At the WSJ I asked a fucking retard a question. We will see if the Christian moron wrote a reply.

"Just curious - how does one have a personal relationship with a being that one cannot hear, see or otherwise communicate with in any way?"

"If you are honestly curious, I'll answer you honestly.  If you just want to mock me, please spare my time."

Sir, I'm very interested in why religious people believe these things. I'm hardcore atheist and anti-theist but I can be just as nice as the person I'm talking to. A few weeks ago I had a very friendly conversation with a Christian here at the WSJ. He explained his ideas and I explained my ideas. He didn't threaten me with eternal torture and he didn't insult me with the "I will pray for you" nonsense. I was equally nice.

So please sir, if you don't mind, explain how you communicate with a supernatural being who doesn't seem to be very interested in communicating with us. I will only thank you for helping me understand. I'm not going to give a nice person a hard time. It's pointless to do that and it's wrong.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/missing-the-bigger-story-about-the-pope-1460676337

His first reply. There might be more.

Very good, sir!  I'll start with this: 

Jesus said, "The gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and the sheep listen to his voice.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

I was 3 years old when my mother read Matthew to me.  At the first sound of Jesus' name, I lit up instantly with love and recognition.  I already knew that name and person, before hearing it at 3.  I can't explain that scientifically.

I confess what I fear is weakness: I'm a witness, not a person of faith.  (Not a Jehovah's Witness!)  God spoke to me verbally three times, and intervened physically once, to put me on my U.S. Air Force path and to allow me to do a very dangerous thing when I was paralyzed with abject fear in my duty. Shall I go on?

The physical intervention.  After Message 2, an old lady at a remote Air Force radar station (I was in ADCOM at the time), in civilian clothes, where she didn't belong called me by name and announced I was headed for a change in Air Force status and duty station.  Three specific, impossible, and very nice things.  I thought it was my work buddies pulling a prank.  Almost immediately, I saw administrative action from Malmstrom AFB HQ that me on an impossible path that came to pass exactly as she predicted.  I later found she was human, not an "angel," and had done this sort of thing before.

My primary means of learning about God and serving him is reading the Bible (NIV) for myself, not miracles.  I'm a retired technician and electrician, so I'm not given to what I call mysticism.  I believe what I see and what I know and what makes sense.  Anyone who has ever designed, built, or repaired anything knows "all of what we see" didn't "just happen."  Impossible.

I did more than support surveillance and weapons systems in the Air Force.  Through my faith and knowledge of God, I was able to resolve really nasty "social" problems for others that would have been impossible, otherwise.  Aside from technical things I did in SAC, I believe my spiritual help to others was just as important, if not more so, than my technical achievements.  I "slayed" more than one intensely evil senior officer, by God's help.  If you served, you know the evil and power of quite a few typical Air Force non-rated senior officers back in the day, and how it's impossible to do anything about their damage to people and mission.  Except through God.  I and their would-be victims came out the problems without a scratch.  (Note: rated officers were nearly all great men.  Non-rated officers were the stinkers.)

My reply:

Wow. Lots of experiences, all interesting.

You had what it takes to survive it and solve difficult problems. If you want to believe God had something to do with it that's fine with me. What's important is you were successful.

I was in the Army but because they needed my computer programming skills I had a desk job in the Washington DC area while my brother tried to survive in Vietnam (he got back OK).

Everyone has had different experiences and has different ideas. That's a good thing. It's what makes life interesting.

Thanks for helping me understand what I call "the other side".

Last comment from the Christian lunatic:

I honor you and your brother for your Service.  I'm glad you can relate to the context of my experience, and I'll bet my favorite target pistol you had evil senior officers to contend with, too.  In the Army, the likely stinkers would have been those sans CIBs.

What I wrote for you troubles me.  I know only one other person whom I trust that has been spoken to by God.  I consider myself weaker than others, not "luckier."  There are those of more magnificent achievements and faith than me who have not been spoken to by God or one of his servants.  I struggle with this.  I fear I have an "unfair advantage," and that it's not to my credit.  My only self-credit: I believed, trusted, and loved Jesus at the very first mention of his name.  He's ready for anyone to trust him and follow him, miracles or not.  Read Matthew for yourself, if you haven't.  That's what got me started!  Start with Chapter 1 Verse 18.  http://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/1.htm