If from several of these reasons, please indicate carefully the order of their importance.
4. Or do you not so much believe in God as want to use Him? I can't use him very definitely, yet I believe. Do you accept Him not so much as a real existent Being, but rather as an ideal to live by? More as a more powerful ally of my own ideals. If you should become thoroughly convinced that there was no God, would it make any great difference in your life—either in happiness, morality, or in other respects? Hard to say. It would surely make some difference.
5. Is God very real to you, as real as an earthly friend, though different? Dimly [real]; not [as an earthly friend].
Do you feel that you have experienced His presence? If so, please describe what you mean by such an experience. Never.
How vague or how distinct is it? How does it affect you mentally and physically?
If you have had no such experience, do you accept the testimony of others who claim to have felt God's presence directly? Please answer this question with special care and in as great detail as possible. Yes! The whole line of testimony on this point is so strong that I am unable to pooh-pooh it away. No doubt there is a germ in me of something similar that makes response.
6. Do you pray, and if so, why? That is, is it purely from habit, and social custom, or do you really believe that God hears your prayers? I can't possibly pray—I feel foolish and artificial.
Is prayer with you one-sided or two-sided—i.e., do you sometimes feel that in prayer you receive something—such as strength or the divine spirit—from God? Is it a real communion?
7. What do you mean by "spirituality"? Susceptibility to ideals, but with a certain freedom to indulge in imagination about them. A certain amount of "other worldly" fancy. Otherwise you have mere morality, or "taste."
Describe a typical spiritual person. Phillips Brooks.