How Can I Know If God Is Real

[Leon]

How do I know if God is real, if I cannot see him, hear him or feel him. How can I even know God is an him and not something else. I would like your thoughts?

[sparklekaz]

This is a question that is often asked, and it is a difficult one to answer. Simply because everyone's experience of God is different. We might assume, that God will speak to us, just as a friend or loved one would do. For some people, they may hear God, with their physical senses. For myself my awareness of God, has always been through my senses and emotions.

I feel his presence as a warm comforting feeling, as if I am wrapped up in a soft blanket of love. When I am anxious and I ask for help, or talk through in my mind, the things that worry me, I have often experienced a sense of lightening inside. My fears dissolving and this is followed by a sense of knowing, that somehow, whatever is wrong, will be alright. So for me, I am aware of connecting with God, through how this connection makes me feel.

For some people, God speaks to them in signs and symbols. He can talk to them, through the women they sit next to on the bus, who smiles and makes them feel happy, when they had been feeling sad. Or seeing an act of unselfishness and kindness. God can speak to you on a beautiful summers day, through the laughter of an innocent child. Anything that raises your spirits and makes you feel good to be alive, to me is interaction with God.

As for whether or not God is male or female, I don't think it matters. I see God as a father figure. Because this is how I was brought up, and it feels right 'for me'. But in honesty, I think that God is the creative energy, the source of Universal love and healing. So an androgynous energy. Neither one or the other, or maybe both, or something else entirely. Who knows!!

These are just my thoughts about God..

Love and light
Kaz

[lindae333]

To me God is that spark within all of us. When we surrender and experience love we will realize this. I feel this is why many beliefs call the spiritual path.. a path to self realization. God is experiential not conceptual.

Linda

[Floraloak]

I agree God is that spark within all of us... when we are down or going through a difficult time God is that tiny voice or subtle nagging in us encouraging us to keep going... when we're high on life and can open our eyes to the beauty around us God is that magical feeling, that deep contentment... that tells us all is okay and right in the world... where it is difficult to 'know' that God is real is when we are focused on our everyday mundane chores... but God is there with us too... we have to learn or remind ourselves to appreciate those everyday things, for they are the stepping stones to the magic of life and love that surround us and is in us... yes it can be difficult to do sometimes... but as Kaz pointed out... look for signs/symbols of God's presence in everything... let go of expectations... (those come from knowing what the highs and lows in life can be like)... and let God guide you through his plan .... not your plan...

If you want to make God laugh and have a good chuckle... stop and tell him your plan...

God bless,
Silvia

[elrick]

Is God real?. Every self-aware, sentient being at one time or another formulates this question. Surprisingly, this fundamental question is simplistic in nature. It is solved by asking another question, "Where did everything come from?" Where did space, time, matter, energy and information come from?

However, the actuality of the existence of God is demonstrated in human experience by the indwelling of the divine presence, the spirit in the mortal mind of man and there to assist in evolving the immortal soul of eternal survival.

The presence of this divine spark in the human mind is disclosed by three experiential phenomena: the intellectual capacity for knowing God -- God-consciousness. The spiritual urge to find God -- God-seeking. The personality craving to be with God.

The existence of God can never be proved by scientific experiment or by the pure reason of logical deduction. God can be realized only in the realms of human experience; nevertheless, the true concept of the reality of God is reasonable to logic, plausible to philosophy, essential to religion, and indispensable to any hope of personality survival.

Those who know God have experienced the fact of his presence; such God-knowing persons hold in their personal experience the only positive proof of the existence of the living God which one human being can offer to another. The existence of God is utterly beyond all possibility of demonstration except for the contact between the God-consciousness of the human mind and the God-presence that indwells man's intellect.

[chiarra]

He's real to me. I see him...in the green grass, the trees, the wild life, the awesome scenery.
I hear him...when i'm quiet and listen....I feel him, when i hold my grandkids...

[tragicone]

What proof have we of the existence of God?

"The axiom which you apply in all your scientific researches, 'There is no effect without a cause.' Search out the cause of whatever is not the work of man, and reason will furnish the answer to your question."

To assure ourselves of the existence of God, we have only to look abroad on the works of creation. The universe exists, therefore it has a cause. To doubt the existence of God is to doubt that every effect has a cause, and to assume that something can have been made by nothing. It sounds complicated but then again God only lets us take on as much as we can handle because we could not handle the full scope of God himself and his spiritual laws. "seek and you shall find" all i can tell you is that is so true. Be a seeker of truth, find your inner self and you will find God, find God and many questions will be given to you. Love and Light to you.

[betterthanbarker]

I disagree with some of the philosophical interpratations of what Faith entails. Im a psychology major, and whenever people say that they can verify Gods existence by looking at their own experiences, I can not help but remember back to our section on something called "biased confirmation."

Biased confirmation is the human tendency to forget information that contradicts our hypothesis and remember what supports it. This is the same reason why police officers when asked if more crime is committed during full moons, will say yes. If we look at the statistics, there is no correlation at all. That is why I always can't help but feel skeptical when people use their own experiences to demonstrate God's power, because they most likely just remember it because they want it to be true.

That is why I've never felt comfortable when people use faith to give credit to God. It would be rather unfair of any diety to grant some with faith and others with none.

[betterthanbarker]

Also, I have to say it, but the arguement from ontology is also invalid.

It begins with the premise that everything comes from something. Fair enough. However, isn't it also self defeating?

If we are trying to solve where "A" comes from, the arguement of ontology says that it can't come from nothing, so it must have come from "B." All right, then where does B come from? The origional premise states that nothing can come from nothing, so saying A came from B only raises the same question, but to the origin of B.

Basically, when you get down to it, you need to admit that something has been around forever. Whenever I'm debating an atheist, the rational side of my doesn't allow me to use the ontology arguement.

[sparklekaz]

Dear Betterthenbarker,

It has been very interesting to read your point of view. So thank you for sharing your thoughts.

For me belief is something that cannot be intellectualised. Though many try. Some talk about their belief in a intuitive way. I fall into this category. Others may do it through theological discussions. For me belief is something that is felt in the heart. Belief or faith, is believing in something that there is no proof for. That is its definition isn't it.

I consider myself a spiritual person rather then a religious one. So do not refer to doctrine to try to articulate my feelings on belief. I do believe in God. I don't believe God discriminates between those who have faith and those who don't. The God I believe in, loves all equally, whether they believe in him or not.

I also do not think that God should be credited with the good things that happen to us in our lives, or blamed for the bad. My beliefs are that it is we as human beings, who are responsible for our own actions, and should accept the consequences of them. It is up to us, to rectify the mistakes we make and through doing this gain in understanding and maturity. To do anything less, or to project blame outward to God or any other personal deity an individual believes in would be an abrogation of responsibility.

For me personally my belief in God inspires me to be something better then the person I am now. My beliefs about God, are that God wishes us to grow and mature as human beings. Through our own efforts, not his. Not only to grow and mature in an emotional or intellectual way, but in a philosophical and spiritual way also.

To fulfill our full potential, whatever that may be, hopefully to the betterment of mankind and the way in which we interact with each other as loving human beings. I would say we have a long way to go.. but believe, we will achieve that in the end. Its all about having faith isn't it.

Love and light
Kaz

[coralheart]

Dear Leon,

This question is one that anyone can ask themselves at some point in their life...so it is not unusual to want to physically see or somehow feel God to be real and know what God is.

The only way I truly know God exists is by describing it to you, from my own experience....

The way I believe God exists is by how my questions get answered. Questions only me, myself ask within my heart and somehow want...and in some way it comes before me.
Also there have been instances when I have been in trouble and I honestly don't know how I made it alive other than by some miracle saving me. These things are certainly not "chances" or coincidences. I believe them to be a force of somekind.
But these are just personal experiences.

How about the order of things in life? The night and day, the precise mathematical calculation for so many things we don't even notice (like how a baby needs 9 months to develop inside the womb, the earth in orbit, etc, etc) Then there are the animals and all the jobs they do right when they are born, the oceans and how they stay seperated (pacific, atlantic). Our eyes and how they see and convert images and get processed by our most amazing mind which can do so many things....
the list goes on forever...

Something had to have created all of this and that particular Entity is One that is a part of us. I think the main reason most people use a "HIM" to refer to God is maybe because of the allegorial context of a strong force that has so much power over all things...

[jessiethecorgi]

One only need look under a microscope to see that God is real. To see complicated concepts expressed as simple mathematical formulas. To see that if it is not simple it is not wisdom. It is all evidence of an intelligent and vast creative force. The force that made the universe. Go to the woods or the meadows and feel the remnant of the breath of life that God the Creator breathed into everything alive and made it so.

[jazz]

Apr 7, 2011 13:38:57 GMT Leon said:

How do I know if God is real, if I cannot see him, hear him or feel him. How can I even know God is an him and not something else. I would like your thoughts?

:)A dear friend of mine gave me this quote whenever i felt lost or had lost faith in anything turning out well for me.
Having faith is believing in what you cannot see,
the reward of that faith is then seeing in what you believed.(so true)

No one can tell anyone what to believe in or not to believe in, that is up to us to experience in our own way and in our own time just what we want to believe in.
Some souls will choose to believe in nothing exists past the earth plane life.
Some souls will choose to believe in life after past this earth plane and life existing in the Great Cosmos of our universe.
If you are being helped, as we all are by a higher consiouness, and angelic forces, that you cannot see , feel, or recognize then
you have chosen to close yourself off to being aware of any help coming into your life other than what you feel you have done for yourself or have accomplished for yourself.
You will live to what you have chosen to believe in or not believe in until you leave this earth plane and you will then find out for yourself what exists beyond this earth plane.
God knows there will be some who dont or wont believe in him, and thats fine with him he loves us all unconditionally, he doesnt judge us for what we do and dont believe in, We Judge Ourselves its the same with anything we choose to do here on this earth plane, at the end of the day its how we feel about ourselves that give us the right or wrong judgement of our actions and choices.
God knows we are here to learn our Earth plane lessons and he also know what obstacles , trials and tribulations we will face here thats why he loves us so much, he knows this earth plane can be a very hard plane to live in with all the many lessons we come here to learn in our many life times some of us will have here.
If you allow yourself to feel, you have been helped when in times of need then you are a step closer to believing in what you cannot see.
Give a little thanks when you "Feel" heavenly assistance has come in and given you any guidance that has helped you in any situation you were stuck in or having a hard time with, our guides and angels are always with us helping us every day in so many different ways it will blow you away if you could open yourself up to all the angelic and spiritual help that comes our way every day from Gods love and Divine light.
What ever experiences we are meant to have come into our lives to help us or allow ourselves to open up to a different way of thinking,believing or feeling will be sent to us, its entirely up to us if we choose to ignore that help,or if we choose to acknowledge it, feel that help,see where we have been helped and believe in it. it is always our choice.
Your spiritual guides work really hard, to try to bring certain things to your attention, if we choose to ignore any feeling then they step back and do not interfere with your free will and choice, if you have to learn a certain way with any lesson then that is how it will be for us as individials.
Your guides are your gut feelings and inner voice, trying to give you guidance and help that we all have connected to our higher selves,,( your spiritual self,) your lower self is the self that will reject the truth, certain feelings, even though you feel you are going against that feeling that is right for you, again if you have to learn any lesson you will choose to learn that lesson your way.
I learned to trust my gut feelings and inner voice years ago, because i know now all these feelings have been my spirit guides and angels trying to help me connect to my higher self to recieve all the lovely help they give us everyday in many many different ways they are my best friends here and i give alot of thanks and blessings to them.

[charu16]

God is real because i would not be able to do all things in life without his support.. and strength given by him ... God is real because i feel happy and happiness is him... God is real because when i cry someone u listens is him and gives me energy and find ways to stop my tears.. that could be just a believe or hope but that believe is him ... i may not see,listen, feel him but all good n positive things i see,listen n feel is him ...
thanks
charu

[rekamennos]

God is life, and without God,we do not exist. Therefore, it is the ultimate proof in itself. Go outside and look at the world around you and ask yourself,how can science prove that God did not make this? How can there not be proof of God's existence if we are not able to find ourselves without his mercy at our side? Our hearts are always in tune with his own, and we speak of words that he grants us to say. Our mind, unlocks our potential to know him, our hands unlock our potential to feel him, and our souls unlock our potential to receive him. We are God's from birth, he remembers every day of our live as though he were watching a film about each of us personally. God can tell you words that makes your heart flutter, and makes your mind at ease. God fills his spirit up with the ones that doubt, and God notices every little heartbeat, footstep, breath. God is the reason we inhale and exhale. God is the reason we can turn our heads left to right to see everything that is around us. And as I sit here,in this chair, writing on this forum I let my spirit out to feel God within myself. I have always felt God, have known God, because I have asked for him to be around me. He is with all of us, even those who do not wish him to be there, it is only a matter of asking him the right thing to get him to reveal himself to you. And strength in your faith. (sorry I tend to get poetic when I write )