All religions require some version of faith considering the lack of evidential proof. However, many devoted members of all religions claim to know with reasonable certainty they’re right. Anecdotal knowledge is based on a special experience or sacred emotion or the still, small voice or Holy Ghost. Some even claim miraculous visions or revelation as undeniable proof. The only possible explanation is God, right?
To those who believe the still small voice, how can you be certain that your experience wasn’t constructed by Satan? What if the cunning Devil tricked you into thinking that the answer to your prayer was genuinely a confirmation of the Mormon truth. You had a peaceful and happy feeling, but that’s not irrefutable proof that God did it. Some may argue that only God is capable of peaceful and happy feelings. Says who? Sure, there are a number of scriptures to illustrate this teaching. But what if Satan manipulated the Bible to mislead us and give us a false sense of security?
It’s possible the father of all lies has lied to us; he could’ve defiled the Bible and deceptively confirmed our prayers with good feelings. You might be thinking, “Well, God wouldn’t let that happen. God is way more powerful than Satan and he would protect sacred scriptures and provide reliable revelation, right?”. Those who support this rebuttal have probably read verses in the Bible explaining God’s omnipotence and wisdom over Satan.
It is possible that Satan is so clever he has even tricked God! He led the All Mighty one to believe his power was greater. “Yep, you’re so much more powerful, God *wink *wink”, I imagine the devious Devil scheming once again. There is no verifiable way to confirm with absolute certainty that Satan is not more powerful. It’s even possible Satan constructed the entire idea of a loving God who cares about us. Maybe it’s just an evil and tyrannical deity watching over us completely fucking with us and our entire existence is just a giant sandbox for some psycho’s entertainment. Can anyone falsify my claim? Please, prove me wrong. It’s even possible to consider Jesus Christ was just a sneaky disguise of Satan. Maybe Joseph Smith’s first vision was just an illusion meant to deceive the boy prophet. Even the current prophets and leaders of religions could be directed by Satan.
Unfortunately, there is not way to accurately verify your anecdotal revelations. If you pray again to make certain it was God and not Satan you might feel a happy warm feeling, but how do you know it’s not just Satan again. Tricky tricky!
There is absolutely no logical reason why anyone should subscribe to any one particular religion - that’s why I’m atheist. Faith can be deceptive. The line between foolish imagination and religious belief is tax exemption. Be skeptical and free your intellect.
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