How EXACTLY do you know if god has chosen you?

[BwhoUR]

I hear posters say that they just "know" they have been chosen and that when god wants you, or when the time is right, he'll "call" you.

1. Can anyone explain in a way that an ex-believer can understand, specifically what "being called" actually was for you? And,
2. How do you know FOR SURE, that it is not just your own desire to be called (or some mental illness - no offense meant here) that is actually at work here?

[bareslehm]

Check out this web page.

http://www.sigler.org/sirius8/callindex.htm

I won't be reading the attached book in response to a song that inspires me which was in response to a short anecdote that inspired you. I don't have the time. I appreciate your responses to my OP, however you have not been able to answer the questions other than with your interpretation of scripture which is not debating or answering. Thanks anyway.

I work as a missionary. For me, my calling (if you want to call it that) came through other people. I met some people who inspired me, one person called me on the phone and asked if I had thought about becoming a missionary. So I thought about it, and it felt right. Then I prayed to Jesus that he would permit or deny me to go in this direction. So when i went I felt it was with his permission and blessing.

How do people know they are saved. Well for me it is an inner peace coming from the fact that I have complete confidense in Jesus as my saviour. I know that he will save me, so I dont have to worry about that. My worry is about saying with Jesus, not loosing my faith in him, and how I can serve him best. (in all fairness, I worry about other things as well, and do not always spend my time in a constructive way)

[Slopeshoulder]

On the one hand,. I think election is an absurd and sick idea.
I think calvinism is a crock.
And the notion that we can even talk about god doing something, like "calling," is nonsense in my opinion.

However, what all these have in common that I do find interesting is that they emphasize a kind of necessary religious sensibility, a spiritual orientation or filter, a certain kind of non-linear intuition or pattern recognition or pattern making for the story (god) behind the story (life). From christianity to hinduism, they stress that some people have or develop a talent for religion. It is an attempt to account for the differences between say a Thomas Merton and say a Donald Trump.

[bareslehm]

On the one hand,. I think election is an absurd and sick idea.
I think calvinism is a crock.
And the notion that we can even talk about god doing something, like "calling," is nonsense in my opinion.

However, what all these have in common that I do find interesting is that they emphasize a kind of necessary religious sensibility, a spiritual orientation or filter, a certain kind of non-linear intuition or pattern recognition or pattern making for the story (god) behind the story (life). From christianity to hinduism, they stress that some people have or develop a talent for religion. It is an attempt to account for the differences between say a Thomas Merton and say a Donald Trump.

What? Could you write that in simpler terms?

[Slopeshoulder]

On the one hand,. I think election is an absurd and sick idea.
I think calvinism is a crock.
And the notion that we can even talk about god doing something, like "calling," is nonsense in my opinion.

However, what all these have in common that I do find interesting is that they emphasize a kind of necessary religious sensibility, a spiritual orientation or filter, a certain kind of non-linear intuition or pattern recognition or pattern making for the story (god) behind the story (life). From christianity to hinduism, they stress that some people have or develop a talent for religion. It is an attempt to account for the differences between say a Thomas Merton and say a Donald Trump.

What? Could you write that in simpler terms?

No. I'm sorry.

[Benoni]

On the one hand,. I think election is an absurd and sick idea.
I think calvinism is a crock.
And the notion that we can even talk about god doing something, like "calling," is nonsense in my opinion.

However, what all these have in common that I do find interesting is that they emphasize a kind of necessary religious sensibility, a spiritual orientation or filter, a certain kind of non-linear intuition or pattern recognition or pattern making for the story (god) behind the story (life). From christianity to hinduism, they stress that some people have or develop a talent for religion. It is an attempt to account for the differences between say a Thomas Merton and say a Donald Trump.

Election has the way God does things; He called out a people for His name; now He calls out a people for His name to save the remainder of all mankind. What people do not see is the Priesthood of God.