I can't convince you that I experienced God's presence, and that he healed my depression, but do you think you have a right to judge such a thing, when if you are honest - you were not there.
Please don't give the natural explanations for such things. i am well versed and thoroughly knowledgeable concerninng post hoc reasoning and confirmation bias, but the confirmation of an antecedant is still valid in science even if not a proof, if you find a viable evidence. Yes, ys, I know about post hoc ergo propter hoc, apriori, and posteriori reasoning, pre-hoc, memory bias, etc.. Thanks anyway.
I'm sure that many people are utterly convinced that Scientologist auditing sessions "cure" a variety of mental illnesses and psychological issues. I'm sure they "feel" the "body thetans" leaving them, and feel euphoric and relieved that they have been "cured."
None of that makes Scientology any more or less legitimate than Christianity and your "holy spirit" experience.
I've "felt God's presence" too, you know.
The problem is that such "feelings" are inherently impossible to test. They don't happen to everyone, they don't feel the same to everyone, and people can have similar experiences from wildly different belief systems that seem mutually exclusive. The identification of whatever causes the feeling is purely arbitrary, based only on the pre-existing beliefs of the individual. A Christian will feel God or Jesus; a Muslim will feel Allah, etc. Sometimes the "feeling" is brought on by prayer, other times by quiet meditation, or even the auditing sessions Scientologists are so fond of.
None of it is supported by any amount of real evidence. Religious people do not show a lower rate of mental illness than nonreligious people. Medically speaking, those who have relied on faith for healing (whether mental or physical ailments) have suffered for their foolish reliance on unsubstantiated flimflam and nonsense.
We don't need to be there to know that no external deity cured your depression, Mike - if you can't show that the deity exists, you can hardly show that the diety took action. I fully accept that you may have found peace of mind that snapped you out of depression through your faith - but that's nothing more than a mental placebo.
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