Spritiual Encounters;scientific Explaination?
Posted January 2nd, 2008 at 7:14AM
On Youtube i was watching a favorite show of mine from years ago called "Unsolved Mysteries". The last episode i watched was "Rainboy" and the episode was about a individual that was possessed. I have a hard time believing stories like this as true and i know possibly that it may not be true but is there a conclusion scientifically or phycologicly that anyone knows about or any references to any books or movies?
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there is a lot humans have no idea about. but i still believe a being strong enough, can survive beyond their body. i don't believe in 'god', but i do believe in beings people would usually call gods, i just don't worship them or think they created me
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i tend to not believe stories like this either, nor do i believe in ghosts. but yet i love watching documentaries about demonic posession and hauntings and what not. i honestly think it all boils down to the power of suggestion. if i'm in a quiet room and hear a strange noise. my first reaction is fear [perhaps i'm just a frieghtened nerd]. when i hear something i cant explain, i know its just the wind, or a creaky floor. where as others, let the power of suggestion [from things they have heard or read about] cloud their rational judgement. i have never, nor have i ever met anyone who has ever encountered anything spiritual. and most of the ones you see on tv just seem too frightened to be rational. or they rationally concocted an idea of a ghost or evil spirit in an attempt to mask or excuse an individual's behavior.
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i've encountered spiritual things, like energy work. but for all i know, it could be all biological and we just haven't figured it out yet. the aura isn't just made of spiritual energy, it's also the area where a living thing most raidiates heat. so i guess a little bit of faith is still needed
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open mind yes, but belief not required. I doubted plenty, but could still feel the energy, and it still had a major effecton me even though i was highly skeptical and once an agnostic athiest
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what lovely sentiments justsomeguy... :-)
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seeing is also believing. you don't have to believe to see or see to believe, either
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from reading all your comments the one that stood out was Angeladark's comment that it is biological because perhaps it is and many of those things yes, we do not know of yet but looking at the information of how say drugs effect the body and what triggers some phychological behaviours ect. Some things are left to "believe in fictionous state" but in reason i like answers for alot of things :P.
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Believing is seeing?
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I saw that line on 'the polar express' in regards to Santa
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Or should I say 'heard'...
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if we did'nt see it, how else would we know..
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Intothelookingglass, you are definitely asking the right questions. Whenever you hear stories about demonic possessions or religious experiences always consider the multitude of biological and psychological factors that would drive people to believe in such nonsense. The simplest line of reasoning would be that everyone craves attention and you get plenty of it when you claim the devil is your puppet master. There are many other contributing factors as well. Fortunately, there is plenty of literature on the subject.
I think you would be interested in the concept of Scientific Skepticism. I recommend you listen to the podcast The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe. The show consists of logical discussions about ridiculous claims. I think it's got the reason in answers that you are looking for;-) -
there are many things science can't yet explain, and things in recent hisytory that it could 't and we learnd about. just because you don't know it yet doesn't mean it's nonsense. pure science is open minded AND skeptical
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Pure science is not concerned with spirituality and demons, anyone who pretends it is is lying to you.
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no, pure science is concerned with what is real, whatever that may be.
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I suppose you subscribe to a scientific explanation for creationism? There is huge difference between pure science, and pseudoscience.
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again, no. I don't believe in "God". pure science is not dogmatic, it is open and forever changing based on what new has been learned.
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I guess you're asking about possession? I think many people believed to be possessed are actually autistic, schizophrenic or epileptic.
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Just because we can't see something or science hasn't proved something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
There are many discoveries found that there were no proof of in the past. No scientific proof that they existed, but they did and do. Open your minds and look for the answers. Why does science have to prove anything to you? Science is made up of educated guesses. Someone has to guess something before you believe?
Remember science said the world was flat. Pluto was a planet. Man came from apes. lol
Don't attack me. I'm just playing with you guys.. -
Science never said that the world was flat. Anyway, the proof was there, we just didn't have knowledge to interpret it.
And that's the point- science can change as we gain more knowledge.
I'm not attacking... just saying that your comment is kind of random. -
Science did in fact say the world was flat.
Yes my comments are random because if I go into this subject discussing what I believe, It goes against what the rest believe. There is no way to have a real conversation here without there being some kind of conflict.
I am not here for conflict. Some of these people are my friends and I like them and respect there beliefs rather I agree with them or not.
I commented only to inspire thought, not disrespectful remarks or conflict. It is not something that adds to or takes away from this discussion of spiritual encounters:scientific Explanation.
I merely stated some facts and made a comment that isn't in my opinion offensive to anyone here.
If it is then I am sorry guys. I know I should stay away from these groups because there is usually some conflict when I do comment here.
I respect your beliefs and I will stay away from your future discussions. : ) -
Awww. I didn't mean to get all defensive. It's just that I think the main story was pretty serious.
But mutual respect is definitely important and I'm glad we have yours. : ) -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth
"The modern belief that especially medieval Christianity believed in a flat earth has been referred to as The Myth of the Flat Earth.[1] In 1945, it was listed by the Historical Association (of Britain) as the second of 20 in a pamphlet on common errors in history.[2] Several scholars[3] have argued that "with extraordinary [sic] few exceptions no educated person in the history of Western Civilization from the third century B.C. onward believed that the earth was flat" and that the prevailing view was of a spherical earth.[1]
Jeffrey Russell states that the modern view that people of the Middle Ages believed that the Earth was flat is said to have entered the popular imagination in the 19th century, thanks largely to the publication of Washington Irving's fantasy The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus in 1828.[1] Although these writers reject the idea of a flat earth, others such as the Flat Earth Society accept or promote the hypothesis." -
The disorder most often associated with "demonic posession" is dissociative trance disorder. The DSMIV (psychiatric diagnostic guide) defines it as:
A single or episodic disturbances in the state of consciousness, identity, or memory that are indigenous to particular locations and cultures. Dissociative trance involves narrowing of awareness of immediate surroundings or stereotyped behaviors or movements that are experienced as being beyond one's control. Possession trance involves re placement of the customary sense of personal identity by a new identity, attributed to the influence of a spirit, power, deity, or other person, and associated with stereotyped "involuntary" movements or amnesia. Examples include amok (Indonesia), bebainan (Indonesia), latab (Malaysia), pibloktoq (Arctic), ataque de nervios (Latin America), and possession (India). The Dissociative or trance disorder is not a normal part of a broadly accepted collective cultural or religious practice. -
if science can change as you learn then why does it continue to resist the idea of the aura, when it can be seen with certian kinds of cameras?
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