Testimonies of other faiths

[_CurrentlyAlive]

Here is a collection of testimonies from many faiths:

http://testimoniesofotherfaiths.blogspot.com/

What is your take on experiences like these?

[Guest]

That they are as equally valid (or as equally invalid) as those claimed by Mormons.

From the link:

"I also started praying a lot and praying consistently (probably for the first time ever). I realized I couldn't do this on my own, but I recognized the true gravity of this decision, and so I tried to clear my mind of all preconceptions and I honestly prayed (on many occasions over those months) something like this:
'God, if any Christian sect holds truest to your truth, or if somehow they all do, or certain ones do, please show me so I know how to best worship you. I want your Truth -- no matter the cost.'
And I tried to make sure that I meant it. Each time that I can remember praying that, I got an answer which was along the lines of a 'statistical miracle,' ...and it always pointed towards <insert religion you want to believe in>. I would always feel at peace after this was revealed to me, not because <insert religion you want to believe in> is the most comforting choice... but because the Truth became clear to me, finally."

[_GrandMoffTarkin]

That they are as equally valid (or as equally invalid) as those claimed by Mormons.

Exactly

[_CurrentlyAlive]

That sounds pretty ambiguous. Are you saying that none of them are valid? All of them?

[_Bazooka]

That sounds pretty ambiguous. Are you saying that none of them are valid? All of them?

I'm saying that if you were to consider one of them valid, you would have no justifiable reason for considering the others (any others) invalid.

[_CurrentlyAlive]

I see. Does anyone have a perspective that allows for valid spiritual experiences?

[_Bazooka]

I see. Does anyone have a perspective that allows for valid spiritual experiences?

Lots of people do.
But that's not what you're asking, right?

You seem to want to know if any ones spiritual experience can Trump someone else's in terms of validity and why, right?

[_subgenius]

That sounds pretty ambiguous. Are you saying that none of them are valid? All of them?

I'm saying that if you were to consider one of them valid, you would have no justifiable reason for considering the others (any others) invalid.

Not true.
I am capable of having a valid, and validating, experience that, may or may not, contradict another person's equal capability to experience the same.
For example, That I love my wife can certainly be true and the same can be said about another man loving his wife...but by me not loving his wife does negate the truthfulness of my love for my wife...nor does it negate that either of us love our wife, or that our wives are the only true wife.
This can also be realized by noticing that ...once again (ugh)....you are feebly trying to argue that the validity of a spiritual experience is bound to physical laws - or even vice versa. <--- and to either of these ends you have provided no evidence or proof that this a valid requirement or that such a requirement can be established.

[_GrandMoffTarkin]

I'm saying that if you were to consider one of them valid, you would have no justifiable reason for considering the others (any others) invalid.

Not true.
I am capable of having a valid, and validating, experience that, may or may not, contradict another person's equal capability to experience the same.
For example, That I love my wife can certainly be true and the same can be said about another man loving his wife...but by me not loving his wife does negate the truthfulness of my love for my wife...nor does it negate that either of us love our wife, or that our wives are the only true wife.
This can also be realized by noticing that ...once again (ugh)....you are feebly trying to argue that the validity of a spiritual experience is bound to physical laws - or even vice versa. <--- and to either of these ends you have provided no evidence or proof that this a valid requirement or that such a requirement can be established.

False analogy. The type of testimony we are talking about is about absolute truth, not about loving one's wife. When a TBM says that the "church is true" they are not claiming that it is the best church for them and that another church may be a better fit for someone else and therefore just as true for that person. Rather, they are saying that CJCLDS is the only true and living church endorsed by the god of the universe.

Yet others feel the same about their religion...they can't all be right.

Now, you might say, that's not what the feeling they experienced actually meant, it's just how they interpreted it. And I'd agree with you if you said that.

[_LittleNipper]

Not true.
I am capable of having a valid, and validating, experience that, may or may not, contradict another person's equal capability to experience the same.
For example, That I love my wife can certainly be true and the same can be said about another man loving his wife...but by me not loving his wife does negate the truthfulness of my love for my wife...nor does it negate that either of us love our wife, or that our wives are the only true wife.
This can also be realized by noticing that ...once again (ugh)....you are feebly trying to argue that the validity of a spiritual experience is bound to physical laws - or even vice versa. <--- and to either of these ends you have provided no evidence or proof that this a valid requirement or that such a requirement can be established.

False analogy. The type of testimony we are talking about is about absolute truth, not about loving one's wife. When a TBM says that the "church is true" they are not claiming that it is the best church for them and that another church may be a better fit for someone else and therefore just as true for that person. Rather, they are saying that CJCLDS is the only true and living church endorsed by the god of the universe.

Yet others feel the same about their religion...they can't all be right.

Now, you might say, that's not what the feeling they experienced actually meant, it's just how they interpreted it. And I'd agree with you if you said that.

As a Christian, I feel that my testimony is most importantly what God has done for me through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is nothing really to do with what "church" I attend. God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit are with me wherever I am. This is what Christianity is all about.