A discussion about this issue has been opened in Great Debates. (Thanks to Chekmate for starting it!)
I should know better, but…
Corrado. Reread the OP. Here, I’ll save you the trouble by putting it right here for you:
Nowhere in the entire thing is there ever a mention that this girl was offering her experience as objective proof of the existance of God. From the title, we gather that it was a reason why she believed in God. From the last line, we gather that she has a “knowledge” that God exists, in part because of this event. I know to a man of your genius with and complete and exclusive grasp of the Truth, it’s obvious she accepted the experience as proof that God exists, but I prefer to, oh, I don’t know, give her a benefit of the doubt. Maybe, oh I don’t know, treat her with a little respect. It may be proof to her, and I know from the other thread that other Dopers use these kinds of experiences as proof TO THEM that God exists and may answer prayers. I know I don’t give a flying fuck if you accept it or not, but it is still proof to me.
And then, you go even farther and decide, without much evidence, to decide to make this girl seem stupid by saying shit like:
and
Well, thanks again for taking the scales from my eyes and completely extrapolating a person’s faith to make it fit your own personal agenda. Nope, she couldn’t have a strong, well-thought out faith, of which her expression of this experience is one facet. She must be an idiot, that way, you can judge her, mock her, and feel better about how wonderfully smart you are.
I know I’m just rehashing many of the arguments that I’ve made before in this thread. So, indulge me a little further, and answer me the questions I asked Rilchiam and Revtim, and tell me:
Do you think it’s stupid and inane to have faith in the value of prayer or that God may act in this world?
Is this girl is a complete bint because she has faith that God may answer her prayer?
Do you too think faith in the value of prayer or an active God is idiotic and inane?
Or is it just inane to accept these things as proof of God’s existance?
Czarcasm, the problem is that some posters have said that it is stupid, inane, and idiotic to believe X. Well, those kind of statements don’t just effect a girl who we will never meet, they also are an insult to all people who believe X. And they are insults based on a matter of faith, which do tend to be the things closest to the heart for many Dopers. It’s still classless to insult people for those reasons.
I guess what some people get out of her story is that, if you look for God hard enough, you will find him everywhere. What I get out of her story is the same.
Go figure.