Many of us were taught to treat personal experiences as proof, a prayer that seemed to have been answered, a talk that felt aimed at us, something worked out at precisely the right moment and we called it Jehovah’s hand. Then after removing the JW lens, some just relabel it, oh, it is God’s hand.
But stop and think again, how did you know that?
Here is a simple example:
Suppose you park your car on Main Street and walk into work. An hour later, without your knowledge, the car is towed.
Do you know your car is still parked on Main Street?
No.
You may believe it is, because that was true when you left it, but you do not know it now, because your belief is no longer connected to the present facts.
Knowledge requires a belief tied to reality, not just confidence carried over from an earlier assumption.
And this comes into play when people say, “I know Jehovah helped me,” or Jesus, or Allah, or God helped me.
How… do… they… know?
Did they rule out coincidence, effort, probability, psychology, or ordinary causes?
Or did they move from “something happened” to “[insert your supernatural here] caused it” without sufficient grounds?
But it gets especially hard to ignore when people in contradictory religions use the exact same reasoning, because:
Mormons do it.
Evangelicals do it.
Muslims do it.
Witnesses do it.
It is the exact same method, with different conclusions.
Now let’s say you had a formula that could justify whatever result you wanted.
What would that tell you about the formula?
Or in this case, the method?
Many “spiritual experiences” may be ordinary human experiences interpreted through a conclusion that was accepted in advance.
And that is what I suggest you start questioning.
Was I actually knowing some supernatural being acted, or
was I believing it the same way I believe my car is still on Main Street without checking?
Friends, let me insist, unless you deconstruct from magical, religious and supernatural thinking you are sitting ducks for religious manipulation.
Think!!!
