Wednesday, April 22, 2009

I agree with Jon. Many times natural emotion or hallucination is mistaken for revelation and inspiration. And in these cases when the revelation turns out to be false or to bring about negative outcomes the revelation is written off as "a trial." The person thinks God wanted them to do the wrong thing to teach them a lesson. This is a false idea that religious people should put out of their minds. But it is not easy or pleasant for the person to admit that the alleged revelation was not valid in the beginning.
"Science is about seeking to explain the world around us. For him at least, it can co-exist with faith." Stated in Jon's first reference Last sentence last paragraph (see here).
This is what I believe as well. I maintain the idea all miracles fall within the natural laws of the universe.

But the sensation Jon posted about was not what I was referring to when I described my desire to have a "religious experience." I was referring to the unity one can feel with their peers. The experience could be had in many different non-religious settings. I use the term "religious experience" to describe a wide range of experiences that may be better associated with a different term.

One of the points I was making is that I do not need to wade through all the phony rehearsed dialogues at a church in order to have the feeling I am seeking.

1 comment:

Kelly M said...

I think people who interpret their emotions as revelation or inspiration are displaying an incredible amount of arrogance. Bottom line, they are equating their wants and feelings about a given situation as being on the same level as God's.

They seem to use "God's will" as a shield to hide behind in case their decisions or wants don't work out or, as Jack put it, they write it off as "a trial."

I believe God gave us a brain (logic, reasoning) and heart (emotion, feeling) to work in unison. Decisions made when the two work together are more likely to work out.

We may feel (heart, emotion) that it is God's will for us to do something, but if it makes no sense for us to do it, then it probably is not the right thing to do.

The scriptures tell us this:
D&C 8:2: "Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart by the Holy Ghost..."

Isaiah 1:18: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord..."

Yes, there are examples in the scriptures of people who did things it made no sense for them to do. But we're looking at those instances from a spectator's point of view; we have no idea of the exact circumstances they took place under.