Is it possible to authentically experience God?

Imagine that you've just woken up after a long relaxing sleep. You live with your Mum but she's left to go to work and won't be back for another six hours. It's almost lunchtime as you grab a big bowl, filling it up with cereal and milk. As you go to grab the sugar you notice a nice, big cake on the bench.

Mum baked you a cake! And it looks so very tasty as you quickly decide that a small slice can't hurt; it's lunchtime you reason, so eating some cake is fine.

So after seeing the mouth-watering cake, you decide to slice a piece and pick it up. It makes a soft sound as you pull the piece off the plate and it feels heavy, like a chocolate mud cake, only it's lightly coloured; like a banana cake. The aroma of the fresh cake becomes even stronger as you lift the piece and take a bite, and at once your taste buds are rewarded.

But your Mum never returned home that day. She died in a fatal car accident on the way to work that morning.

I suppose by now you're wondering where I'm actually going with this, and I'm going to tell you. In the story, you saw the cake. Then you touched it, pulling it off the plate, hearing it as you did so. The smell filled your nostrils and taste aroused your taste buds. You used all five of your senses as you enjoyed that cake.

However, the cake was not proof that you're Mum was alive. She was dead before you even woke. But nonetheless, you assumed that the cake was made by your Mum and that you're Mum was obviously alive. Or perhaps, you're Mum didn't actually bake the cake, someone else did and left it there for you. Maybe your sister, or your Dad, or someone sneaky trying to play with your mind. But if it really were your Mum it makes no difference - from that point on, you cannot have a relationship with her.

Though you used all five senses to enjoy her cake, you cannot enjoy her as a person. She's gone forever. And this is where it connects to Christianity, or religion for that matter.

Why is it that so many Christians insist that the intricately detailed world around us is evidence of God's reality? Sure, we can experience the whole thing with our five senses, but really, that's just evidence that we can sense something. God may or may not be real - he might have died millions of years ago, or the force that created this thing we're experiencing might be completely different to the God we're trying to imagine.

Just for a second however, suppose God is real, and he has created this amazing world for us to experience. We use our five senses and find great beauty spread wide and far around the globe. And even further the beauty goes, as we begin looking around the universe.

But Christianity is about a relationship with God; with Jesus. Christianity is about a sacred marriage between the church and Jesus. And if it is a relationship which this religion is concerned with, why don't they focus on building a relationship? It doesn't matter whether God created all this or not, unless one can experience him with their five senses, then a relationship is impossible.

How many people do you know who you can't see, hear, touch, smell or taste (for the more intimate...)? How many people have you spoken to who you have never sensed?

No one! If you can't see someone or hear them, then the basics of communication will not work, and it is impossible for you to have a relationship with them, whether they are actually real or not. Remember the story from the beginning? If you're Mum died, you would not be able to have a relationship with her. Some will beg to differ and say that they can feel their Mum though she's not alive, but that's beside the point. The fact of the matter is, your Mum's dead. Or at least a whole lot more less alive than your other friends and family, with whom you have a relationship with.

So if God is so big and powerful, if Christianity is about a relationship with this God, if Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, rose three days later JUST SO WE COULD HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, why is the relationship impossible in any rational sense of the word!?

Why is it that we have separate standards when relating to God? Sure, they will be slightly different, but in the end, shouldn't experiencing God and relating to him be far easier rather than harder than other people? Instead of approaching God with all five of our senses not sensing anything, why can't we see God? Why can't we hear God? Why can't we touch God? Why can't we taste God? Or smell God?

If this is what Jesus sacrificed his life for, if this is what his blood has paid for, then why oh why is it near impossible to have any realistic experience of him?

I know there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of people who will say they've experienced God, and that therefore they are right. But why should they be right? Why is there experience any more valid than mine, or yours, or anyone elses?

If my experience says that God cannot be experienced with my five senses and therefore one cannot have a relationship with him, why should I believe someone else?

So if my experience says one thing, a Christian's says another thing, and everyone else's experiences say thousands of other things, is anyone really right? Is everyone right? Or does it mean that no one is right, that each person can create their reality for themselves? And if that's the case, then Christianity can't be true. If everyone his right, then no one is right.

If God and Jesus could be experienced with my five senses, then I would love to know. I don't really think it's possible, though people can tell me it is. People can also tell me it isn't. So who's right?

It's the thought that no one's right which is why I don't believe in God. It renders what anyone can say useless, and leaves me as an existentialist, creating my purpose rather than having my purpose dictated for me.

Attitude is Everything

I used to work for a face to face sales company and my job was to set up somewhere in the streets or a shopping centre with a clipboard, and try and sign passer-bys up to various charities. I would try and stop these people, trying to arouse their curiosity with an interesting first statement, but nonetheless, there were hundreds who would avoid you; they'd walk around you, look everywhere except at you, pretend they can't hear you when it's obvious they can, swear at you, stare you down, and the list goes on.

The company would send us on road trips around the state to do the same thing. There would be conferences to go to and 5 star resorts to stay at, and a whole lot of fantastic things to do. The actual work was very gruelling - it tested you, it made you stronger, and sometimes it broke you. When you spend all day every day getting ignored by hundreds of people just to catch the five or ten sign-ups, it gets a little depressing, or so one would think.

I quit the job because I was sick of the hours. It was a long day and I found myself having no time for anything or anyone else, basically all I did was work. Besides I thought that I was over it, that I was sick of talking to rude people every day. But now in hindsight, it's in fact more of the opposite.

I look back with such a fondness on those times that it blows even me away. At first I couldn't understand it, but over time and some hard thinking, the veil was lifted. You see, the job was very mentally gruelling and testing like I said. Sure, it never wore you out physically (at worst, sore feet from standing up all day), but by the end of most days, the mind just wanted to switch off. But during my time there, I developed a strong positive attitude for it was one of the companies requirements that you have to have a positive attitude and maintain it.

Instead of the expected reaction to rejection on the job, I was inspired. Every day when I woke up I said various affirmations 3 times in a row, taking me about ten minutes to kick the day off. They would revolve around sales, keeping the goal and target in mind and never backing down. Then when I got to work, I would take a five minute break every two hours to refresh my attitude. I'd have a smoke, put on some high energy music, and start encouraging myself. I might even you into the bathrooms and if no one was in there, look at myself in the mirror and slap myself, challenge myself to prove I'm not a wimp, and then walk back out. I used NLP (not explaining it here, look it up) to anchor positive feelings with squeezing my thumb. And the strangest thing of all, is that everything worked.

Instead of coming home depressed and mentally worn, I came home energetic and motivated. I was having a ball, if not for the long hours. So then I quit, leaving it all behind. But looking back, I loved those days. They were amazing. The people, the job, the experiences; it was all just so magnificent. And that's when I realised, that all my work with affirmations and attitude shaping had shaped the memory. I had anchored hundreds of positive feelings with that job. So now, when I thought about the job, I felt those feelings. It thought it was a profound discovery.

Then I thought, well, why doesn't every one do this? It would make the world a whole lot better if everyone was thinking positive, wouldn't it? But then I realised, there are people who are already doing it.

Religions all over the world are doing it this very second. They are meditating, praying, reading, all the while affirming their faith in their god. There attitude is one which is finding things to believe in and reasons to believe in them. It's a psychological program and it's working, for better or for worse.

When someone invests their life into Christianity for example, they are generally reading their bible most days, which in turn affirms their belief in god. They memorise verses to remind themselves of it's truth. Then they pray, which really is the same thing as affirmations. Anyone can pray to whichever god, and many of them think they are praying to the real god. And by praying, they are affirming god in their loves, his reality and his power. Then comes church. This part I think is really interesting. Here everyone is singing songs to 'god', once again affirming his truth in their lives. But it goes further.

There is a concept in sales called the 'jones' theory. Basically it is the idea that if everyone's doing something, then I should probably do it to. It applies to everything. It's just a natural, guiding human principle. And here it is in action in the church. Everyone singing together, praying together, dancing together, etc, is affirming their belief, but it is all the more potent with everyone doing it.

Or have you ever been at a Christian rally, and the altar call comes up at the end? At first, only a few people put their hands up to become Christians. Then, slowly at first, more people put their hands up, and then still more! It can get very strange, and sometimes even people who call themselves Christians will go and 'get saved' again. It's Jones theory in action.

So here we arrive at my final point. My ability to create a positive experience in my job, and thereby create fond memories is the ability of any human and indeed many of them are using it now. Using it does not prove that something is real or unreal however, it merely shows that even if it were not real, people would still believe in it. But if it were real, then no one would have any need to 'create' the experience, instead, God would come to them.

So Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Athiests, and everyone else, remember this -

Your attitude determines your beliefs, not whether something is real or not.

But this leads us onto an even more important question: how in the world can we then know if anything is real or not? If there is no way with which I can know if something is actually real, then I must assume it is not real. I could make myself believe in God, with affirmations and prayer and singing I could become a man of faith. But what would that serve if none of it is real? This is but one more reason why I don't believe in God.

The Inherent Need for Certainty in Humans

Isn't it peculiar how almost everyone needs to be sure; sure of their job, sure of their other half, or sure about the morning train. Without the certainty in place, anxiety and tension fills in it's gap, however small. Why is it that people say, "I just need closure...", about any number of things? Why is it we have to be sure of our job? Jumping to the point, why is it that humans have an insatiable desire to be certain about their purpose in life, the nature of the universe, or the existence of God?

But before I run off with myself, it seems pertinent to mention that not everyone is like this. To nearly every rule, there is an exception, and this does not escape. I know there is people who can relax in the midst of uncertainty, indeed, if I were not one of them, I think I should have proclaimed my allegiance to Atheism or Christianity by now. It is this trait which pulled me from God, and that which prevents Atheism from becoming. So if you are one of these people, not eagerly desiring of certainty and surety, then you will better understand everything in this blog. However, if you hold to a certain idea with unwavering faith, then some (or most) might fail to understand. I am honoured that you would take the time to read my blog, and even more so if you give me patience, for I am not a professional scholar, but an amateur attempting to wrestle with ideas with ideas larger than myself.

The thing I find frustrating while simultaneously amusing about Christianity, is that many of them seem to cling to their faith, simply on the basis that it gives them certainty about life and death. As a Christian, I would have faith and know (relatively speaking of course) the purpose of my life, the difference between good and evil, my destiny after death, and many other things. It would be of supreme comfort to one knowing that after death, he is to receive eternal blessing, delight and pleasure.

Of course, this does little to reveal any exact truth, but it is very interesting. I start wondering how many Christians, have their minds convince them of God's truth. For the human mind is capable of convincing itself of many things being true, despite conflicting evidence. To start with, why are there so many religions in this world? How is it that so many different people can believe so many different things? Perhaps if someone were well read on this subject they would tell me that the vast majority of religions have very few followers, and that the main religions of the 21st century number 5: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. But the fact remains down to two religions - if there is any conflict in ideas, with people on both sides being absolutely sure of their side, then we end up at the same point.

Perhaps I might add atheism into the ranks of religion. But before everyone starts shouting, let me add it broadly. I'm using the word religion to describe a system of ideas, even if the idea is about how other ideas can't be true. Yes, I believe Atheism should be called a religion, however with no Atheist bible and no central purpose being discovered by it, it is a very simple one. It leaves people free to choose their purpose in this life.

So if people all around the world are convincing themselves that their religion is the true one, surely some of them must be wrong. We must remind ourselves of the exclusivity of some religions (Christianity and Islam), for they and only they can exist at the non-existence of every other. It can only be Christianity, or it can only be Islam, etc. It is no use claiming that all roads lead to God, or that each person should find their own way, for that leaves us with no solution.

Supposing that some religions cannot exist with another, we must hold that some are wrong. If wrong, then we must ask, why do they believe as they believe. They are convincing themselves of the truth of their faith, but it is no statement of fact. The amount of Christians who take their faith on 100% certainty is very large, and surely not all of them can genuinely believe in the truth. If Christianity were not real, then every single Christian has convinced themselves of it's truth.

Walk into a church, any church, and their will be people who claim that Christianity is absolutely true, and cannot understand any other view. I use cannot here intentionally. It is not a case of them refusing to look at other religions, it is a case of them neither caring nor being interested in any other religion than they're own. But if one were truly convinced of the God of the bible, then why would he have to worry about other religions? Surely a true belief in God would liberate, allowing any Christian to explore other religions while being completely comfortable in their own faith. But such it is not the case.

To return to the main point (got a little sidetracked there...), these people who believe in Christianity, completely and utterly unwaveringly, are the people who have convinced themselves of its truth. For some psychological reason, their mind has found reason to believe in it. Their mind associates security with belief and anxiety with unbelief (or lack of belief), so when anything threatens their belief, they convince themselves even more strongly. This is the reason why some Christians refuse to explore other religions more fully.'

I am not saying however, that the Christians who are able to evaluate all religions, have actually made contact with God. I am saying that these Christians have found reason to believe. Instead of succumbing to the inherent need for certainty, they have been more reasonable, not caving in to basic human emotions.

So with a lot of rambling and mindless talk, which I hope has achieved something, I come to the conclusion. Humans have an inherent need for certainty. It is not so much a provable fact but rather an observable phenomenon. We see the need for certainty everywhere and everyday. We see it in religions and systems of thought all over the world. It is why some people are surely and fully convinced that they know the truth. They don't, for I believe no human can know it. But despite not knowing the full truth of the universe, their minds have convinced them that they know a large portion.

I suppose you can apply this to many situations, but I find it is revealing when talking about Christianity with someone. Some things which reasonably make no sense, are taken as absolute fact by a lot of Christians, with little to no research. It starts off with a mild belief in Christianity, and slowly but surely turns into a headstrong, "I'm right, you're wrong!" belief. They have lost their reason, and their humility has been replaced by arrogance, a process which should be in reverse if someone wants to become a true saint.

Humans need certainty, it is a fact without doubt, and this is how I've observed it to work in relation to Christianity. You can see it in every other religion, Atheism included. But as usual, there are a few who break the status-quo and will always show me how wrong I am.

I must make one last point though - I have very high respect of some Christians, and they often surprise me with their humble but confident faith. They are people who truly believe, not out of a psychological need, but because they have truly found something worth keeping. I must ask their forgiveness for this last quote:

"Martyrdom is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability."

It is interesting that this inherent need for certainty leads to many a man becoming famous. It's almost like cheating.

I hope you understand me now, when I say that the inherent need for certainty in humans is one reason why I don't believe in God.

To Begin...

I suppose now is the time to tell you about myself and what this blog is for.

I spent a long time as a Christian, and had some amazing times. However, due to the nature of my questions, I turned my back. I am not an atheist, though I have come close. I do not claim to know any answers at all, and I will explain my reasons why in this blog. There is much I want to write about. As for the usual debate between Christians and non-Christians, it bores me. For the most part, it is mud-slinging or just handled by people who make no effort to actually understand the other's point of view. And if anyone is ever to win properly in a debate, they must properly and full understand what is being argued.

Too many times, name-calling and labeling begins, and I, if it happens on this blog, will refuse to debate these people, for I feel nothing good can come of it.

I have asked many questions, and often I am asked why I'm not a Christian anymore, and often I am left trying to remember all my reasons. They are all there, and I remember them in due course, however since I have not expressed my thoughts in detail (only the odd journal here and there), they are not clarified enough for me to be able to pull them out at random.

And finally, I am most welcoming if you wish to read this blog, and if you have a keen and open mind, would be willing to talk about anything discussed here further.