Hi MuslimInshallah,
Your words are kind and loving and I appreciate that. I don't think I could dislike you if I tried

I can see that your motivation is good and that you hope and pray for non-muslims to come to Allah because you genuinely care for them. And that is truly beautiful.
But just as I could not dislike you, because you are so kind, I can not believe what I do not, because it just ins't believable to me. I am an avid camper an canoeist and have been most of my life. I find peace and tranquility in nature, of a quasi-transcendent quality. But that just doesn't lead me to see anything supernatural. I sit in awe under the stars looking up at the massive universe and sitting in wonder at how amazing it all is. But that does not lead me to see any reason to believe in a creator God.
We are simply looking at life from different frameworks and worldviews. There is no polite way for you to tell me that I am spiritually blind or that my heart is covered up from the truth that you see, etc, though I must say you come awfully close in your post above. There is no polite way for me to tell you that I see you as engaging in fantasy. But we can love and respect one another and accept that the other simply does not believe as we do. That is all I have been asking for above. I find that some of you religious folks do afford me that, and some do not.
Peace Be Upon You always.
Hello Pygoscelis,
(smile) What I was most trying to say previously was that it might help you to
ask God to help you perceive Him.
Mmm... fantasy...? (twinkle) Perhaps the word "delusional" might be more apt? (smile) I remember reading a story years ago about a fictional explorer who stumbles into an isolated valley in the mountains. Everyone in the valley is blind, and they think he is delusional when he talks about sight to them. They patiently try to explain away all that he is perceiving with his eyes. But when he persists in saying that he can see, they finally decide to surgically remove his eyes, in the hope of curing his delusion...
(smile) Since I can remember, I have "felt" God. (smile) Not feel as in touch, but as in an awareness of God, rather like what I imagine that pigeons feel when they can "feel" their location. (smile) Like a compass swings round, though you can't see anything that causes it to do so, I feel a pull within towards rightness, harmony. And occasionally, I feel a brush with something so vast and so beautiful, that I shiver with my insignificance. (pensively) This, I think, it what the word "awe" truly means.
(smile) How do you explain colour to a blind person?
So yes, I'm afraid I do see you as somehow missing this sense that I can feel. Indeed, it is somewhat mysterious to me how you
can't sense this. But I respect you when you say that you cannot feel it. You have stated several times in this thread that you feel you are being accused of dishonesty when you say you do not feel a connection with God. No, no, I do not think you are being dishonest. I think you are being very honest (smile) And this is why I think it is not impolite for me to say that this sense is somehow muffled in you. It is what you yourself honestly say: you do not feel it.
(smile) But just as the colours of this beautiful world lift my heart, I find that this sense of God adds so much beauty and texture to my life. And if I was to live without it... oh, that would be such a terrible loss!
The immersion in nature I mentioned would not, by itself, necessarily lift the veil on your sense of connection with God. But if you were to
ask Him humbly and sincerely... God might Help you. (smile) The natural setting could help you limit the cacophony on the other senses, and this might make it easier for you to start to open that connection with God, with your petition to Him.
(smile) Though you might think it a completely crazy thing to do.
Anyway, I appreciate your efforts to converse with people on this Forum. It is not easy to be a minority, I know. Especially one that the majority may feel negative emotions towards.
May God, the Sublime, Bless you.