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	<title>Comments on: Questioning the question: does God exist?</title>
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	<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/</link>
	<description>Doing theology on the outskirts of evangelicalism</description>
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		<title>By: Justified</title>
		<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/#comment-180</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Justified]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:55:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://apologiachristi.com/?p=155#comment-180</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hi there, I’ve been lurking around your weblog for about a month now. So I just decided to stop lurking and say hi :)]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi there, I’ve been lurking around your weblog for about a month now. So I just decided to stop lurking and say hi :)</p>
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		<title>By: Paul Verhoogt</title>
		<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/#comment-149</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Paul Verhoogt]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:25:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://apologiachristi.com/?p=155#comment-149</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I totally agree with the first part. Questioning is an engine for growth.

The problem with reality or God is that (for us) they exist by the means of perception. People from different cultures, different geographical locations and from a different century all have different perceptions. 

This is why in my view the same Truth/God perceived by people from a totally different background (culture, age group, century, etc) will “look” different (will have a different internal representation). This can be a reason why every culture has (and needs) its own different religion. They perceive God/Truth in a different way, their way. Buddhists don&#039;t even use the concept of God, but they have a very strong sense of truth.
Who is right? Maybe we are all right. 

In my view, the bible, as many other religious references should be read in the context and spirit of its creators and from its own cultural point of view. Only then you will find the truth. The Bible is written in metaphors (as I understand it) Comparing it with our latest model of truth, modern science is useless, fairly absurd and doesn&#039;t make science nor religion more valid.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I totally agree with the first part. Questioning is an engine for growth.</p>
<p>The problem with reality or God is that (for us) they exist by the means of perception. People from different cultures, different geographical locations and from a different century all have different perceptions. </p>
<p>This is why in my view the same Truth/God perceived by people from a totally different background (culture, age group, century, etc) will “look” different (will have a different internal representation). This can be a reason why every culture has (and needs) its own different religion. They perceive God/Truth in a different way, their way. Buddhists don&#8217;t even use the concept of God, but they have a very strong sense of truth.<br />
Who is right? Maybe we are all right. </p>
<p>In my view, the bible, as many other religious references should be read in the context and spirit of its creators and from its own cultural point of view. Only then you will find the truth. The Bible is written in metaphors (as I understand it) Comparing it with our latest model of truth, modern science is useless, fairly absurd and doesn&#8217;t make science nor religion more valid.</p>
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		<title>By: Paul Verhoogt</title>
		<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/#comment-146</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Paul Verhoogt]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:32:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://apologiachristi.com/?p=155#comment-146</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yes, in fact the question becomes truly a question if you are willing to accept its sometimes very inconvenient outcome. Often the capability of truly putting a question is more significant and gets you a lot further than the actual answer that comes out of it.

Agreed, you cannot phrase a question without words. But in my view, the essence of a question are not the words itself. Often the phrase formulating the question does not cover the entire contents/meaning of the question itself (this is a personal matter, and a phrase can have a different contents/meaning for each person).
I would even say that on a personal level sometimes you don&#039;t have to formulate a question in words in order to make it exist for you. Saying this, I might be making a mess of the definition of “question”, which might lead to confusion and ….....more questions.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Yes, in fact the question becomes truly a question if you are willing to accept its sometimes very inconvenient outcome. Often the capability of truly putting a question is more significant and gets you a lot further than the actual answer that comes out of it.</p>
<p>Agreed, you cannot phrase a question without words. But in my view, the essence of a question are not the words itself. Often the phrase formulating the question does not cover the entire contents/meaning of the question itself (this is a personal matter, and a phrase can have a different contents/meaning for each person).<br />
I would even say that on a personal level sometimes you don&#8217;t have to formulate a question in words in order to make it exist for you. Saying this, I might be making a mess of the definition of “question”, which might lead to confusion and …&#8230;..more questions.</p>
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		<title>By: Josh</title>
		<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/#comment-145</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Josh]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:04:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://apologiachristi.com/?p=155#comment-145</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Though we should respect each other&#039;s genuine experiences, that doesn&#039;t mean we cannot question their validity or truth. Any conception of God, any worldview, any supernatural experience, has to be willing to submit itself to questioning. Of worldviews we can say: Do they conform to reality, are they internally consistent, are they liveable? It is those sort of questions that help us forward in our search for truth and help us to disciminate between what needs to be accepted and what needs to be rejected.

I therefore reject the notion that one person has his truth and another person another (opposing) truth. Because if that were true, the opposite of this statement would be true as well.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Though we should respect each other&#8217;s genuine experiences, that doesn&#8217;t mean we cannot question their validity or truth. Any conception of God, any worldview, any supernatural experience, has to be willing to submit itself to questioning. Of worldviews we can say: Do they conform to reality, are they internally consistent, are they liveable? It is those sort of questions that help us forward in our search for truth and help us to disciminate between what needs to be accepted and what needs to be rejected.</p>
<p>I therefore reject the notion that one person has his truth and another person another (opposing) truth. Because if that were true, the opposite of this statement would be true as well.</p>
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	<item>
		<title>By: Josh</title>
		<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/#comment-144</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Josh]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:53:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://apologiachristi.com/?p=155#comment-144</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If God does exist and you are not in the know, then asking the question is useful to the extent that you are willing to accept the truth where it leads. Most ask such a question with a prior commitment to an answer, some are really willing to let go of certainties. It takes courage as it might upset one&#039;s world.

I don&#039;t see how one could phrase a question without words. One even needs words to express the notion of not using words.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If God does exist and you are not in the know, then asking the question is useful to the extent that you are willing to accept the truth where it leads. Most ask such a question with a prior commitment to an answer, some are really willing to let go of certainties. It takes courage as it might upset one&#8217;s world.</p>
<p>I don&#8217;t see how one could phrase a question without words. One even needs words to express the notion of not using words.</p>
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		<title>By: Paul Verhoogt</title>
		<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/#comment-142</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Paul Verhoogt]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://apologiachristi.com/?p=155#comment-142</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Concerning the question “does God exist” I had some thoughts which I wrote down. I realize that the are not very relevant for the article.

I personally wouldn&#039;t question the source of a genuine personal experience. I personally experience something that maybe others would call “God”. I know a “force” which I feel present inside me. This “force” in itself is invisible but through “communication” (in many different ways) with me it shows its presence. I can feel it is very positive and for me it has no limits.
Personally I call it “the subconsciousness”, a term which I found more useful than the term “God” in my concept of life and as a practitioner of N.L.P. and other psychological reference models. Of course this choice is very personal as it works for me. I think both the term “God” and “the Subconsciousness” are very much abused concepts as they are not easy to comprehend and go far beyond our rational capabilities.
If you would tell me that what I experience in fact is God I could say that that is fine with me as it is “just” another label for my experience. The experience or contents matters, not the name.
So I would suggest that in your case God definitely exists. For me (let&#039;s say a non-religious person) and my experience I would say under certain circumstances it makes sense to use the term “God” although this might lead to a total misunderstanding. For me it is important to respect and compare each others experiences by using the different reference models. Just the labeling is fairly uninteresting.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Concerning the question “does God exist” I had some thoughts which I wrote down. I realize that the are not very relevant for the article.</p>
<p>I personally wouldn&#8217;t question the source of a genuine personal experience. I personally experience something that maybe others would call “God”. I know a “force” which I feel present inside me. This “force” in itself is invisible but through “communication” (in many different ways) with me it shows its presence. I can feel it is very positive and for me it has no limits.<br />
Personally I call it “the subconsciousness”, a term which I found more useful than the term “God” in my concept of life and as a practitioner of N.L.P. and other psychological reference models. Of course this choice is very personal as it works for me. I think both the term “God” and “the Subconsciousness” are very much abused concepts as they are not easy to comprehend and go far beyond our rational capabilities.<br />
If you would tell me that what I experience in fact is God I could say that that is fine with me as it is “just” another label for my experience. The experience or contents matters, not the name.<br />
So I would suggest that in your case God definitely exists. For me (let&#8217;s say a non-religious person) and my experience I would say under certain circumstances it makes sense to use the term “God” although this might lead to a total misunderstanding. For me it is important to respect and compare each others experiences by using the different reference models. Just the labeling is fairly uninteresting.</p>
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	<item>
		<title>By: Paul Verhoogt</title>
		<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/#comment-141</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Paul Verhoogt]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:22:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://apologiachristi.com/?p=155#comment-141</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you doubt the existence of God you need to ask the question (not necessarily in words) to get an answer. If you firmly believe (or not believe) in God the question in fact is not a question as the answer is already there before the question is asked.
So for me the question is either useful or innocent.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you doubt the existence of God you need to ask the question (not necessarily in words) to get an answer. If you firmly believe (or not believe) in God the question in fact is not a question as the answer is already there before the question is asked.<br />
So for me the question is either useful or innocent.</p>
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		<title>By: Josh</title>
		<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/#comment-138</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Josh]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:53:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://apologiachristi.com/?p=155#comment-138</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If the words are too large, you need to stand away a little. Great to meet you here Tim. Welcome.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If the words are too large, you need to stand away a little. Great to meet you here Tim. Welcome.</p>
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		<title>By: Tim M.</title>
		<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/#comment-137</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tim M.]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:52:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://apologiachristi.com/?p=155#comment-137</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I like this one, although I find that I had to re-read some parts due to the large words.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I like this one, although I find that I had to re-read some parts due to the large words.</p>
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		<title>By: J.W. Wartick</title>
		<link>http://apologiachristi.com/2010/02/20/questioning-the-question-does-god-exist/#comment-133</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[J.W. Wartick]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:39:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://apologiachristi.com/?p=155#comment-133</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Thanks for this post, it&#039;s encouraging to see others working hard to advance Christian Apologetics as a highly useful thing for Christians while still maintaining a strong view of faith.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thanks for this post, it&#8217;s encouraging to see others working hard to advance Christian Apologetics as a highly useful thing for Christians while still maintaining a strong view of faith.</p>
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