Can a skeptic on the fence have a personal encounter with God?

[SkepticOnTheFence]

Is it possible for a skeptic on the fence to have a personal encounter with God?

What would such an encounter look like?

What would a "personal relationship with God" look like?

If I'm a skeptic on the fence, is there anything in my power that I can do to "elicit" or "prompt" such an encounter? What would I need to do? And what could I expect to happen?

How would I be able to tell the difference between "God is actually having a personal relationship with me" and "I'm just deluding myself with wishful thinking"?

Can God make his presence and interaction "obvious" to me beyond reasonable doubt? Can God reveal himself to me, a skeptic on the fence, in a powerful and life-changing way?

 

[The Righterzpen]

Whether or not one believes a skeptic can be redeemed; depends on what one believes about God.

My conviction of what the Bible says is that: before the foundation of the world, the members of the Godhead decided what the salvation plan would be and who Christ would atone for. And by God's omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence; He caused by His own will; the redemption of those individuals to happen. He didn't choose them out of any thing they did or any good they possessed. He chose them out of HIs goodness for reasons embodied in His own nature that can only be described to us as self-sacrificial love.

So yes, due to sin everyone starts as either "a skeptic on the fence" to one who has fallen off the cliff into the cess pit.

What would that encounter look like? It would be an awakening where God "cuts the lights on" and sinner recognizes his state of death. He recognizes his worthiness of God's wrath and cries for mercy.

The personal relationship with God would look like: "How do I obey You?"

No, you can't "elicit" or "prompt" anything of your own power from God. Matter of fact, you would only become genuinely interested in knowing the truth if God sends His Spirit to bring you to spiritual life. And the thing(s) you would notice of that is both overwhelming joy and profound terror. And the outcropping of that awakening is the desire to repent of your sin.

As time passes and you grapple with the state of being spiritually awake; you will gain assurance by seeing your life change. You will become honest and truthful to God, yourself and other people. You will want to walk the steps God places in front of you. And that path will not be an easy road to walk. But you walk it because you feel a certain compulsion of conscience to do so.

The internal compulsion to walk the road isn't something that can be easily explained. It just "is". It comes to be recognized by self as a part of your reality and is something that you can't and don't want to walk away from; though it frustrates you at times. The presence of the One who both guides and pushes you along the path will be a part of the existence of your being who ever you're around, what ever you do, where ever you go for the rest of your life. That Presence is both comforting and terrifying; yet as "perfect love casts out fear" the terror will subside. You'll pray for a lot of help and wisdom along the way.

When the terror subsides and you come to walk in peaceful obedience; you will realize you are not deceiving yourself into "believing you're in a personal relationship." Because when the awakening comes; it's far to profound to ignore.

If what you experienced you can eventually "fall away from". That would be evidence that you were never awakened in the first place.

And yes, you will recognize God's presence "beyond a reasonable doubt" though it will not be "materially obvious". Your circumstances may not change; but you will.

Yes, God can reveal Himself to you; a skeptic on the fence in a powerful and life changing way.

 

[HTacianas]

Is it possible for a skeptic on the fence to have a personal encounter with God?

What would such an encounter look like?

What would a "personal relationship with God" look like?

If I'm a skeptic on the fence, is there anything in my power that I can do to "elicit" or "prompt" such an encounter? What would I need to do? And what could I expect to happen?

How would I be able to tell the difference between "God is actually having a personal relationship with me" and "I'm just deluding myself with wishful thinking"?

Can God make his presence and interaction "obvious" to me beyond reasonable doubt? Can God reveal himself to me, a skeptic on the fence, in a powerful and life-changing way?

You might be able to. The Apostle Paul had a life-changing encounter with Jesus while he was still a non-believer. At least a non-Christian. But you'd likely have to put a tremendous amount of effort into it. Some say it can drive a person insane.

 

[coffee4u]

I think that depends on a few things. Are you actively seeking or not seeking? What exactly do you mean by encounter? If you expect God to do a miracle or song and dance show then you will be forever waiting. I've heard people say "If God did a miracle in front of me I would believe" My reply is really? I highly doubt that. God did miracles in front of the ancient Israelite's and they believed for maybe a few days before doubting again. There is a difference between belief that comes from the intellect and belief that comes from the heart. The intellect needs constant proofs the heart believes even when there is no proof.

1 Kings 19:11-13
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
People desperately want God to be in the earthquakes, the fire, the big things, but most times God is in the whisper and they are making too much 'noise' to even notice. ​

Things of the spirit are felt and known by the spirit. Things of the mind are known and understood by the mind, but its easy to mix up mind and spirit and for the mind and body to reject things of the spirit so they don't get felt or experienced. ​

1 Corinthians 2:14
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

If you think of Peter getting out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus it was his faith, his spirit that gave him that connection, yet his mind saw and analyzed the danger that his body felt and because his faith was weak and small in comparison to his mind, so he began to sink. The mind fights the spirit because the spirit is so much weaker.

I read the Bible and the encounter was the overwhelming feeling of knowing how sinful and of need of saving I was. A need to fall face first and repent. Most people are not after that kind of experience, because it isn't pandering to their ego- their mind, but that is most likely the type of experience it would be.

​

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[SkepticOnTheFence]

I think that depends on a few things. Are you actively seeking or not seeking?

What do you mean by "actively seeking"? How can I "seek" an encounter with God?

What exactly do you mean by encounter? If you expect God to do a miracle or song and dance show then you will be forever waiting. I've heard people say "If God did a miracle in front of me I would believe" My reply is really? I highly doubt that. God did miracles in front of the ancient Israelite's and they believed for maybe a few days before doubting again. There is a difference between belief that comes from the intellect and belief that comes from the heart. The intellect needs constant proofs the heart believes even when there is no proof.

By encounter I mean God becoming real to me somehow, God entering my conscious awareness in some clear manner. For example, Paul in Acts 9 had a powerful encounter with Jesus.

 

[sandman]

Is it possible for a skeptic on the fence to have a personal encounter with God?

What would such an encounter look like?

What would a "personal relationship with God" look like?

If I'm a skeptic on the fence, is there anything in my power that I can do to "elicit" or "prompt" such an encounter? What would I need to do? And what could I expect to happen?

How would I be able to tell the difference between "God is actually having a personal relationship with me" and "I'm just deluding myself with wishful thinking"?

Can God make his presence and interaction "obvious" to me beyond reasonable doubt? Can God reveal himself to me, a skeptic on the fence, in a powerful and life-changing way?

You won’t find anything on the fence. Waiting for God to show you is a cop-out.

You want to find …seek.

If you were panning for gold, you would actually go the river with a pan and start panning.

You move ....God will move...

 

[SkepticOnTheFence]

You want to find …seek.

How can I seek?

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Is it possible for a skeptic on the fence to have a personal encounter with God?

What would such an encounter look like?

What would a "personal relationship with God" look like?

If I'm a skeptic on the fence, is there anything in my power that I can do to "elicit" or "prompt" such an encounter? What would I need to do? And what could I expect to happen?

How would I be able to tell the difference between "God is actually having a personal relationship with me" and "I'm just deluding myself with wishful thinking"?

Can God make his presence and interaction "obvious" to me beyond reasonable doubt? Can God reveal himself to me, a skeptic on the fence, in a powerful and life-changing way?

I'm affraid you will need to make the first move. Repent and believe. You will receive His Holy Spirit , the only way He will make His Home in you. Love your Lord and King Jesus Christ of Nazareth first and do not test Him for that is a sure way to continue a hardened heart.
Blessings.

Matthew 16
16 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Is it possible for a skeptic on the fence to have a personal encounter with God?

What would such an encounter look like?

What would a "personal relationship with God" look like?

If I'm a skeptic on the fence, is there anything in my power that I can do to "elicit" or "prompt" such an encounter? What would I need to do? And what could I expect to happen?

How would I be able to tell the difference between "God is actually having a personal relationship with me" and "I'm just deluding myself with wishful thinking"?

Can God make his presence and interaction "obvious" to me beyond reasonable doubt? Can God reveal himself to me, a skeptic on the fence, in a powerful and life-changing way?

That's too many questions, and as a more skeptically inclined person, I'd say that this whole line of 'seeking' is an impractical thing to worry about. So, do yourself a big epistemological favor and don't focus on this. Otherwise, you'll just be spinning your wheels in the mud for decades, waiting ... ...

 

[SkepticOnTheFence]

That's too many questions, and as a more skeptically inclined person, I'd say that this whole line of 'seeking' is an impractical thing to worry about. So, do yourself a big epistemological favor and don't focus on this. Otherwise, you'll just be spinning your wheels in the mud for decades, waiting ... ...

Okay ... so what do you recommend instead?

 

[SkepticOnTheFence]

You might be able to. The Apostle Paul had a life-changing encounter with Jesus while he was still a non-believer. At least a non-Christian. But you'd likely have to put a tremendous amount of effort into it. Some say it can drive a person insane.

What kind of effort are we talking about?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Okay ... so what do you recommend instead?

I'd recommend buying a larger seat cushion.

In other words, you're going to have to allow that Christianity may be epistemically "other" than what either you expect it to be, prefer it to be, or have been told it should be by vested individuals. And that's ok, because that last part is where it gets interesting.

 

[SkepticOnTheFence]

In other words, you're going to have to allow that Christianity may be epistemically "other" than what either you expect it to be, prefer it to be, or have been told it should be by vested individuals. And that's ok, because that last part is where it gets interesting.

"Other" than ... other than like what? Any examples?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

"Other" than ... other than like what? Any examples?

By this I mean "other" than starting with the premise that Christianity on the whole somehow depends on an "Inerrant Bible."

However, here's the catch: "Other" also means realizing that Christianity on the whole may not always fail in the way that atheistic, sarcastic skeptics assert that it does.

"Other" also means that you'll have to remain open--or open up further if need be--to various philosophical issues. Maybe this is where you're already at? I have to ask since I don't know which fence you feel you're sitting on at the present moment.

 

[SkepticOnTheFence]

"Other" also means that you'll have to remain open--or open up further if need be--to various philosophical issues. Maybe this is where you're already at? I have to ask since I don't know which fence you feel you're sitting on at the present moment.

I'm currently sitting on the fence that (1) the resurrection of Jesus may have been a historical fact, (2) God may possibly exist, (3) God may possibly be able to intervene in the real world and make his existence evident to me in some way, and even eventually get to the point of developing a whole personal relationship with me (although I'm not entirely sure what that would look like).

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I'm currently sitting on the fence that (1) the resurrection of Jesus may have been a historical fact,

Oh? Me too. Maybe not in an epistemically identical form, but ... me too. That's the bittersweet nature of the relation between the actual Past and human attempts to represent it with limited human investigation and writing. It's a mess that sits squarely in the area of the Philosophy of History (one that a lot of folks utterly ignore).

(2) God may possibly exist,

Oh, again. You and me, both! But even yet again, what's sauce for one side of the fence is also sauce for the other side, too.

(3) God may possibly be able to intervene in the real world and make his existence evident to me in some way, and even eventually get to the point of developing a whole personal relationship with me (although I'm not entirely sure what that would look like).

That's a position that I know a lot of people fervently wish would manifest itself as a textured, felt experience with God, but I decline from expecting much if anything in the way of a 'direct revelation.' It's better to take Christianity on the epistemic low....it's less existentially nauseating that way.

 

[SkepticOnTheFence]

It's better to take Christianity on the epistemic low....it's less existentially nauseating that way.

That sounds like you are espousing some degree of doxastic voluntarism. As if I could voluntarily choose how epistemically convincing Christianity (and here I should ask you, which specific version of Christianity are we talking about?) appears to me. As if I could arbitrarily choose to lower my epistemic bar and all of sudden become convinced that Christianity is true without a shadow of a doubt.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

That sounds like you are espousing some degree of doxastic voluntarism. As if I could voluntarily choose how epistemically convincing Christianity (and here I should ask you, which specific version of Christianity are we talking about?) appears to me. As if I could arbitrarily choose to lower my epistemic bar and all of sudden become convinced that Christianity is true without a shadow of a doubt.

Ok. So, you seem to be familiar at least a bit with Philosophy. That's good ... maybe you know more than I do. I don't know everything and I'm sure I could be wrong about a lot of things.

On my side, while I do lean toward Existentialist freedom of thought and advocate freedom of mind generally considered, I don't also assume the position of a thoroughgoing doxastic voluntarism, especially where Christianity is concerned.

At the same time, I tend to contest the notion that any of us has the perfect notion about what justification "is" and that we've actually reached a Let's just say that I harbor on Meta-Epistemology and the faultlnes of all human thought before I either gripe and complain or give my applause and accolades to human ideals or religion. I'm going to start with Cartesian Skepticism and go from there.

All I'm suggesting here in cursory form is that if you're sitting on fence about the three problems you've mentioned previously, what may be at issue isn't that you're sitting on the fence but rather how you're concpetualzing the whole state and praxis of the epistemic supposed positioning involved. You might need to test the quality of your "epistemic bar" and what it is you think you're doing when you're attempting to measure your epistemic success and/or so-called sufficiency.

 

[Wyatt A.]

Is it possible for a skeptic on the fence to have a personal encounter with God?

What would such an encounter look like?

What would a "personal relationship with God" look like?

If I'm a skeptic on the fence, is there anything in my power that I can do to "elicit" or "prompt" such an encounter? What would I need to do? And what could I expect to happen?

How would I be able to tell the difference between "God is actually having a personal relationship with me" and "I'm just deluding myself with wishful thinking"?

Can God make his presence and interaction "obvious" to me beyond reasonable doubt? Can God reveal himself to me, a skeptic on the fence, in a powerful and life-changing way?

Ask Jesus into your heart and repent. That is the only way to know God. He paid the death penalty so you wouldn't have to.

The skeptic thing. Look at the Apostle paul. He went around murdering Christians. On the way to Damascus a light fell on him from Heaven and had and encounter with God and was converted. Wrote most of the new testament.

You can't weasle your way in. Jesus is the only way to Heaven.

God's not going to come to you. You have to go to him and admit your a sinner

 

[coffee4u]

What do you mean by "actively seeking"? How can I "seek" an encounter with God?

So many people on here have said they were seeking but turns out they were more skeptic than seeking.

By encounter I mean God becoming real to me somehow, God entering my conscious awareness in some clear manner.

Read the Bible.

For example, Paul in Acts 9 had a powerful encounter with Jesus.

If you are waiting for that you will wait forever, as far as I know that was for Paul only. A real connection as I said is more likely be a understanding and awareness of your own sin and a 'fall on the face' repent.