while reading through some of these threads it appears that there are some folks on this forum that believe in a dimension of God that other folks are not aware of. eg. Lark vs. Dr. Skeptic and Hank vs. Scott.

Now for a parable

When teaching a 4 or 5 year old to ride a bike you find a block where the kid says "I can't do it." You grab the back of the seat, say,"I will help", start the kid out and let go. The kid pedals furiously till he/she notices you are gone and then falls over.
The kid yells,"Dad!" You say "OK, I will hold on." and away the kid goes again. Soon the kid realizes that they CAN.

Now the meaning of the parable

Logic says that there is no God or that a relationship with Jesus is phooey. Never saw it, can't touch it. It is not there. So a whole catalogue of things falls into place quite nicely and it finally makes sense. You can now explain PEACE and alot of other things with sociology and human observation etc.

The kid should be able to look on and see others riding and know the truth.

Sometimes you have to let go of your ideas and try to get to the truth. My experience about God is this. I got down on my knees with full knowledge that it didn't work, started telling God how it all was and found out that it was for real. Not to say that there has not been a hand on the back of the seat from time to time since.

I like that Parable Thanks

Notg,

I understand where you are trying to go with your analogy. I agree with it, but I have a slightly different twist on it.

It is obvious to all, including the kid, that what was once doubted, is true after all. Where before is was inconceivable to the kid that a hidden talent was waiting to surface, now it is evident to all that the kid does have the ability to ride the bike with no help.

Lets now take this analogy to the doubter who is searching for God. He says it cant be done, but out of desperation due to rejection from family, or a belief he is going to hell, he searches anyway. And sure enough, he finds some peace and the inner struggle subsides.

Anyone observing can agree, that like the kid on the bike, the doubter is able to once again navigate through life in a less stressful manner, perhaps with an air of confidence that was lacking before. What the observer will not be able to determine is exactly what really did happen.

The kid on the bike reached down into a skill that is a little akin to an instinct animals were born with. They dont know they have it, but when faced with necessity that little program in the DNA that allowed its ancestors to survive gets booted up and a task there was no memory of is now being performed.

My proposition is that this experience that you call, learning God was for real, may actually be learning to tap into strengths you are not consciously aware of. You discover, for instance, that you really can forgive your neighbor, or find joy in the simple pleasures of life. These changes can bring a sense of peace to the mind, and one can easily confuse it with divine intervention; when as with the bicycle, the causes were strictly natural.

The Muslim, the Hindu, the Christian, the Buddhist, the secular humanist, the Atheist; all have learned to tap into that basic human power to transform and to improve our lot in life. Common sense should tell us that this does not prove that our particular subset of beliefs and their origins are the One True Way.

Stan, I agree up to a point. I believe that everyone has the ability to link with God. It is through this ability to get well being that we are attracted to the idea of being in kinship with our Spiritual Creator. Some ancient and not so ancient cultures have recorded their efforts to make this connection. The difference between the different searches is easy to define. It shows in the fear of the rest of the spiritual universe. The true way or rather the way that is in kinship with God looses this fear. An example from Biblical recorded history would be the incident at Mars Hill from Acts with Paul. Another study could be the Native American culture.