There'll be no progress in understanding human nature or religion if our interpretation of these claims has to be either they're mad or they actually did converse with God =_=
There's one possibility I will admit. Someone who misidentifies what their conscious is. If you want to label your conscious as God, then ya, I spose "God" is talking to you. But again, seeing as how people's conscious changes from one person to another, it becomes evident that the source isn't "God," but an individuals own mind/brain/body.
@snapple:
Humans are naturally biased towards self-confirmation. I'm willing to bet you have numerous "instincts" every day, which don't turn out true, but ou forget about those becuase they didn't turn out to be true. Also, the fact that your mom asked you what you felt, and you said you don't think she'd be going, could easily ahve swayed her to not go for that job, especially if you believes you when you believe you're talking to God. Also, the fact that she asked you what you felt about that instance, and no the Texas incident, implies to me that she had some reservations about going to NC, or that job.
I remember an event, let's see.. 7 years ago where at 3 am, some prostitute (I mean "stripper") knocked on the door of the house I was staying at. Kept asking for "Steve," and I kept telling her there's no one fucking named Steve. Knocked again 15 minutes later asking for Nathan. Again, no fucking Nathan. As I was going to bed, I remembered that two dickish friends were headed to the strip club that night, and Steve and Nathan happened to rhyme with me and my friends names (Reeve and Mason). I guessed that they called the stripper. Turns out I was right. God? Or an educated guess?
I'm gonna go with educated guess.
It really wouldn't be all that hard for God to proves he exists. External confirmation alone is suspect, being what we call the external world is really our own creation (which is why schizophrenia is possible in the first place). To really prove he exists, you'd have to bring in other people to disprove it's not a fabrication of your own mind. Like, tell 4 people the exact same phrase, to meet in the exact same place, on the same date, and to greet each other with the phrase your supposed to say. Ya know, something which shows universal communication, and not simply one guy saying one thing, another guy saying something else, etc. This is what we would consider the Truth, so it seems to be that God should be related to the Truth.