Is personal experience actually evidence of God?

Some have argued that they have encountered God, so therefore, He exists. I will be the first to say that I have experienced God in deep, personal and intimate ways. That said, whether this is true evidence or not is another question. One might argue, that in any given scenario, this might only be an experience that we attribute to God or a fantasy. This is a fair argument, but it doesn't settle the matter.

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Let's consider the case of a person who tells their friends that during their trip to Indonesia they saw a volcano oozing blue fire, similar to lava. They tell their friends, but their friends don't believe them. The person may or may not be right, but the friends have never seen blue fire pouring out of a volcano. The first person may be lying. It could be in their head. They may have misunderstood what they saw. Or, they may in fact know the truth and have clearly witnessed the situation because they had seen the Kawah Ijen volcano.

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For the outsider, the testimony only carries so much weight, but it doesn't make the experience any less real for the person who witnessed the phenomena.

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That said, to be convinced, the person's friends may listen to the testimony of more than one person. They may be convinced by their friend to visit the volcano. Others may not be convinced at all. They may be unwilling to listen to the testimony of many and may be unwilling to take a trip to Indonesia because it comes at too high a price. There may even be one who sees it with their own eyes, and instead of taking it for what it is wants to get into scientific explanation of the matter. To dissect reality and call it something else isn't to undo it. This last point is all well and good, but it doesn't explain its existence, change that it exists, or make it any less real.

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The joy is in seeking out Truth. If we are truly looking, Truth will be found by us. We just can't follow our GPS to get to it.

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Reference Points:

1. A number of people met Jesus in His day, but not all of them believed, even when they witnessed miracles, saw good fruit, and knew the prophecies. Years later, may not witness the physical person of Jesus, but the evidence for God is still here. Speaking to those who believed at the time, he stated in John 20:29b "Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” At some point, belief is a choice we all must make.

2. When one looks at the blue fire of Kawah Ijen, they must choose whether to enjoy the pleasure of the sight or not. Likewise, it is with experiencing God. There is a point where to witness and have personal experience becomes a matter of choice. Hebrews 11:6b puts it this way, "because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."