Feeling God

Since opening my channel I've had more than one personal message from believers who state, in one form or another, that regardless of the material I post in my videos they are convinced God exists because they can "feel" him, or in some way have had a "personal encounter" with God. I've learned over the years that it is futile to try and have a rational discussion with such people. Such conversations are futile not because these people are lunatics or in some sense wired differently than the skeptic, but because what they've chosen to base their faith upon is not open to a rational discussion. You cannot convince someone their personal, biased "experience" of God didn't happen. They're convinced it did. This is not to say one shouldn't present the evidence for where these personal experiences likely had their origin: the brain. But because of the intense, personal nature of the experience, many people who have them will remain unmoved by the naturalistic explanation and, if they remain so, it is in the skeptic's best interest to simply wish such folks a good day and move along.

In this video I explore this issue of "feeling God" with advice to skeptics to realize there may come a time in discussions with such people that advancement of the conversation is going to be impossible.

Links to the BBC series "God on My Mind: Neurology" used in this video:

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3N_QgjuWYU

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uawSJrQJ_B0

Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk75tUKSr5Q

William Lane Craig Video Interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-fDyPU3wlQ

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Bible
• skeptic
• atheist
• atheism
• brettppalmer
• brett
• palmer
• christian
• Christianity
• apologetics
• neuroscience
• neurophysiology
• biology
• belief
• brain
• faith
• religion
• religious
• god
• feeling
• emotions
• encounter
• sensed
• presence

[faithbyloving]

Whilst I have no doubt that many experiences are internally generated, (as in irrational dreams etc), it may not be the case that all experiences are internally generated. They present this with no references to experiences which indicate external factors may be involved, such as information experienced which the person experiencing it, could not reasonably know.

[brettppalmer]

@faithbyloving Yeah, you already said this. Please don't spam my comment section. This would have been better served as a PM.

[brettppalmer]

@Trelli28 You're a loon.

[YuiDaoren]

I once tried to honestly and sincerely "feel" god once.

He started screaming "BAD TOUCH! BAD TOUCH!" Now I have to register when I move to a new community. Not happy about that.

[MyContext]

@eyallev I agree we are driven by our emotions, however, if your notions are disconnected from reality it is unrealistic that it should get support from those are are acquainted with reality. So, to the extent that your notions are left as your notions, not affecting/effecting others - fine... To the extent that you are causing harm due to your delusions of reality, expect that it will be resisted by those who appreciate reality and the ability to do based on a substantive base.

[MyContext]

@faithbyloving I would suggest that you RE-READ that prophecy regarding the return of Israel. CultofDusty did a funny bit about it, however, it was true with regard to what the scriptures actually depict. /watch?v=F6LAKleHUr8

[MyContext]

@YuiDaoren ROTF!

[freedomofthought100]

@berrywoke

god is the cause of the universe but he neither reward the right nor punish the wrong. he just is there being completely aloof. this definition just fit our daily experience. is not it? man suffers due to his own ignorance. god is not doing anything.

[freedomofthought100]

@berrywoke

it is not lack of oxygen nor it is mal nutrition. it is right way of conducting reasoning. theists believe that god is somebody who loves the right and hate wrong. but our experience contradicts this definition. atheists believe that there is no god and universe is created randomly which also contradicts our experience of cause-effect. then what is god? god is the cause of the universe but he neither reward the right nor punish the wrong. he just is there being aloof.

[berrywoke]

@eyallev That has to be the first really compleatly rational statement I ever have heard from a thiest, and I not only recognize it as honest but I will attempt to respect it.

[berrywoke]

@freedomofthought100 I understand how simple you are but what caused it? Lack of oxygen at at birth or bad nutrition during your childhood years? Or did your parents fail in a disaterious manner? But the event that happened was in the end your misguided or is it underdeveloped intellect? So many questions and no good answers. In the end I suppose your god might be responsible.

[ZOMBIETH44]

This video is kinda depressing in a educational way.

[brettppalmer]

@faithbyloving "Even by you..." Nice. And your assumption that I'm not all ready familiar with these so-called "prophecies" and their native biblical contexts tells me you're about as open to anything I might have to say on the subject as a bull's ass during fly season. Have a nice day.

[faithbyloving]

@brettppalmer You will find the context of these prophecies does not fit any biblical times, if you read the scriptures properly and the context is unmistakable, even by you.