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Hello atheists! A few questions about paranormal events!

Started by manga, April 16, 2017, 07:36:43 PM

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manga

Ok so sometimes people make claims that they saw something that some would file into the "paranormal" or "supernatural" category. Two examples come to mind. 1) a girl wakes up at 2:30 am, sees a transparent image of a girl she hadn't talked to in 10 yrs. Then she sees the devil's face, prays to God, the images go away. 2 days later she sees in the newspaper that this exact girl died at 2:30 that night from an accident. Another one actually happened to my cousin's. They were at a Church event, and they claim that suddenly things turned demonic. One blonde haired lady suddenly had black hair, people were choking, and finally the priest shouted at "demonic spirits" to leave and then everything turned back to normal. Both of these events are anecdotal and I know many would reject these as hearsay. Although you are being rational by doing so, let's just say for argument's sake that these events somehow took place, just give them the benefit of the doubt for a second. Would that confirm the supernatural or paranormal? Or would it still be more appropriate to say that we don't know what caused these events therefore we could never say they are supernatural or paranormal? I personally believe that even if these 2 events are totally real that they don't necessarily confirm the existence of spirits, gods, supernatural etc. I want your opinions on my opinion. I know many will say these events are bull but I want to know hypothetically if they were real, does that mean supernatural or is it just something currently unknown? People used to think thunderstorms were gods fighting. Others thought lunar eclipse was something to do with gods. Now we know this isn't true, so could these cases (granted that they actually occured) be placed into that category?

No one

For me, there is no supernatural. Just because tiny minded humans can not explain something, does not make it beyond nature's ability.

Tank

Quote from: No one on April 16, 2017, 07:42:02 PM
For me, there is no supernatural. Just because tiny minded humans can not explain something, does not make it beyond nature's ability.
Yep.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Sandra Craft

If these things had any validity, scientists would be all over it.  I'll take an interest when that happens.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Tank

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on April 16, 2017, 07:49:31 PM
If these things had any validity, scientists would be all over it.  I'll take an interest when that happens.
Absolutely.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

manga

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on April 16, 2017, 07:49:31 PM
If these things had any validity, scientists would be all over it.  I'll take an interest when that happens.
Ok but if these did occur, would you trust supernatural or still say it doesn't prove it?

Arturo

One time me and my cousin Craig was at church and he doo-doo'd in the hallway. They had to evacuate the whole church and the only one who could stay there was the pastor, through the presence of God.
It's Okay To Say You're Welcome
     Just let people be themselves.
     Arturo The1  リ壱

Dave

Quote from: manga on April 16, 2017, 08:04:01 PM
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on April 16, 2017, 07:49:31 PM
If these things had any validity, scientists would be all over it.  I'll take an interest when that happens.
Ok but if these did occur, would you trust supernatural or still say it doesn't prove it?

Nothing based on purely subjective or anecdotal evidence can be considered proof of a phenomena.
Tomorrow is precious, don't ruin it by fouling up today.
Passed Monday 10th Dec 2018 age 74

Tank

Quote from: manga on April 16, 2017, 08:04:01 PM
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on April 16, 2017, 07:49:31 PM
If these things had any validity, scientists would be all over it.  I'll take an interest when that happens.
Ok but if these did occur, would you trust supernatural or still say it doesn't prove it?
It would depend on how they were shown to be real. Then that would lead to a theory that could be tested. If that theory were demonstrated to accommodate existing evidence and to be predictive of future evidence and to be falsifiable it would mean that a new natural phenomena had been identified and qualified. It would no longer be supernatural but a verifiable natural phenomena. That his how science works, hypothesis, evidence, theory, prediction, more evidence, verification and/or refinement of theory. If you can't measure it in some verifiable way it can't be quantified, qualified and verified. Until this can be done it remains speculation.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Recusant

Quote from: manga on April 16, 2017, 07:36:43 PM[. . .] I personally believe that even if these 2 events are totally real that they don't necessarily confirm the existence of spirits, gods, supernatural etc. I want your opinions on my opinion.

I think your opinion is eminently sensible.

I also think your cousins are feeding you tall tales.



"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Velma

Quote from: No one on April 16, 2017, 07:42:02 PM
For me, there is no supernatural. Just because tiny minded humans can not explain something, does not make it beyond nature's ability.
Exactly. All that is being counted is the hits. How many times did someone have a "vision" of the death of someone they know and it did NOT happen? Enough events happen everyday that there are bound to be coincidences.

Human memory is very suggestible. Ask five witnesses to something as ordinary as a fender bender and you'll get six different stories. Put people in an emotionally charged situation such as supposed demonic activity and most suddenly everyone will "remember" all sorts of things that never actually happened because certain things are supposed to happen during such situation. All it takes is one person suggesting they saw something "supernatural" for everyone else to say they saw it also and start adding in all the things they "saw."
Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of the astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy.~Carl Sagan

Sandra Craft

Quote from: manga on April 16, 2017, 08:04:01 PM
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on April 16, 2017, 07:49:31 PM
If these things had any validity, scientists would be all over it.  I'll take an interest when that happens.
Ok but if these did occur, would you trust supernatural or still say it doesn't prove it?

If masses of reputable scientists were studying it, writing papers on it, doing peer reviews, etc, and claiming that given the evidence they'd collected so far, it might be possible, I'd accept that it might be possible tho I'd still think the supernatural an extremely silly thing. 

Without scientists of all types -- the people with the greatest reason to be involved if it might be real -- taking an interest, all I've got is my opinion that the concept of a supernatural world is very silly, and that it serves no discernible purpose other than bolstering human egos and comforting human fears. 

I'm always very suspicious of things whose reason for being appear to begin and end with human ego and/or fear.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Arturo

Quote from: manga on April 16, 2017, 07:36:43 PM
Although you are being rational by doing so, let's just say for argument's sake that these events somehow took place, just give them the benefit of the doubt for a second. Would that confirm the supernatural or paranormal?

No. All that comes out as fact is that it happened, if you could somehow prove it did.

QuoteOr would it still be more appropriate to say that we don't know what caused these events therefore we could never say they are supernatural or paranormal?

You never know until you try. However, you still wouldn't know. And nobody knows this really happened because it's merely a claim. A claim is something with no evidence or reason to believe the statement.

QuoteI personally believe that even if these 2 events are totally real that they don't necessarily confirm the existence of spirits, gods, supernatural etc. I want your opinions on my opinion.

I would say that's sensible but why base your opinion on what if's? The story has no reason to be believed so who knows if it happened or not. Nobody. And since nobody knows you can't possibly pose a sound argument for it. It's a waste of time. For me, I'd rather focus on things that are fact. Meaning, they are validated observations. People have tales like this all over the world but are different according to their culture. People in the west see Christian themed events, people in Asia see Buddhist themed events. And they all believe they are the only true ones.
It's Okay To Say You're Welcome
     Just let people be themselves.
     Arturo The1  リ壱

xSilverPhinx

Quote from: manga on April 16, 2017, 07:36:43 PM
People used to think thunderstorms were gods fighting. Others thought lunar eclipse was something to do with gods. Now we know this isn't true, so could these cases (granted that they actually occured) be placed into that category?

These are the manifestations of natural phenomena, which happen in the material reality and can be scientifically observed and described. The supernatural, by definition, are events which cannot be explained by natural laws, so, if they exist, they would not be within the realm of science, which essentially is all about the material universe.

This does not mean, however, that the supernatural is automatically valid.

If a ghost for instance were to manifest in the material universe, the one we live in and can observe, then there should be ways to measure that interaction. Paranormal investigations are flawed, and that's why the scientific community at large does not accept claims of the supernatural.
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Sandra Craft

You know what I also find telling about claims for the supernatural?  The Catholic Church used to require evidence of miracles linked to a proposed saint, performed after his or her death, in order to canonize them.  While they'll still accept claims of miracles to investigate, they've stopped relying on them to confer sainthood because so many past miracles have been shown to be not supernatural as scientific discoveries increase.  Now they rely mostly on how good a person (by their standards) the proposed saint was to determine whether or not to canonize them. 

If scientists aren't flocking to study supernatural claims, and the Catholic Church is backing away as well, then the whole business acquires a "nothing to see here" feel about it.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany