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Bible Questions and Spiritual Discussion
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Spiritual experience VS emotion
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A question has been on my mind for a while now and that is: what is the difference between a spiritual experience and an emotional experience? I have had both and to be honest they are very similar.
I guess this question first came to me when I had met a new friend who was the type that believed in God but that’s about it. Anyway we both met a Muslim man and he was telling us about how he had done the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. He was a diabetic and he had been explaining how after this long walk they all go to the masque for their service. As he was telling his story he was explaining how crowded it was and that they only had one bathroom and he didn’t think he would be able to do this because of illness. He went on to praise allah. To him it was a spiritual/religious experience and it was only because of his god that he was able to complete the entire pilgrimage.
I have also had what I consider a religious/spiritual experience when I and a group of friends were praying over one of my other friends that was not saved. You could feel the oppression in the air and it was real to me like another presence was in the room with us.
Now for a worldly example, I went to the Kiss reunion concert and arrived 4 hours early. It was December in Germany and very cold and me and my friend just stood there on concrete until the gates open. My back was killing me and all I wanted to do was sit down, but I was in the front. The two opening bands played which seemed to take forever and I told myself I was at least going to stand in the front for the first song and then I would go sit down. The lights went dark and they did the intro thing and the curtain dropped and I was 8 years old again for like 2 hours. Needless to say by this point that I didn’t move or go sit down and I forgot about my back.
I guess the reason why this question bothers me is that when I see someone talking about a religious experience from another religion I brush it off as emotions or something like that and now I have to consider that they do the very same thing when they hear a Christian talking about their experience.
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Lost Sheep 02/02/2013 23:34 |
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James Griffey
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02/08/2013 09:48 |
hmm...my two cents? So long as you stay up with staying in the Word daily and immerse yourself, you will begin to better sense what the difference is.
at the same time, it depends on how you define 'spiritual', I suppose, because to some people, everything may be spiritual in a degree, let it be good or bad.
As for me, emotional would be like meeting up with an old friend I had lost contact with for a while.
Spiritual would be like going through a DAB podcast and putting on some good Christian Contemporary music and just staying in tune with God and his word.
Have a good day,
James "Bibleman"
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Craig from Illinois
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02/15/2013 18:21 |
I agree, James. Being aware of ALL that comes and goes through our experience is "spiritual". Having those experiences viewed through the lens of God's scripture IS experiencing God. The alternative is blind selfishness.
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Julie
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02/17/2013 10:34 |
I believe we are all capable of much more than we think we are - especially with motivation. To me, your story of the KISS concert and his story of Mecca are similar. For a Muslim, Mecca is the pinnacle of their religious experience, and for you, the adrenaline rush alone counts for a lot.
As James mentioned, different people have different definitions of what constitutes a "spiritual experience" - but for me the most authentic are those that cannot be accounted for by one's environment or state-of-mind. God's interruptions are unmistakable.
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Lost Sheep
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02/18/2013 22:34 |
Julie, That is what I am trying to get my head around. How can we discount someone elses experience and say that ours is really from God?
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Catholica
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02/19/2013 11:44 |
Lost Sheep, if I may add my opinion. Human beings cannot help but have spiritual or religious experiences. That is because we are spiritual beings, a union of body and soul, and we have been created by God for God. He has placed us each in a world under different circumstances in different places, but ultimately we remain connected to God because He maintains our life and is continually offering us the grace to seek him.
Different people, because of their circumstances, seek him in different ways. I'm not saying that this is correct or what God intended, but it is the reality. God works on everyone in a special way with the purpose of bringing them to Himself. It's like a customized program for every soul. Each person chooses whether to respond to that grace and many do so, and when they do it is often flavored by their own personal experiences.
God will often at first use involve our emotions when doing certain things to help us know that we are on the right track. Another term for this is consolation. There are lots of things, though, that induce emotions and we shouldn't confuse the emotional response of our bodies with all spiritual experience though. The saints who have lived their lives in closest union with God often experience periods of intense spiritual dryness. God does this so that he might free us from loving God as if he ran a candy store: this helps us to love God because He is God and not because God makes us feel good. If we love God because He makes us feel good, we are loving the good feelings and not God Himself.
In any case, it is important to not pigeon-hole God to think that He will not work on people who follow false religions such as Islam. When God draws people to himself, people will naturally follow some kind of religious principles that they associate with God (whether that religion is one they have crafted themselves, or one they have adhered to outside themselves). If they are faithful to what they perceive God to be and do so with an open heart, those who follow false religions will try them and find them wanting in one way or another. A true religion will help a person remain unstained from the world and prompt them to care for those in need. James 1:27. If a person is not growing in sanctity when following their religion, then they are not following the truth and need to be honest with themselves and continue seeking. If they find their personal "religion" wanting, and unstable, they might seek wisdom from those more established religions which have come before.
When I speak of people adhering to religion, I mean everyone. Some people say that they are "spiritual but not religious". But if they look at what they actually believe and practice what they will find is that really they adhere to a religion that they themselves have crafted. Religion is a set of beliefs and practices that guide the human person.
So anyway, I have followed my usual tangent. Returning to the question at hand...
How can we discount someone else's experience and say that ours is really from God? First we should never discount another's experience. We cannot put that sort of limit on God. The Spirit blows where He will. How can we say that ours is really from God? The proof is in the fruit that it produces in us. That proof should be sanctity and genuine love of neighbor and other fruits of the Holy Spirit. We should not rely on our emotions to know, as emotions are very unreliable. Rather we will grow to radiate truth, goodness and beauty. Our experiences will help craft us to be more like Christ to the world.
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Alison Mary
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04/02/2013 19:19 |
Dear Lost Sheep
I have just read your 'spiritual experience v's emotion' with much interest. It is exactly this that believers try to put into words so that evidence of the Living God can be conveyed with the tongue, and therefore believed unto salvation. If this was always possible to do then the everyday Christians job as a servant would be so much easier and without the fear of rejection amid the trembling, with no need for praying for the lost.
I can only suggest that you read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 about being reconciled with God, then take it from there. If you are already reconciled with God then please accept my apologies for being misguided.
This reconciliation first brings you into a place were the presence of the LORD JESUS pours mercy on our pride. What a mixture of truth happens in that place when we see ourselves and are humbled, yet also experiencing the peaceful mercy of God, it can never be mistaken as emotional to the one who receives. Yet having said that to an unbelieving onlooker they would attribute our tears of joy as nothing more than emotion.
Yes we can as human beings find ourselves in situations that lift us beyond our pain and aid us to forget for a while but after having been reunited with God through JESUS there is no mistaking a visitation from the Almighty. Nothing will ever be the same again or can ever be compared to the presence of the LORD JESUS, and presence brings with it something that HE is giving you.
I would like to think that I wouldn't burst anyone's bubble in believing that they have had a encounter with the LORD, but neither would I like to leave someone in the dark as I believe that would be worse.
With kindness and prayer.
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Alison Mary
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04/02/2013 22:30 |
OOPS, sorry you did explain you've experienced both, my excuse for my ignorance.... tired and not taking it in properly.
Still hope my response may help with answering your question.... I'm slightly embarrassed now lol.
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Teshome
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12/15/2013 14:38 |
Dear DAB Family,
I always ask myself, “What do I tell Jesus about what I have done to enrich his Kingdome on the earth when I see him?” Although I do believe that we’ll be saved by grace not by our own work.
I have a pretty good life, as God has been doing great things in my life which I never imagined. God keep on blessing me from time to time. But I start to question myself about what the purpose of my life is about? Is that all about I, ME, MYSELF & MY FAMILY?
I have a great desire to serve the neediest, to share with others and encourage the disappointed. I’m trying my best to do good for others whenever I get the opportunity to do so. But the ambition in my inner core is more than addressing individuals once in a while. I had been through a lot in my previous life and I always think those who are facing similar situations and wish to support, encourage and comfort them. I am asking God to give me the revelation, the wisdom and the strength to serve the neediest, to be used by God and do the desire which he put deep in my heart. How can I overcome my emotional & spiritual self-struggle?
Yours in Christ,
Teshome
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