Better off without the supernatural

Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed

Be what you is not what you what you ain’t
Location
Central NY
By not believing in the supernatural the supernatural, as far as I am concerned does not exist in everyday life or religion. It seems the supernatural is tool used by organizations and institutions to frighten people into believing catastrophic harm will come to them by not accepting rules and proclamations of a better life.

There will always be mysticism, influential magic, superstition and supernaturalism because humans get bored with ordinary life and enforce this false reality as a means for entertainment and distractraction from the norm. Curious if humans believe in the far-fetchedness of the supernatural is that not the norm?
 

Denial doesn't mean something doesn't exist.
Three letter government agencies are said to have used it although they gave it other names.
Apparently some are more in tune with what's in and around them than others.
 

As an atheist, I agree that the 'supernatural' does not exist. As to whether, we'd be better off without it, if what one believes does not impinge on the rights of others, I would say, who cares? But what one believes can affect others. Take Jews and Islamics, Protestants/Catholics, any religion/any other religion. I'm quite comfortable being an atheist, and I've never knocked on someone's door , preaching atheism. Yet, there are some, who feel commanded, have no problem preaching their unwanted views of religion to me.
 
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There is much we don't know. As layman, or experts in a field, the unknown is what drives us on the quest for knowledge. Some of what we'll learn will move items from the realms of the "supernatural" to the realm of fact. The issue is when we start believing the supernatural is real without any evidence.

As such, I don't really have an issue with the supernatural, but I don't consider it real until some actual evidence is found. It can be fun to speculate, but when it comes to daily life......

Now, this won't be new to those clued up in science - but it was only yesterday that I found out that the type of ice we get on Earth, things like snow flakes, are as yet UNIQUE to this planet. While there is "water ice" on other planets, it's in a different form (turns out there are 18 different types of ice!) In fact, with sufficient pressure, such as on the gas giants in our solar system, the water takes on the characteristics of a metal, even generating the magnetic core. Wowza.

Still, just something I was looking at yesterday, and one of the billion things I know nothing about. There have been many "supernatural" things that we now understand, such as bioluminescent plankton in the oceans. That must have been something terrible in ancient times.

One of mans greatest gift is our insatiable appetite for knowledge.
 
Pi.ai...

Imagine a life devoid of vampires, where the only thing sucking the life out of you is your daily job. No werewolves, just your neighbor’s dog that metamorphoses into a howling nuisance at the full moon. Ghosts? The only specters we’d encounter are the ones haunting our inboxes, lurking with subject lines like “Last Reminder: Your Bill is Overdue!”

Without the supernatural, we’d have no need for garlic necklaces, silver bullets, or holy water. Our shopping lists would be decidedly mundane. The biggest threat on a camping trip? Not a wendigo, but the real terror of no Wi-Fi. And let’s not forget the joy of a full night’s sleep, unbothered by the fear of a poltergeist rearranging the furniture.

Our entertainment would take a hit, though. No more horror movies to blame for our insomnia, just the caffeine we guzzled at 9 PM. Psychics would be out of business, and we’d have to rely on weather apps instead of consulting the local oracle about whether to carry an umbrella.

In conclusion, a world without the supernatural might be less thrilling, but it’s also less chilling. We’d trade the adrenaline rush of a good scare for the serene certainty that the bump in the night is just the cat, not a demon playing the xylophone on your radiator. And honestly, that sounds pretty good to me.
 
One of mans greatest gift is our insatiable appetite for knowledge and use of imagination
 
I think there is a middle ground, or a straddling of both sides.

We seem to be hard-wired for belief systems, extending below (beyond) the hard sensory and verbal realm where our consciousness seems to live most of the time.

I think this makes it possible for us to accept, appreciate, even enjoy and fear "the supernatural," fringe science and religion, etc. even when one considers himself a hard-nosed religious believer (or non-believer).

Even those holding beliefs that preclude the supernatural outside of doctrine often have fear of the very rejected phenomena they deny. Fear implies some level of acceptance.

Then there is the more practical issue: sometimes the "supernatural" is just the "natural" we haven't experienced ourselves and/or don't understand very well yet.
 
Mr. Ed, I believe you actually are seeking the supernatural, as you cannot leave it alone. Specifically, I believe you are seeking the one true Messiah prophesied in Isaiah 53.
 
Mr. Ed said:
By not believing in the supernatural the supernatural, as far as I am concerned does not exist in everyday life or religion. It seems the supernatural is tool used by organizations and institutions to frighten people into believing catastrophic harm will come to them by not accepting rules and proclamations of a better life.

There will always be mysticism, influential magic, superstition and supernaturalism because humans get bored with ordinary life and enforce this false reality as a means for entertainment and distractraction from the norm. Curious if humans believe in the far-fetchedness of the supernatural is that not the norm?
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When I lived in the apartment that I recently moved out of, I had a neighbor who had a daughter named Kathy who was the same age as my granddaughter, and they became really good friends. One day when my granddaughter was visiting me, she went to Kathy's apartment to play with her for a few hours and took some dolls with her.

A few minutes later, my granddaughter brought some of the dolls back to my apartment because Kathy's father believes that all realistic-looking dolls are possessed by demon spirits who talk little girls into become whores.

The man totally believes that. He believes photographs of certain people are possessed, too. He's from South America and speaks very little English, and he's working on his US citizenship. He's a nice guy and I got along with him and his family just fine, but they had some very strange beliefs. It was all religion-based superstition.
 
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Mr. Ed said:
By not believing in the supernatural the supernatural, as far as I am concerned does not exist in everyday life or religion. It seems the supernatural is tool used by organizations and institutions to frighten people into believing catastrophic harm will come to them by not accepting rules and proclamations of a better life.
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Without a doubt that's true, controlling people through fear is alive and well in the 21st Century. A person does not *have to* believe in the supernatural, but it does exist nevertheless.

Sure, the "supernatural" is mysterious, but then again so is the cure for the common cold.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Yet, there are some, who feel commanded, have no problem preaching their unwanted views of religion to me.
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As I like to say, having religion is like having a *****, it's OK to have it, it's OK to be proud of it, but don't wave it around in public or try to shove it down my throat.
 
Is it safe to assume what we know about the supernatural is relative to most religions and fairytales?
 
Murrmurr said:
When I lived in the apartment that I recently moved out of, I had a neighbor who had a daughter named Kathy who was the same age as my granddaughter, and they became really good friends. One day when my granddaughter was visiting me, she went Kathy's apartment to play with her for a few hours and took some dolls with her.

A few minutes later, my granddaughter brought some of the dolls back to my apartment because Kathy's father believes that all realistic-looking dolls are possessed by demon spirits who talk little girls into become whores.

The man totally believes that. He believes photographs of certain people are possessed, too. He's from South America and speaks very little English, and he's working on his US citizenship. He's a nice guy and I got along with him and his family just fine, but they had some very strange beliefs. It was all religion-based superstition.
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My old Barbie dolls have a lot to answer for.

bw smile.jpg
 
Mr. Ed said:
One of mans greatest gift is our insatiable appetite for knowledge and use of imagination
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On the whole I agree with you but that is not enough. Knowledge is not always available to everyone in any particular society. People who have knowledge are not always listened to.

Imagination is really a truly special trait of humans but it is often stifled early, and replaced with social conformity.

How come? and what if? are important questions that are sometimes missing in adult thinking. Instead of thinking for ourselves and dreaming of things that are not yet realised, we seem to go online and watch people who are paid influencers.

I love the example of Fred Hollows, the Australian eye surgeon, who set out to cure blindness in third world countries using simple and inexpensive techniques. He trained locals to perform the procedures. He inspired many of us to donate to his cause and we did so generously. Fred is/was considered to be a secular saint by many.

To me he is an example of knowledge and imagination coming together for the common good of people in need. I cherish his memory.
 
whoever started this thread ? - have you seen the absolute mess this planet is in atm??
 

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