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From: sxnahm@ubvax.UUCP (Stephen Nahm)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc,net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Tim Maroney's questions!! (Why do people belive in God)
Message-ID: <554@ubvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 26-Sep-86 12:33:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: ubvax.554
Posted: Fri Sep 26 12:33:42 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 29-Sep-86 03:12:28 EDT
References: <2573@watdcsu.UUCP> <2759@rsch.WISC.EDU>
Reply-To: sxnahm@ubvax.UUCP (Stephen Nahm)
Followup-To: talk.religion.misc
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Organization: Ungermann-Bass, Inc., Santa Clara, Ca.
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Xref: linus talk.religion.misc:286 net.religion.christian:4762
Summary: How to judge experiences.

In article <2759@rsch.WISC.EDU> planting@rsch.WISC.EDU (W. Harry Plantinga) writes:
>
>When a person sees another person, he (or she) assumes or "knows"
>that there is another person near him.  In fact, however, he cannot
>*prove* the existance of the other person--he cannot prove that the
>appearance is not an illusion.

But that person can relate the ways that he or she "experiences" the other
person.  If you describe how that person appears to you, other people who
also "experience" the observed person will either agree with you or not.  If
they agree with you, fine.  If they don't agree with you, someone must
account for the difference: Too foggy to see correctly? Are the observers
experiencing an altered conciousness? Is someone describing something that's
contained only within that person's mind?

>                                      Many Christians *don't have a
>choice* about believing in God any more than a person has a choice
>about believing there's another person in the room when he sees him.

A Christian (or any person for that matter) *does* have a choice as to what
experiences he or she will rely on for acquiring beliefs.  Would a religious
person rely on sensations experienced under the influence of a mind altering
drug?  I hope not.  Would a person who has been indoctrinated in a belief in
the supernatural believe "experiences" which he or she has been told are
manefestations of God?  Probably; if you've been told that certain feelings
and thoughts are direct experiences of God, you're likely to believe you've
experienced God when you've had those feelings or thoughts.  You have decide
to use emotions and internal thoughts as criteria for belief (in God).

>I sometimes even wonder if *everyone* experiences God, and either
>accepts him or rejects him.  It would certainly explain the venom I
>see in this newsgroup . . .

Everyone *doesn't* experience God (I don't).  I hope my follow-up has been
sufficiently free of venom to allow you to believe this.
-- 
Steve Nahm                  UUCP route:       {amd|cae780}!ubvax!sxnahm
sxnahm@ubvax.UUCP           Internet address: amd!ubvax!sxnahm@decwrl.DEC.COM