The Divine Intervention!

Yared

That Guy
Joined
May 21, 2009
Messages
4,516
Location
Hufvudstaden
I asked this question in the Preaching Atheism thread but I felt that it deserved it's own thread since I'm sure a lot of religious people didn't go into that thread at all.



Pick an event (or more if you wanna) in your life that you're convinced was the work of a divine intervention.

Obviously that intervention must have been done by your divine Being.

Now tell me exactly you know that it was your God and not just some other God whose work got miss-credited, or a God who's trolling around?
 
Well, I'll start. It was in church when I was getting confirmed.

I remember how I was kneeling down in front of the whole church, and my pastor was saying something off the bulletin.
I looked up, and there, through the colored glass window standing above the altar, was the sun, shining down on my pastor's head and giving me its bright light. I had to get confirmed almost exactly then, or else the sun, or what I thought was the sun, would not be shining through that window on me.

Of course, it had to be my Christian God, as I interpreted it as a divine moment that God was happy with me, and I don't think any other of these "gods" would be happy with me if I was getting confirmed to another.
 
I'll post a moment I had when I was young and not yet an atheist.

It was cold, quiet morning, and the dew on the grass were like tiny beads of glass. I woke with excitement and anxiousness. Leaping from my bed, I ran into the family room, and beneath the altar we had erected to His divine benevolence, was the bounty and reward for a life of faithfulness and being good for goodness sake.

The sacrifice we had prepared the night before was gone, and I took it as a sign that He had been pleased by our confectionery tribute of baked goods and dairy product.

I knew than, as the sun was coming up and my family came together with smiles on our faces, that we had been judged, and found not naughty.

EDIT: This isn't a troll/spam post. As far as I'm concerned, it was a genuine religious experience. I truly believed in the mythical figure and the emotions I felt were real.
 
Considering how I've led a life of constant medical issues, being shoved into the dirt, and people dying around me, I don't believe that there's a God watching over me.
 
I saw fire fall from the sky in a religious event; no joke, [cplor=red]<snip>[/color]

Of course, It was probably some obvious special effect, but I was like 5-years-old and didn't need a rational explanation.
Moderator Action: Warned - language.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889
 
I wouldn't necessarily consider it an intervention, but my most notable spiritual experience would probably be a visit to a little Antiochian Orthodox parish in Midtown Memphis. I definitely sensed the presence of God (presumably the Christian God, as I don't really see why any of the other ones would show up to see him worshipped) in a way that had been absent before. Granted, I had been interested in Orthodoxy for a long time before I visited this church, so there's a chance it could have all been confirmation bias.
 
Well, I'll start. It was in church when I was getting confirmed.

I remember how I was kneeling down in front of the whole church, and my pastor was saying something off the bulletin.
I looked up, and there, through the colored glass window standing above the altar, was the sun, shining down on my pastor's head and giving me its bright light. I had to get confirmed almost exactly then, or else the sun, or what I thought was the sun, would not be shining through that window on me.

Of course, it had to be my Christian God, as I interpreted it as a divine moment that God was happy with me, and I don't think any other of these "gods" would be happy with me if I was getting confirmed to another.

Okay so the religious experience is that the sun was shining at you at some specific moment of time and you assume that that it was the will of God because it happened at just that moment?

How is the Church built (ie to which direction is the tainted glass)? How big is the tainted glass? When did you have your confirmation ceremony (eg 13-14pm)? For how long was the sun shining at you? How long were you standing there?


I wouldn't necessarily consider it an intervention, but my most notable spiritual experience would probably be a visit to a little Antiochian Orthodox parish in Midtown Memphis. I definitely sensed the presence of God (presumably the Christian God, as I don't really see why any of the other ones would show up to see him worshipped) in a way that had been absent before. Granted, I had been interested in Orthodoxy for a long time before I visited this church, so there's a chance it could have all been confirmation bias.

Indeed. If I had been studying something that truly "connected" to me on a personal level, say history, I'd feel something that sounds like a religious experience.


In any case, this thread isn't about times you felt close to God but events that you feel were subject to divine intervention.
 
Okay so the religious experience is that the sun was shining at you at some specific moment of time and you assume that that it was the will of God because it happened at just that moment?

How is the Church built (ie to which direction is the tainted glass)? How big is the tainted glass? When did you have your confirmation (eg 13-14pm)? For how long was the sun shining at you? How long were you standing there?




Indeed. If I had been studying something that truly "connected" to me on a personal level, say history, I'd feel something that sounds like a religious experience.


In any case, this thread isn't about times you felt close to God but events that you feel were subject to divine intervention.
Well, divine intervention is questionable terminology, since it seems to imply a sort of soft deism in which God generally chooses not to act in his creation, save for certain moments where he "intervenes," whereas Christianity teaches go to be both creator and sustainer. So almost anything could be seen as "divine intervention" in a certain light.
 
Okay so the religious experience is that the sun was shining at you at some specific moment of time and you assume that that it was the will of God because it happened at just that moment?

How is the Church built (ie to which direction is the tainted glass)? How big is the tainted glass? When did you have your confirmation ceremony (eg 13-14pm)? For how long was the sun shining at you? How long were you standing there?
Yes, it just seemed so special. :)

The tainted glass is above the altar, probably 10-15 feet high, facing the whole congregation. There are many of them in the front and in the sides of the sanctuary. It was about 3-5 feet long. 13-14 PM doesn't exist unless you mean the 24 hour day, but it was 10:30 AM in PM/AM time when the service for the whole congregation started, so about eleven. I don't remember, it probably didn't last longer than two to three minutes as I probably stood up after the pastor confirmed me. Again, two to three minutes; however long the pastor was talking and didn't tell me to stand up.
This was two months ago, so I don't remember much.
 
religious places are usually built/designed with astronomical alignments in mind. There are tons of temples, monuments and shrines that do exactly what was described with the sun.

Despite this, I think someone can have a legit religious experience, regardless of why they have one. I don't think there is any truth to religious faith, but I think it is a real feeling/emotion that we are all capable of experiencing.

So not to ruin your day or get you defensive, I don't think this thread should be about arguing with people over their experience because there are plenty of other threads for that.

So I'm interested in what, if anything, changed with the experience. Does you perceive the world differently now? What made it a significant event, or what transformation occurred because of it?
 
Not to bash but to add on to another post. I have heard and seen whole "sun glowing on you" thing countless times, you just need to be in the right place at the right time.
 
Yes, it just seemed so special. :)

The tainted glass is above the altar, probably 10-15 feet high, facing the whole congregation. There are many of them in the front and in the sides of the sanctuary. It was about 3-5 feet long. 13-14 PM doesn't exist unless you mean the 24 hour day, but it was 10:30 AM in PM/AM time when the service for the whole congregation started, so about eleven. I don't remember, it probably didn't last longer than two to three minutes as I probably stood up after the pastor confirmed me. Again, two to three minutes; however long the pastor was talking and didn't tell me to stand up.
This was two months ago, so I don't remember much.

Was it special because of the feelings feeling the rays of the Sun hitting on your face or was it special because you think that it was incredibly unlikely for the sun to have struck you in that moment?

Well, divine intervention is questionable terminology, since it seems to imply a sort of soft deism in which God generally chooses not to act in his creation, save for certain moments where he "intervenes," whereas Christianity teaches go to be both creator and sustainer. So almost anything could be seen as "divine intervention" in a certain light.

You've got a point.

But you and I both know that there are people who'd believe that questionable terminology: "my mom was really, really sick so we prayed for her and God saved her!" This is posed to them.

Spoiler :
On a slight side-note: do you believe that there's a point in praying?
 
So not to ruin your day or get you defensive, I don't think this thread should be about arguing with people over their experience because there are plenty of other threads for that.
This is good.
 
Anyone remember Pulp Fiction?

Jules - "This was divine intervention. You know what divine intervention is?"
Vincent - "I think so. That means God came down from heaven and stopped the bullets?"
Jules - "That's right. That's exactly what it means."
 
Not to bash but to add on to another post. I have heard and seen whole "sun glowing on you" thing countless times, you just need to be in the right place at the right time.

Quoted for truth.

I've seen so many stoners walking down stairs with that kind of light, it's not even funny. (ok, it was one tall guy, who was headed off to class from an upstairs classroom to a downstairs classroom while I was heading upstairs, so it happens quite often whenever he passes the window. :p)
 
After the misfortunes that have happened to me (lack of girlfriend, failed relationships, and loss of job), I am convinced that God is mealy a sadistic man who enjoys torturing people. Convincing me not to believe in him.
 
After the misfortunes that have happened to me (lack of girlfriend, failed relationships, and loss of job), I am convinced that God is mealy a sadistic man who enjoys torturing people. Convincing me not to believe in him.

How can you simulataneously believe that God is a sadistic man, and not believe in God? Believing that God is sadistic and likes to torture you is obviously external blame attribution, blaming something else for things that are ultimately your own fault. I'm sorry but it is.
 
I banged my head on a hanging object of some kind that was just above my eyeline. I didn't see it obviously or else I'd have avoided it. Clearly some malevolent desert deity placed it in my way to try to take out some brain cells so I wouldn't be a challenge to him in later days. He tries this trick many times on me, tricky bastard he is.
 
blaming something else for things that are ultimately your own fault. I'm sorry but it is.

I'm sorry, but misfortunes on me are NOT my fault. Is it my fault that the economy is sucky that caused my former employer to lay me and others off? NO!!!. Don't Ever, EVER assume that things gone bad are my fault. Hense forth, I still blame God for my misfortunes and continue to turn my back against him and not believe in him.

Go take psychology if you dont understand and continue to preach "It's your fault".
 
Top Bottom