"Religious experiences" are a real phenomena, as countless people throughout history have had them, myself included, as I have shared in my 2013 book Praying Made Me Catholic. In one respect, in rare instances such experiences provide usefulness in awakening one's faith. Also, they indicate one's closeness in his or her relationship with God. For example, while still living a sinful life I became morally confused and suicidal, at which time in realizing this I prayed and asked "God help me!" as deep down I really did not want to kill myself. The immediate result of the prayer was a vision of Christ on the Cross. From this experience I had the personal recognition that my sins were causing my spiritual misery (there was much more to it, as related in my book) but there was also a way out. I was so overcome with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy that I began to weep uncontrollably. In one regard, I wept tears of sorrow due to a profound sense of personal guilt for my own sins, and in a second regard, I wept tears of joy due to a sense of joy in recognition that God had done something so profoundly loving to forgive our sins: die a brutal death for them! The vision and personal recognition was dramatic enough to stop me from committing suicide that weekend and awaken me to my need for God, not merely to forgive my sins but to change my life for the better. It also inspired me to go on to earn a Masters Degree in Theology. In the following 20 years thereafter, I have also had 7 spiritual dreams, all concerning aspects of evil influences during difficult times in my life, of which after spiritual interpretation gave me true guidance through those difficult times. Lastly, I had an experience, while packing for a home move, when the Holy Spirit spoke directly to my mind that I had discovered a "cursed object" that had been hidden under my bathroom sink, of which I promptly took outside and destroyed. All of these experiences were quite startling, to say the least, as only the one having had the experience knows they were of God, including spiritual dreams beyond the normal psychological phenomena of each sleeping night.
However, as it seems appropriate, such "dramatic experiences" among those who have them are relatively rare, possibly so that their now strong faith doesn't become pridefully arrogant. Recall how Satan and those who followed him did so after having been given the revelation of the Incarnation of God as a man in Christ. From this they became pridefully arrogant in their imperishable angelic selves as "higher beings" than mortal man, and so declared "I will not serve," as the angels are the spiritual intermediaries between God and humans (e.g., guardian angels). In essence they were pridefully arrogant, elevating themselves above God by denying His love of humanity. Thus they fell into the darkness of their own prideful arrogance. And so St. James highlighted, "You believe that there is one God. Good for you. Even the demons believe that and tremble." (James 2:19). The point being, merely believing isn't enough - we must live the Faith. Yet, in the rarity of religious experiences of the more dramatic kind, there are also believers who are such without such experiences and persevere in faith throughout life, based either on a holy simplicity or a firm intellectual grounding. In that I would say they are better souls than me! For they didn't need such dramatic experiences to "wake them up" as God had to do for this thick head!
So then, for such individuals of deep conviction who understand the Faith and have had religious experiences, atheists are merely those who have neither yet had an intellectual recognition of God's love nor had personal experiences of God. Instead of "seeking, asking and knocking," as Christ encouraged and such believers have done, atheists instead continually rationalize to themselves why God "must not exist." Herein, sadly, the atheist is able to lead astray believers who are not as intellectually adept in the Faith. Yet, in doing this, at the same time, whether realizing it or not, atheists are denying other believers of their authentic experiences of God. To such believers of an intellectual faith solidified by religious experiences the atheist unwittingly embarrasses oneself. To this type of believer, the atheist is denying that Someone who the believer has had experiences of doesn't exist just because the atheists haven't themselves have had an experience of that Someone. If ever discovering a believer having had such "alleged experiences" the ardent atheist will go on to try and convince those who have had experiences of God that they had really experienced a "psychological break," often perceived as a "mental crutch" as a form of "self-comforting" within the experiencer. And yet the experiential believer knows better, as they have not psychologically suffered worse for such authentic experiences but have instead grown spiritually healthier, as in losing pridefulness due to a healthy recognition of one's own limitations and growing in loving compassion for all life.
For example, when atheists make such psychological assertions about my vision I will point out that it did not serve as any form of "crutch" to make me "feel better about myself," but rather awakened in me a healthy sense of guilt (neither lax nor scrupulous) in recognition of my own sinful tendencies: thus the tears of sorrow. Furthermore, not only was I not comforted by personal guilt, the experience instilled in me an appropriate sense of responsibility to therefore avoid sin and become a better person. The tears of joy regarded what God had done in Christ, so that was not of me but the longstanding Christian theological revelation.
(Suffice it to say here, to understand why God chose this way of revealing His love in such a brutally extreme way, non-sadistically, was precisely the extreme nature of it. As God, being self-aware of His own nature as "holy," in undergoing such brutality He could and would endure the "worse humans had to offer" and be resurrected due to it as undeserving. This is in contrast to Adam's sin of disobedience all extreme forms of evil that followed, thus deserving death so that humans would not live forever sinfully. As a result of His holy life in Christ, His death in atonement for human sin, by His resurrection He has conquered death for those of us who, in recognizing all this, chose to "follow Him" down the narrow path of lives of personal holiness. Thus Christ has undone the fall of Adam! That's the theology of Soteriology [salvation] in a nutshell, without even discussing the role and nature of sacramental grace. Now, Christology and the nature of the Holy Trinity as 3-in1 [imperfectly reflected in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony: father, mother, child] is a whole other lesson on human ontology as being in the "image and likeness of God." Then we have Ecclesiology [the nature of the Church], or all those who will be saved, as a whole other lesson on the human family as also many members but one body. This should show that theology is no simpleton's formulations but a profound and interconnected revelation of truths regarding our individual and collective relationships with God, the reality of free will aimed to choose good/love over/and the problem of evil, as well as God's love as able to conquer evil.)
Not realizing such a profound revelation of God's love in willingness to bare the worse we could do to Someone, never having had theology articulated to them in such a way, and thus still grasping to justify one's need to for disbelief so as not to bare any personal responsibility for one's own sins, the ardent atheists will compare God to Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or a "spaghetti space alien." And yet, the intellectually experiential believer knows the difference between completely fictitious man-made characters and the God who is Love. Thus Christ warned, "false prophets will arise..., so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." (Matthew 24:24). In other words, false prophets or teachers will even try to lead astray the "elect" (those who will ultimately persevere in faith) if that were even possible, which it isn't! This is because they cannot un-know the revelation of God's love and they cannot un-experience their own moments of it!
Now the following statement is not a condemnation, as all people are able to have conversion experiences of God, whether intellectual, experiential or ideally a combination with growth. And many atheists have had their personal faith awakened and became great defenders of the collective Faith. Yet, the obstinate atheists of ill-will are those who, in a devilish prideful arrogance, elevate themselves above God by denying God, as though he or she is so intelligent that they know for certain that God doesn't exist. In this the agnostic - who neither affirms nor denies God's existence - is less pridefully arrogant and more intellectually honest in stating that he or she just doesn't know for certain. And yet, many an agnostic have also come to faith when finally making the decision to ask, seek and knock. However! We believers cannot judge atheists as "bad people" simply because they do yet believe in God's love because, as noted above, more than likely they've never have had Soteriology, Christology, or Ecclesiology articulated to them in a satisfactory way. So assuming most people to be of "good will," we can give them the benefit of the doubt that they have yet to grasp all of such so as to begin their own personal "walk with God."
"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:7-11)
One last note: it must be acknowledged that there certainly are psychologically delusional individuals who believe they have such "religious experiences," but when examined, will always reveal an incoherence and incompatibility with the whole of the Faith as interwoven and fully understood.
However, as it seems appropriate, such "dramatic experiences" among those who have them are relatively rare, possibly so that their now strong faith doesn't become pridefully arrogant. Recall how Satan and those who followed him did so after having been given the revelation of the Incarnation of God as a man in Christ. From this they became pridefully arrogant in their imperishable angelic selves as "higher beings" than mortal man, and so declared "I will not serve," as the angels are the spiritual intermediaries between God and humans (e.g., guardian angels). In essence they were pridefully arrogant, elevating themselves above God by denying His love of humanity. Thus they fell into the darkness of their own prideful arrogance. And so St. James highlighted, "You believe that there is one God. Good for you. Even the demons believe that and tremble." (James 2:19). The point being, merely believing isn't enough - we must live the Faith. Yet, in the rarity of religious experiences of the more dramatic kind, there are also believers who are such without such experiences and persevere in faith throughout life, based either on a holy simplicity or a firm intellectual grounding. In that I would say they are better souls than me! For they didn't need such dramatic experiences to "wake them up" as God had to do for this thick head!
So then, for such individuals of deep conviction who understand the Faith and have had religious experiences, atheists are merely those who have neither yet had an intellectual recognition of God's love nor had personal experiences of God. Instead of "seeking, asking and knocking," as Christ encouraged and such believers have done, atheists instead continually rationalize to themselves why God "must not exist." Herein, sadly, the atheist is able to lead astray believers who are not as intellectually adept in the Faith. Yet, in doing this, at the same time, whether realizing it or not, atheists are denying other believers of their authentic experiences of God. To such believers of an intellectual faith solidified by religious experiences the atheist unwittingly embarrasses oneself. To this type of believer, the atheist is denying that Someone who the believer has had experiences of doesn't exist just because the atheists haven't themselves have had an experience of that Someone. If ever discovering a believer having had such "alleged experiences" the ardent atheist will go on to try and convince those who have had experiences of God that they had really experienced a "psychological break," often perceived as a "mental crutch" as a form of "self-comforting" within the experiencer. And yet the experiential believer knows better, as they have not psychologically suffered worse for such authentic experiences but have instead grown spiritually healthier, as in losing pridefulness due to a healthy recognition of one's own limitations and growing in loving compassion for all life.
For example, when atheists make such psychological assertions about my vision I will point out that it did not serve as any form of "crutch" to make me "feel better about myself," but rather awakened in me a healthy sense of guilt (neither lax nor scrupulous) in recognition of my own sinful tendencies: thus the tears of sorrow. Furthermore, not only was I not comforted by personal guilt, the experience instilled in me an appropriate sense of responsibility to therefore avoid sin and become a better person. The tears of joy regarded what God had done in Christ, so that was not of me but the longstanding Christian theological revelation.
(Suffice it to say here, to understand why God chose this way of revealing His love in such a brutally extreme way, non-sadistically, was precisely the extreme nature of it. As God, being self-aware of His own nature as "holy," in undergoing such brutality He could and would endure the "worse humans had to offer" and be resurrected due to it as undeserving. This is in contrast to Adam's sin of disobedience all extreme forms of evil that followed, thus deserving death so that humans would not live forever sinfully. As a result of His holy life in Christ, His death in atonement for human sin, by His resurrection He has conquered death for those of us who, in recognizing all this, chose to "follow Him" down the narrow path of lives of personal holiness. Thus Christ has undone the fall of Adam! That's the theology of Soteriology [salvation] in a nutshell, without even discussing the role and nature of sacramental grace. Now, Christology and the nature of the Holy Trinity as 3-in1 [imperfectly reflected in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony: father, mother, child] is a whole other lesson on human ontology as being in the "image and likeness of God." Then we have Ecclesiology [the nature of the Church], or all those who will be saved, as a whole other lesson on the human family as also many members but one body. This should show that theology is no simpleton's formulations but a profound and interconnected revelation of truths regarding our individual and collective relationships with God, the reality of free will aimed to choose good/love over/and the problem of evil, as well as God's love as able to conquer evil.)
Not realizing such a profound revelation of God's love in willingness to bare the worse we could do to Someone, never having had theology articulated to them in such a way, and thus still grasping to justify one's need to for disbelief so as not to bare any personal responsibility for one's own sins, the ardent atheists will compare God to Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or a "spaghetti space alien." And yet, the intellectually experiential believer knows the difference between completely fictitious man-made characters and the God who is Love. Thus Christ warned, "false prophets will arise..., so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect." (Matthew 24:24). In other words, false prophets or teachers will even try to lead astray the "elect" (those who will ultimately persevere in faith) if that were even possible, which it isn't! This is because they cannot un-know the revelation of God's love and they cannot un-experience their own moments of it!
Now the following statement is not a condemnation, as all people are able to have conversion experiences of God, whether intellectual, experiential or ideally a combination with growth. And many atheists have had their personal faith awakened and became great defenders of the collective Faith. Yet, the obstinate atheists of ill-will are those who, in a devilish prideful arrogance, elevate themselves above God by denying God, as though he or she is so intelligent that they know for certain that God doesn't exist. In this the agnostic - who neither affirms nor denies God's existence - is less pridefully arrogant and more intellectually honest in stating that he or she just doesn't know for certain. And yet, many an agnostic have also come to faith when finally making the decision to ask, seek and knock. However! We believers cannot judge atheists as "bad people" simply because they do yet believe in God's love because, as noted above, more than likely they've never have had Soteriology, Christology, or Ecclesiology articulated to them in a satisfactory way. So assuming most people to be of "good will," we can give them the benefit of the doubt that they have yet to grasp all of such so as to begin their own personal "walk with God."
"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:7-11)
One last note: it must be acknowledged that there certainly are psychologically delusional individuals who believe they have such "religious experiences," but when examined, will always reveal an incoherence and incompatibility with the whole of the Faith as interwoven and fully understood.