--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a number of workshops, I have asked…" description: "\"“In a number of workshops, I have asked people whether they have had one or more experiences that they would identify as an experience of God and, if s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/marcus-j-borg-22014_church_in-a-number-of-workshops-i-have-asked-pe_465583.jpg" --- # In a number of workshops, I have asked people whether they… ![“In a number of workshops, I have asked people whether they have had one or more experiences that they would identify as an experience of God and, if so, to share them in small groups. On average, 80 percent of the participants identify one or more and are eager to talk about them. They also…” quote by Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/marcus-j-borg-22014_church_in-a-number-of-workshops-i-have-asked-pe_465583.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/marcus-j-borg-22014_church_in-a-number-of-workshops-i-have-asked-pe_465583.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c1/marcus-j-borg-22014_church_in-a-number-of-workshops-i-have-asked-pe_465583.jpg) > ““In a number of workshops, I have asked people whether they have had one or more experiences that they would identify as an experience of God and, if so, to share them in small groups. On average, 80 percent of the participants identify one or more and are eager to talk about them. They also frequently report that they had never before been asked that question in a church setting or given an opportunity to talk about it.”” [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many people report personal experiences they interpret as encounters with the divine, yet such topics are rarely discussed in typical church gatherings. **In simple terms:** People often feel they have had divine experiences but lack a forum to share them. Key Takeaway Create safe spaces for sharing spiritual experiences. Themes spirituality community dialogue Mood reflective hopeful Type conversational inspirational When to use this quote - small group meetings - church workshops - counseling sessions - faith retreats Key Concepts religious experience personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - How can churches encourage open discussion of personal spirituality? - What barriers prevent people from sharing divine experiences? A Different Perspective Some may doubt the authenticity of such experiences or feel uncomfortable sharing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Small groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-groups/) ## Related quotes > [We identify in our experience a differentiation between what we do and what happens to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-identify-in-our-experience-a-differentiation-between-what-we-do/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [My existence is fuller of other people's experiences than my own. If they cut open my brain, these are what I would retain most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tang/my-existence-is-fuller-of-other-people-s-experiences-than-my-own-if/) [David Tang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tang/) > [Being an American is such a rich environment, because there's so many people from other countries and cultures, and through that you're able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yune/being-an-american-is-such-a-rich-environment-because-there-s-so-many/) [Rick Yune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yune/) > [I take inspiration from my own experiences and from other people's experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-gray/i-take-inspiration-from-my-own-experiences-and-from-other-people-s/) [Loren Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-gray/) > [“People are made of experiences and experience. The first creates the latter. How we react to the experiences is what defines us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-franke/people-are-made-of-experiences-and-experience-the-first-creates-the/) Fritz Franke > [“It always amazes me that once you cut through the clutter, people are pretty much the same. Especially through adolescence and early adulthood. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/it-always-amazes-me-that-once-you-cut-through-the-clutter-people-are/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [I have never seen a ghost. But yes, I believe because I know too many people who have had experiences. When I lived in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-thomason/i-have-never-seen-a-ghost-but-yes-i-believe-because-i-know-too-many/) [Marsha Thomason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-thomason/) > [“Politics isn’t won by commanding the facts, but by connecting with people’s experiences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/politics-isn-t-won-by-commanding-the-facts-but-by-connecting-with/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [There's a whole world of people out here whose experiences are not being reflected in the media that they're reading. And that does affect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-stevenson/there-s-a-whole-world-of-people-out-here-whose-experiences-are-not/) [Noelle Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noelle-stevenson/) > [We don't believe other people's experiences can tell us all that much about our own. I think this is an illusion of uniqueness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gilbert/we-don-t-believe-other-people-s-experiences-can-tell-us-all-that-much/) [Daniel Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gilbert/) > [“Focus group methods by Adam Gottbetter are find their way into and are widely used to examine people's experiences of disease and of health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gottbetter/focus-group-methods-by-adam-gottbetter-are-find-their-way-into-and/) [Adam Gottbetter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gottbetter/) > [Practice is personal; no two people's experiences are alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yongey-mingyur-rinpoche/practice-is-personal-no-two-people-s-experiences-are-alike/) [Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yongey-mingyur-rinpoche/) > [“Be patient. Don't force your experiences on others. The moving of spirit is a great mystery, and how or why or when certain people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/be-patient-don-t-force-your-experiences-on-others-the-moving-of/) [Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/) > [I collect people's experiences. I feel that I build myself not only on my experience, but on other people's. That's important to me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-johansson/i-collect-people-s-experiences-i-feel-that-i-build-myself-not-only-on/) Jonny Johansson > [I write about other people's experiences from time to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriella-wilson/i-write-about-other-people-s-experiences-from-time-to-time/) [Gabriella Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriella-wilson/) ## More by Marcus J. Borg > [“Critical thinking is an unavoidable part of growing up. We do not become adults without it. But in the modern world, this stage often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/critical-thinking-is-an-unavoidable-part-of-growing-up-we-do-not/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“But Christian illiteracy is only the first part of the crisis. Even more seriously, even for those who think they speak “Christian” fluently, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/but-christian-illiteracy-is-only-the-first-part-of-the-crisis-even/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“More than half described Christians as literalistic, anti-intellectual, judgmental, self-righteous, and bigoted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/more-than-half-described-christians-as-literalistic-anti-intellectual/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“a worldwide flood destroyed all life on earth about five thousand years ago requires denying an immense amount of generally accepted knowledge—from astronomy, physics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/a-worldwide-flood-destroyed-all-life-on-earth-about-five-thousand/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“The book of Proverbs makes the same point: Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/the-book-of-proverbs-makes-the-same-point-those-who-oppress-the-poor/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“The notion that there was one “right” way of seeing things disappeared. This was enormously liberating, even if a bit alarming. 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Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“When we read Paul, we are reading somebody else’s mail—and unless we know the situation being addressed, his letters can be quite opaque...It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/when-we-read-paul-we-are-reading-somebody-else-s-mail-and-unless-we/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“Other prophets, other messiahs, came and went in Jesus’ day. Routinely, they died violently at the hands of the pagan enemy. Their movements either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/other-prophets-other-messiahs-came-and-went-in-jesus-day-routinely/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“Because modern critical thinking is corrosive of conventional religious beliefs, some Christians reject applying it to the Bible and Christianity. The result is fundamentalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/because-modern-critical-thinking-is-corrosive-of-conventional/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“The Politics of the Bible The key to seeing the political passion of the Bible is hearing and understanding its primary voices in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/the-politics-of-the-bible-the-key-to-seeing-the-political-passion-of/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“The spoken word has come to dominate many Protestant forms of worship: the words of prayers, responsive readings, Scripture, the sermon, and so forth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/the-spoken-word-has-come-to-dominate-many-protestant-forms-of-worship/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“This book might also be seen as “a Christian primer.” A primer teaches us how to read. Reading is not just about learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/this-book-might-also-be-seen-as-a-christian-primer-a-primer-teaches/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) > [“By the time I began college, anxiety about hell had disappeared—not because I was confident that I was “saved,” but because the whole package…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-j-borg/by-the-time-i-began-college-anxiety-about-hell-had-disappeared-not/) [Marcus J. Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) [Explore all 28 Marcus J. Borg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-j-borg/) ## More Church quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. 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It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) [Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In a number of workshops, I have asked people whether they have had one or more experiences that they would identify as an experience of God and, if so, to share them in small groups. 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