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From: root@trwatf.UUCP (Lord Frith)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Meaning of "speaking to God"
Message-ID: <761@trwatf.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 17-Mar-85 15:36:24 EST
Article-I.D.: trwatf.761
Posted: Sun Mar 17 15:36:24 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 19-Mar-85 07:49:43 EST
References: <947@sjuvax.UUCP>
Organization: TRW Advanced Technology Facility, Merrifield VA.
Lines: 31

>    1.) The only TRUE Christians (n.b. I didn't say Catholics) are those
> who have had at least one PERSONAL EXPERIENCE of God.
> and furthermore,

This says that anyone who has not communicated with God in one way or another
another is not a Christian.  I'm sure there are many who, through no
fault or lack of faith on their own, have not experienced some direct
and personal experience with God.  One might argue that faith does not
require a direct experience.  One can hope, pray and conduct one's
life in a Christian manner without religous experience or direct
communication with God.

Why is it that God does not talk to some people?

>    2.) The TRUE faith-experience consists of a one-to-one encounter with
> the Divine Presence (my term) in which both parties (if you will) are
> intimately aware of the other's presence, and in which there is "offer"
> and "response" betwixt the twain.  Nothing short of this will do to 
> justify one's faith in God as true faith.

Hmmmmm... looks like a resonable definition off-hand, but in some ways so
general that it could describe almost ANY experience in life.  It is also
open to a lot of interpretation when you try to identify "awareness",
"presence", "offer" et al.
-- 


UUCP: ...{decvax,ihnp4,allegra}!seismo!trwatf!root	- Lord Frith
ARPA: trwatf!root@SEISMO

"And Frith made the world"