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From: tim@cmu-cs-k.ARPA (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Merrill, "why he DOES believe..."
Message-ID: <262@cmu-cs-k.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 19-Feb-85 14:16:26 EST
Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-k.262
Posted: Tue Feb 19 14:16:26 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 21-Feb-85 05:29:59 EST
References: <329@teklds.UUCP>
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 36

> From larryg@teklds.UUCP (Karen Gardner) Fri Feb 15 15:42:33 1985
> There is only one reason and ONE REASON ONLY to believe in Jesus.  
> 
> I have met Him and talked to Him and experienced HIM in my life.
> Each person must have this experience for themselves to become a
> christian and to believe.

Aargh!  I cannot possibly express how frustrated I get when I see people
spouting nonsense that I had already seen through at age 12.

Karen, as Charles Stanley is so fond of saying, listen to me now: A Hindu
would say exactly the same thing about Krishna.  Members of all religions
have fundamentally similar mystical experiences, and among the most common
is that of presence or companionship of a deity.  When I was a Christian, I
"knew Christ personally", conversed with him, prayed to him, enjoyed his
splendour.  However, because I was not totally uncritical of mystical
experience, I came to realize that I would have similar experiences in most
any other religion, but I would call it by the name "Krishna" if I were
Hindu, or attribute it to the spirit of some prophet if I were Jewish, or
call it a direct experience of Buddha-nature if I were Buddhist, etc.
Subsequent experience in other religions has shown that I was correct.

Mystical experience of the sort you describe is no sort of proof of any
literal interpretation of any religion.  All it does is show the potency of
the symbols employed, and all religions are full of potent symbols.  Even
silly religions like Mormonism usually have some.  However, perhaps we can
come to agreement at least on this: Anyone who does not believe that Jesus
exists as a potent symbol is wrong.
-=-
Tim Maroney, Carnegie-Mellon University Computation Center
ARPA:	Tim.Maroney@CMU-CS-K	uucp:	seismo!cmu-cs-k!tim
CompuServe:	74176,1360	audio:	shout "Hey, Tim!"

"Remember all ye that existence is pure joy; that all the sorrows are
but as shadows; they pass & are done; but there is that which remains."
Liber AL, II:9.