk. She died. There was no birthday party.

Only the good die young, so you mfers are stuck with me for a minute.

 

[harmonica]

you believe it because you want to
just like other things--aliens/UFOs/etc

 

[sparky]

I was indoctrinated , persuaded, disciplined, conditioned and proselytized to believe ,and had that celestial rug yanked out from under me so many times i'm a full blown misantopist

~S~

 

[frigidweirdo]

I won't get into the details because these events were deeply personal, but each was a major turning-point that set me in a totally new and better direction.

Each time God reached to me, I was in deep anguish. Then, afterwards, I felt much better, with a new lease on life.

People who say they have no proof of God, I will tell you this.

If you want proof of God, then pray.

If you pray hard enough, God will present himself to you.

But was it God? Or was it something else that you misinterpreted?

 

[sparky]

the narrative is easy frigid one , anything good is because one 'prayed for it', anything bad is 'God's will'

https://www.theonion.com/god-diagnosed-with-bipolar-disorder-1819566045

 

[zzzz]

I do know of several instances where my guardian Angel has kept me from harm and death. One time where I got a premonition to delay by trip by a few minutes. If not for that I would have been T-boned by a car where a driver fell asleep. I saw him hit the telephone pole where I would have been sitting if not for that strong insistence to stop for a minute.

 

[Avatar4321]

I do know of several instances where my guardian Angel has kept me from harm and death. One time where I got a premonition to delay by trip by a few minutes. If not for that I would have been T-boned by a car where a driver fell asleep. I saw him hit the telephone pole where I would have been sitting if not for that strong insistence to stop for a minute.

When I was in college once, I was late getting out the door so I was running across campus to get to class on time. I was booking it and came to a crosswalk where I had the light. I was planning to continue running full speed without stopping when I got a very distinct prompting to stop.

I stopped so hard it hurt, right on the edge of then curb. A second later a car came out of nowhere, blew through the red light and I barely missed getting smashed by it.

Instead of being seriously injured or worse I made it to class on time.

We need to seek the Lord and listen for His Spirit. If we harden our hearts to Him we may miss life altering instructions

 

[BreezeWood]

We need to seek the Lord and listen for His Spirit.

nothing of the above events has anything to do with their 4th century book of forgeries - as their book they take credit where there is non;.

the Religion of Antiquity is a struggle there is only the individual and their goal, by law there is no intervention. people make their own good luck and fortune is as fickle for as against.

 

[Meriweather]

I have, and I still believe. It was a nice girl that had invited me to her birthday party. I went home and took a bath and got dressed, went over to her house and paramedics had her on the sidewalk. She died. There was no birthday party.

A very sad story. I am sorry you lost a friend at such a young age. What conclusions did you draw from this experience?

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

I like this thread. I think it is important for those of faith to demonstrate intellectual honesty and admit fully that this is a personal experience that ends at the tip of their noses. In this thread there are no wild claims of "possessing evidence" of the existence of gods. Just people of faith, explaining their personal experiences.

When something is "only evidence to you", that is precisely what makes that something, "not evidence". And there are no claims otherwise in this thread. If only all discussions of faith could be so honest, even if accidentally so, as this discussion is.

 

[Avatar4321]

So we are sharing our personal evidence but we have no evidence... right.

When you have experiences with the Spirit you have evidence of Providence.

I’ve only recently begun to realize how many little acts of Providence have blessed my family. For example, yesterday I was in a discussion about the law of tithing and, without trying, I was able to identify about a half dozen blessings I’ve received financially for obeying that law. Very specific acts of intervention.

I’ve recognized the promptings of the Spirit from time to time and the Lord has blessed me or others when I’ve listened.

I’ve seen and been involved in miracles.

I know God lives and that He loves His Children.

The only way for you to know is to seek your own experiences. Seek a relationship with God and do as He counsels and you will know He lives too.

We can only know the truth the way Peter learned it

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

So we are sharing our personal evidence but we have no evidence... right.

When you have experiences with the Spirit you have evidence of Providence.

No, you only have personal experience, not evidence. When something is evidence "to you" and nobody else, that is precisely what makes something "not evidence". You may say something convinced you to believe a certain way, but you are misusing words to call it "evidence"

The only way for you to know is to seek your own experiences.

Right, precisely because there is no evidence. You are making my point for me.

 

[Avatar4321]

So we are sharing our personal evidence but we have no evidence... right.

When you have experiences with the Spirit you have evidence of Providence.

No, you only have personal experience, not evidence. When something is evidence "to you" and nobody else, that is precisely what makes something "not evidence". You may say something convinced you to believe a certain way, but you are misusing words to call it "evidence"

The only way for you to know is to seek your own experiences.

Right, precisely because there is no evidence. You are making my point for me.

Personal testimony is evidence. If it wasn’t our entire justice system would collapse.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Personal testimony is evidence.

Wrong, it is not. 100% incorrect. We are not deciding the truth of god by a jury of 12 people.

If that were true, then we would know Christianity is false, since the vast majority of people who have ever lived do not believe in it. So you should really reconsider this bad argument you are pushing.

 

[ABikerSailor]

You know, there have been several instances where I have felt like there was something out there watching over me. One of the biggest events in my life was the following........................

I was orphaned at age 8, and my Grandparents took in myself and my sister. They took care of us for a few years, but when we got to be teenagers, they put us into foster care.

Well, the family that I was placed with was fairly affluent. I also knew that it cost the family zero dollars to keep me, because they would reimburse the family for expenses like clothes and school supplies for me, as well as gave them a monthly stipend for food and regular stuff.

Well.................after a year or so, I noticed that Kenny (their son) was always getting new clothes, while I had to take on his hand me downs (we were the same size). I did a bit of investigating, and found out that Sandy (the mother) was submitting receipts for Kenny's clothes, and passing them off as being for me.

That didn't sit too well with me, and I decided to run away. Well, I tried 2 times, and ended up being sent back each time. The third time I ran away, my social worker told me that if I didn't go back, I would be on my own. So, I went to the bus station to catch the bus back to Missoulla (was in Helena at the time, where my social worker was). So, I went to the station, but for some reason, the bus was running early, and I just missed it by about 5 min. I called my social worker back and told him what happened, and he told me to wait for the next bus back.

I didn't really want to go, so I asked the ticket agent how much for a bus to Chicago. He said 300 dollars, and because I didn't have that much, I asked where the next bus was headed to. He said Great Falls (where my Grandparents were). I asked how much, and had enough to buy a ticket and have a few bucks left over. Rode the bus to Great Falls, and then started to hike out to Vaughn (small town just outside of Great Falls). Came upon the truck stop at the edge of town, and stopped in for a quick bite to eat. By the way, by this time it was around 1:00 am, and there were very few people around.

Well, I finished my meal and started to walk across the parking lot, when 3 college kids pulled up and asked if I needed a ride (this was the early 80's, and in Montana, people still did that then). They told me they were going to Missoulla, and would take me as far as that if I wanted, but I said no, Vaughn would be far enough (11 miles away).

They dropped me off in Vaughn and I spent the night in the school playground. Got up around 7:00 am and went and knocked on my Grandmother's door. She opened it, asked what I was doing there. I told her I ran away. She then asked if I was hungry, and I got breakfast.

Now.................this might sound like an unremarkable tale of some kid running away from home, but I feel it was more like God asking me if I really wanted to go back with my Grandparents, because He'd be willing to send me back to the foster family. That is what I feel about the college kids that gave me a ride.

If I had gone back, the foster family program would have given me a full ride to college, my choice of programs, as long as I maintained a B average (easy for me). But, if I went back to my Grandparents, I wouldn't get a college education, because they didn't have the money.

Fully knowing what the two paths led to, I chose my Grandparents. And, because of that, I had no way to go to college, so I joined the Navy and made it into a full blown career and am now retired.

Probably the best choice I ever made, and I feel that God laid it at my feet, asking me which direction I wanted to go.