{"id":14102,"date":"2013-06-19T07:28:26","date_gmt":"2013-06-19T11:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/nakedpastor\/?p=14102"},"modified":"2013-06-19T07:30:22","modified_gmt":"2013-06-19T11:30:22","slug":"atheists-shouldnt-trust-their-feelings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/nakedpastor\/2013\/06\/atheists-shouldnt-trust-their-feelings\/","title":{"rendered":"atheists shouldn’t trust their feelings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"atheists<\/a>
\ud83d\ude00 Get a fine art print of this cartoon for just $20. Click on the image to shop! \ud83d\ude00<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

So why do people with religious experiences assert that their feelings of God\u2019s presence are valid and believable, but when another person who has never experienced God admits this, they are told that they shouldn\u2019t trust their feelings, the implication being that their feelings are lying to them about the reality of God\u2019s existence and personal presence in their lives?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m intimately familiar with this line of reasoning. I used it.<\/p>\n

There is no proof of God. For some reason I\u2019ve always known that. But I\u2019ve had experiences. These might mean something to me, but they provide no proof for others. And now, I realize, for me. In fact, I now know that our experiences can be shaped by our preconceived ideas. I respect the fact that our minds can concoct the most amazing experiential cocktails imaginable. Then these experiences confirm these preconceived ideas and construct more elaborate edifices upon them. Truly, the mind has the remarkable ability to create a closed loop of religious belief and experience that is completely convincing to the subject. These experiences I\u2019ve had I catalog in the \u201cMystery\u201d section.<\/p>\n

These two friends will continue their philosophical discussion for a little while longer, talk about a couple of books they\u2019re reading\u2026 one by Rob Bell and the other by Slavoj \u017di\u017eek\u2026 and then they will return to work.<\/p>\n

PS: I was interviewed by The Claremont Journal of Religion<\/strong> on sexuality, gender, LGBT, etc. You can read it HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The online community The Lasting Supper<\/a> is full of people who talk about this stuff every day with each other in a peaceful, non-confrontational space. I invite you.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So why do people with religious experiences assert that their feelings of God\u2019s presence are valid and believable, but when another person who has never experienced God admits this, they are told that they shouldn\u2019t trust their feelings, the implication being that their feelings are lying to them about the reality of God\u2019s existence and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":349,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1531],"tags":[3257,3256,603,3532,3531,722],"class_list":["post-14102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cartoons","category-videos","tag-agnostic_cartoon","tag-atheism_cartoon","tag-david_hayward","tag-dont_trust_your_feelings","tag-god_exists_cartoon","tag-nakedpastor"],"yoast_head":"\natheists shouldn't trust their feelings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So why do people with 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