A number of posters on this blog have mentioned that they talk directly to God. I’d like to know more about how that works.
How do you know for sure that it’s God on the other end? Couldn’t it be a demon of some sort that’s just pretending to be God? Most God-talkers believe that Satan is all about deceiving, and I hear he’s good at it.
I suppose if the alleged God voice told you to drive off a cliff, you’d be suspicious. But there’s a lot of gray area. Suppose the little voice told you to support capital punishment? There are plenty of religious people on both sides of that issue, so it would be hard to automatically know which side God is on. Is he on the side of frying the humans that he loves so much, or does he support killing the sinners so he can send them to Hell a bit sooner? You can make an argument either way.
I assume that the Devil would try to trick you by throwing in a few “be kind to your neighbor” messages to gain your trust before telling you to load the bazooka. All he’d need to do is say it’s one of those Abraham-sacrificing-his-son situations and most true believers would open fire on the orphanage to prove their love. If I were the Devil (assume for now that I am not), I’d certainly be doing God impressions. I can’t imagine it ever getting old.
“HELLO BOB. THIS IS GOD. TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES AND RUN THROUGH THE MALL TO PROVE YOUR LOVE FOR ME. GO.”
I am curious as to what kind of voice God uses when he talks to people. Is it more of an ESP situation where the thoughts enter your brain directly, or do you actually hear something like James Earl Jones?
What about the feminists who talk to God (if there are any)? Do they hear a female-sounding God?
Perhaps your God sends you messages in the form of small miracles. That can be problematic too. According to my e-mail, many people believe that coincidence plus ignorance is indistinguishable from miracles, e.g. “My cancer is in remission! That could only be because I prayed!”
Seriously though – believers, how does God talk to you?