A nasty accident happened to me with my fellow staff in the car. Taking a turn too sharply, and maybe the tires was a little worn, the car skidded, spun and crashed into a wooden fence. A block of timber came through the window, missing our faces by just a couple of inches. The car was damaged, but both of us came out unhurt but a little shaken.
If I turned around and told my staff “Thank God! See my God had protected us”, he might just give an equally valid remark “If your God had really protected us, there should not even be an accident, with the consequence of a damaged car after all!”
But what if, before I started the journey, I told him of a dream, a premonition of God’s soft prompting that something nasty is going to happen on the journey, but we shall be safe. Than the validity had been taken to another level (let’s call this the second level) ‘.
Such experiences cannot be verified in the lab. It is purely a personal perspective. But to the person who had experienced this and continued to see such things in his life, to him the logic is equivalent to a truth statement. And if he is in the community of like-minded people, who experienced these providences (especially similar to the second level)and continued to do so from time to time, the reinforcement of an invisible hand of providence is quite hard to shake, even in the face of disbelief by others. I am not limiting this experience to just one distinct community of religion.
The test for me is that both the logic of the truth statements, and the logic of personal experiences must be present. There is a bridging that is required.
Faith .... :-)
ReplyDeleteI understand that the experience is personal (and only resonates with you) therefore I am not in a position to judge, but do consider the possibility of confirmation bias.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
Confirmation bias is definitely a real and influential aspect, and indeed many who do pay lip service to certain beliefs, attitudes, religions etc. are influenced by confirmation bias, and in the end, it will all be in vain.
ReplyDeleteBut at the same time if you truly love something, the 'bias' is, well...simply that - not just a bias, but the basis of a real love for the thing you are believing in. And if you love something that strongly then that could be a testimony in itself (to the thing you believe in)...?
“But at the same time if you truly love something, the 'bias' is, well...simply that - not just a bias, but the basis of a real love for the thing you are believing in. And if you love something that strongly then that could be a testimony in itself (to the thing you believe in)...?”
ReplyDeleteYour love is undeniable, but the existence of God remains dubious at best. One cannot simply love something into existence. You would have committed a logical fallacy by suggesting that:
a) I love God
b) Therefore God must exist
If you love your child, the subject of your affection is real. Can the same be said for a deity?