Jump to content
Goodbye Jesus

Hearing "God's" Voice as a spiritual practice?


DeusExy4mJ5S

Recommended Posts

Hi there,

 

I grew up in a Christian home and accepted Jesus when I was very young. I  come from a very charismatic background so intellectual rigor was never part of the discussion about what Christianity meant. It was all about experience and servant hood.

 

In my early teens, I had an experience with what I believed was Jesus and felt him calling me to ministry, specifically to be a prophet (yeah I know how that sounds).

I didn’t hear an audible voice or fall into a trance or anything like that, I just heard this inner voice deep inside of me that was full of love and understanding and that was asking me to live sacrificially on behalf of others.

 

In response to this, I wandered in the charismatic world and eventually I became a part of a Christian ministry that believes in modern day prophets and apostles.

I dropped out of college to study with them I became an ordained minister in that ministry. There were a lot of theological distinctives but the main emphasis was on hearing the voice of God for yourself. For everything.

 

There was almost not a single decision that we did not ask Jesus about. Should we hold this conference? Ask Jesus. Should we have another child? Ask the Lord. How should I spend my money? Ask the Lord!

 

It wasn’t always a sit down and pray for 2 hours kind of thing. We were doing this so much that we “hear” from God just by being silent for a few seconds. Not kidding. It was all the time on tap.

 

I served in that ministry for over a decade until I began to disagree with leadership and the teachings that I began to see had no basis in the Bible.

 

At first I thought the problem was solvable through digging into the Bible more. However, the more I began to dig, the more I saw the problems with the Bible.

 

Anyways, due to other reasons I left the ministry and started reading everything I could about the Bible’s historicity… which led me to realize that it is sorely lacking where it counts and so I started really digging in to a lot of the atheist literature, as that was the only alternative I knew of.

 

And for the most part it makes sense. I don’t have enough evidence believe in inerrancy of scripture nor the literal events that matter (Creation, Moses and the Law, Jesus and the cross), but coming from the charismatic world, I know what I had experienced something substantial.

 

Maybe it was all in my head, but it was real to me. And real to a lot of other Christians too. So while I agree with a lot of the arguments for atheism, I realize atheism is just the answer to one question, and I had a lot of other ones that needed to be answered!

 

So lately, I’ve discovered for the first time postmodern “Christians” like Rob Bell who are never clear on anything but seem to really respect science, logic, and reason while embracing spirituality and mystery.

 

I found out about neuroscience and what happens in the brain when you have a spiritual experience. I read about Jaynes’ bicameral mind theory and studies of people whose corpus callous has been severed and suddenly all of my experiences of “Jesus” talking to me from deep within made sense.

 

I think that when you spend time accessing that part of your brain and interacting with it, it can “dress up and play the role” of whatever you expect it to play.

 

For me the only image of an “Other” that my brain had to draw from was was Jesus. For a Hindu that might be one of the many  gods. For others it might be nature. I think whatever we grow up learning about is the default “persona” that our brain uses when we access that “spiritual” part of our brain.

 

So where I am now is that I really don’t know what to call myself. Maybe it’s hypocritical to call myself a Christian, but I still derive value from talking to and listening to “Jesus” even if I have a more probable explanation of what’s really going on.

 

But, I guess my question is, have any of you experienced anything like this and do you still practice it?

 

It’s not some kind of out there feel-connected-to-the-universe mysticism, it’s personal, intimate, and feels real even though I can’t prove that it is.

 

Anyone had experiences like that and do you think this is healthy behavior to engage in?

 

I mean, the voice that I hear is basically pure love. I’ve never heard anything that would tell me to do something evil to someone. It’s always gentle and loving and for the most part tells me what I expect to hear, just with an authority that comes from someone else telling you something you already know.

 

I’m curious to hear what you think.

 

Thanks!

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of us here were devout Christians. Like you, at some point we realized things weren't adding up,  so we started asking questions & looking for answers. I studied and researched the origins & evolution of both the Bible & the Christian Faith. My study and research began a decade or so ago & is still ongoing.  

 

I found convincing evidence that the Bible is literature. It is not and was never intended to be an accurate historical record of anything. The stories & the characters in those stories, including Jesus, are fictional. Your posts indicates that you know that too, but it appears you are having trouble accepting what you know is true.

 

You confirmed you know why your mind thinks it is hearing Jesus communicating with you, and you know Jesus isn't really doing that. I think you might want to do some research on the power of indoctrination and brainwashing, especially with your Charismatic background. Fundamentalists versions of Christianity require indoctrination to get and retain adherents. 

 

You appear to have done all the right things to free yourself, all that remains is to accept and embrace the evidence that you found. This is a good place to find encouragement and help. I'm glad you found this site & welcome aboard.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to Ex-C, @DeusExy4mJ5S.

 

Congratulations on having the intestinal fortitude to think and research your way out of the thought control.  I takes a lot of courage and introspection to question faith and those who are obsessed with control. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been probing this aspect of the mind for the last decade or so. I was one of those that actually heard a verbal response from "God" a few times. Other than that, it was essentially non-aural, but there were other things like a "Quaker" experience of energy zipping through my body (like a stretched out slinky toy, given a twang). What was the voice, why was it so clear, and why did it seem to know something I could not have physically known? What was the energy? 

 

My hunch so far is that human minds are more than bicameral, and have what seem to be multiple personalities all usually governed by a single conscious personality. Writers of fiction will describe how characters they form seem to come to life, and do and say things that take the writer by surprise but fit with that character. In my own experiments with cannabis, I've had times where a very creative part of my mind will show itself in fashion design for women! Instantly formed visuals of beautiful outfits on women I know projected on my mind's screen. And I'm nothing like that in real life. I've also pondered why it is that in dreams, I can find myself in the middle of a story where I'm someone else, with people I've known for years (but not in reality), and the dream only lasts for a few short moments. Fully formed relationships that never (to my knowledge) existed. This may be where some religions get the idea of reincarnation, and I'm not entirely opposed to that concept actually happening. I've even had a dream where my subconscious "incarnated" as a devil character to see what I would do as a non-believer, and that was fascinating. It seemed to be saying to me that it has creative abilities FAR beyond what I've suspected, and wants to play if I will let it and not be afraid of "wrong thoughts".

 

The experiences I had with "God" lead me to think that the mind fills in where a deity is missing. The desire for a response is craved, and the mind uses what psychologists call an "introject", a virtual parent that appears to remind us of warnings and other possible life-saving information that may be occluded to the conscious mind. This may be part of the tremendous ability that humans have to abstract concepts, which is why we have math and languages. I think the mind also picks up on information that the conscious mind doesn't register unless it is taught to do so. This is where we get an odd feeling about a situation or person, like something isn't adding up right.

 

Those are my quick thoughts. Gotta run...

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a Christian I had convinced myself that the voice inside my head was sometimes the voice of God.  But I also thought sometimes it was the voice of a demon.  And yes, I asked God about every single decision in my life.  That sucked because often God would not answer.  Other times I thought God was telling me to do something weird and strange things would result.  For example I once thought God told me to drive down a random road and a few minutes later another driver hit my van.  Causing an accident didn't seem like it advanced the work of God.  The voice in my head never seemed to know anything I didn't already know.

 

I'm glad I don't believe that stuff anymore.  I still have voices in my head but now I understand that is the sub-vocalization of my mind practicing language.  The world makes a lot more sense that way.  I control the voice.  I don't obey it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to have “experiences” in church where I felt a strong wave of peace, almost an out-of-body experience. Then I began practising meditation and realised that I could experience exactly the same kind of feelings. It was not god but my own mind, a stillness beneath my brain’s continual chatter. Sam Harris explains this very well.

 

My husband thinks my meditation experiences may still be the work of god, as if I could just snap my fingers and god appears, like a genie from a bottle.

 

Everyone’s experience of meditation is unique. Some people see colours, some hear voices.

 

On a side note, a couple of years ago my husband had an emotional breakdown, triggered by work stress, and he ended up psychotic and in hospital for a month. He was hearing the voice of Satan and became paranoid he would be going to hell. Eventually the medication kicked in and he returned to normal. His psychiatrist told me that 25% of people with bipoar and schizophrenia have religious experiences and they often hear voices.

 

Interestingly, when I am taking antidepressants I am no longer able to access the “spiritual” experiences through meditation.

 

The human brain is weird.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was a Christian, I longed to have palpable experiences like you describe. But they were rare and vague. But others claimed that they had experiences so I thought it was just me. Now I think it was my personality... By default I'm a skeptic. I question everything. That's not all that compatible with faith.

 

Is what you are doing harmful? I think it would be for me because I would have to lie to myself to make it work (and I don't think I'd be able to do that anyway). But you seem to know that its not real, but can still derive benefit from it. That seems OK to me.

 

"I mean, the voice that I hear is basically pure love. I’ve never heard anything that would tell me to do something evil to someone. It’s always gentle and loving and for the most part tells me what I expect to hear, just with an authority that comes from someone else telling you something you already know."

If its just what you expect and what you know, then why do you need it? I suspect that you are hearing echos of your own mind. You are a good person, so you "hear" good things.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/10/2018 at 6:53 AM, DeusExy4mJ5S said:

Maybe it was all in my head, but it was real to me. And real to a lot of other Christians too. So while I agree with a lot of the arguments for atheism, I realize atheism is just the answer to one question, and I had a lot of other ones that needed to be answered!

 


I've come to the conclusion that the "voice of God" is but a rogue "agent" in a Christian's brain.  See the following link, specifically the part describing level 3 sub personal agents.  Those fit the bill nicely.

http://meltingasphalt.com/neurons-gone-wild/

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is an interesting view on the voice of god:

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.