The ecstatic experience of God is certainly a real feature of any genuine Christian faith. I myself have had such experiences on numerous occasions, the most powerful being the day of my conversion when I visibly saw the Lord Jesus Christ (and heard Him speak to me).
Nevertheless, the idea that an ecstatic experience of God-- of the Triune God of the Bible-- can be generated, contrived or forced, is an entirely pagan notion.
Moreover, if contrived or forced experiences are powerful to the individual, which they often are, then they are either psychological manipulations, or, worse, manifestations of some other spirit than the Holy Spirit, most likely a spirit that is opposed to God and who intends to deceive the person having the experience.
The Kirkwood Center
The ecstatic experience of God is certainly a real feature of any genuine Christian faith. I myself have had such experiences on numerous occasions, the most powerful being the day of my conversion when I visibly saw the Lord Jesus Christ (and heard Him speak to me).
Nevertheless, the idea that an ecstatic experience of God-- of the Triune God of the Bible-- can be generated, contrived or forced, is an entirely pagan notion.
Moreover, if contrived or forced experiences are powerful to the individual, which they often are, then they are either psychological manipulations, or, worse, manifestations of some other spirit than the Holy Spirit, most likely a spirit that is opposed to God and who intends to deceive the person having the experience.
8 months ago | [YT] | 3