tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post162700309953283095..comments2023-10-20T02:08:39.524-07:00Comments on Atheism: Proving The Negative: Ghosts, Resurrections, and Bereavement HallucinationsMatt McCormickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071078570021986664noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-37855979775698432582010-05-25T12:26:18.750-07:002010-05-25T12:26:18.750-07:00Thanks James for thinking about this question. Th...Thanks James for thinking about this question. These are good points. I don't mean to suggest by any means that nothing else could have happened to produce the Jesus myth. A couple of ideas. Of course, many educated, 21st century people would know better if they had a bereavement hallucination than to think that they were talking to a real person. (Although lots of modern people have them and insist that they really were talking to the real person.) But don't make the mistake of assuming that the first century questions would have viewed something like this the way we would. If a first century, illiterate, Iron Age peasant who is also a deeply committed religious zealot with a whole raft of highly supernatural beliefs and expectations had a bereavement hallucination, what explanations would be available to them? The first and most obvious explanation, not having any clue about the neurology, or even what a hallucination is, would be that they were being visited by the dead, returned to life. Hell, I have a professor in my department who insists that he is regularly visited by dead people. So if Jesus was executed, and if bereavement hallucinations are as common as recent studies indicate, then we can be quite confident that at least some of the his followers would have had them. I had several last year after my dog died! So that means that at the very least, those hallucinations would have been feeding into whatever else would eventually bring about the advent of Christianity. <br /><br />But you're right: I have no intention of ruling out any of the other live natural hypotheses about the matter that are better than the "Jesus really was resurrected from the dead," view. <br /><br />MattMatt McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17071078570021986664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-44217243889627442342010-05-25T09:38:29.260-07:002010-05-25T09:38:29.260-07:00Matt, I think you overstate the argument here a bi...Matt, I think you overstate the argument here a bit. Sure, 80% of widows may have bereavement hallucinations, but what percent literally thought their loved one had risen from the dead? People believe in ghosts, but the (alleged) claims in the gospels aren't about the Ghost of Jesus, but rather they are about the Zombie of Jesus.<br /><br /><i>If</i> we assume that the followers of Jesus really believed he rose from the dead (something you point out in another post is far from certain), then bereavement hallucinations would be <i>one</i> plausible explanation for how this belief came about... plausible, but I wouldn't even go so far as calling it "probable," personally. There's just so many other possible explanations, like he wasn't dead, an impostor, propaganda intentionally spread by one disciple and believed by the others, etc... <br /><br />Maybe you didn't mean to, but your post sort of made it sound like, "Of <i>course</i> people in 30 AD thought their leader rose from the dead. That was situation-normal!" It's just one possible explanation among many.<br /><br />OT, Steve Martin is depressingly hilarious in the way he has religiosity all balled up with AGW denialism. As if it <i>weren't</i> all politics. Yeah, whatever. Idjut.James Sweethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17212877636980569324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-66952696805143749032009-07-19T04:24:47.455-07:002009-07-19T04:24:47.455-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.家出http://ruby.iwatukisan.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-41996655958655734132009-07-17T08:01:36.836-07:002009-07-17T08:01:36.836-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.メル友募集noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-40043683292485547692009-07-06T06:49:45.143-07:002009-07-06T06:49:45.143-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.精神年齢http://new.haaaasagasou.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-47348747424264470212009-06-19T12:24:10.640-07:002009-06-19T12:24:10.640-07:00Hmmm.. So how did these magical super-secret books...Hmmm.. So how did these magical super-secret books come to be written in the first place? How did the authors discover their demon-summoning techniques?<br /><br />Why won't it work for me to stand in the middle of my living room and just say, "Hey, any demons want a cup of tea?"<br /><br />Demons, angels, extraterrestrial visitors, and Bigfoot all seem to be really shy about appearing to skeptics.Eric Sotnakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06162425851889399481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-77343012789458898872009-05-30T12:54:48.993-07:002009-05-30T12:54:48.993-07:00Here are some books for the non dogmatic atheist.....Here are some books for the non dogmatic atheist...<br /><br />Grimorium Verum <br /><br />Lemegeton "Clavicula Salomonis" <br /><br /><br />Happy investigating...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-11904711370843596622009-05-29T14:11:19.670-07:002009-05-29T14:11:19.670-07:00Really? How about going to a book store and do som...Really? How about going to a book store and do some studying. The mere fact that folks here like to tease suggest how dogmatic they are. If its too hard to find your way into a book store atheist believers perhaps you can find an alledged haunted house somewhere. Spend a night all by yourself w/ a bag lunch and a flash light. let me know what you experience.<br /><br />At least you can embrace the spirit of invesigation rather then play atheist mind games...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-3394978496593662522009-05-27T06:25:45.324-07:002009-05-27T06:25:45.324-07:00If you chant the following formula over and over, ...If you chant the following formula over and over, it's guaranteed to summon demons:<br />"wata dama sayam"Eric Sotnakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06162425851889399481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-85667690720832312552009-05-26T13:43:14.414-07:002009-05-26T13:43:14.414-07:00Geez was there a scary movie marathon on the SciFi...Geez was there a scary movie marathon on the SciFi channel this week? Damn I must of missed it.Scarecrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15324151298399098144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-88923575542395109282009-05-26T05:19:18.074-07:002009-05-26T05:19:18.074-07:00Hey Anonymous, can you suggest a summoning spell t...Hey Anonymous, can you suggest a summoning spell that works?<br /><br />I mean has been proven to work, not just encrusted with folklore.<br /><br />Didn't think so.bustergginoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-58193331759839216202009-05-25T09:41:57.111-07:002009-05-25T09:41:57.111-07:00D and D? naw man thats role playing try a book on ...D and D? naw man thats role playing try a book on summoning demons. I am sure with a little research you can find which book is a bood one. please dont be scared because then your atheist faith would be pretty weak...<br /><br />I'm sure all you atheist would never be scared of a haunted house. In fact with your atheist faith I bet you could walk around all night in one without any light because you are sure there's nothing to fear...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-32738431314123051992009-05-25T00:47:05.028-07:002009-05-25T00:47:05.028-07:00"By all means try and find the biggest baddest dem..."By all means try and find the biggest baddest demon and follow the instructions to a tee. Think of this as a test of your atheist faith...let me know how it works out..."<br /><br />Lemme dig out some old Dungeons and Dragons books and I'd love to. I know how you guys loved those things back in the 80's.ChrisACnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-36717404344838146032009-05-24T16:48:09.132-07:002009-05-24T16:48:09.132-07:00Ok atheist followers and matt. since you're so con...Ok atheist followers and matt. since you're so convinced that the supernatural is hog wash please go find a book that deals with summoning demons. By all means try and find the biggest baddest demon and follow the instructions to a tee. Think of this as a test of your atheist faith...let me know how it works out...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-65523065070611921552009-05-15T20:47:00.000-07:002009-05-15T20:47:00.000-07:00Thanks, Steve Martin, for the link. Here is a coun...Thanks, Steve Martin, for the link. Here is a counter-link.<br /><br />http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,27574,25376348-2682,00.htmlEric Sotnakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06162425851889399481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-14902947897940636092009-05-15T12:40:00.000-07:002009-05-15T12:40:00.000-07:00Another reason why debates are not the best method...Another reason why debates are not the best method of deciding scientific issues: It takes much more time to refute a lie than to tell it. So a dishonest person (e.g. Duane Gish) could reel off a long string of lies, leaving his opponent with too little time to refute them all.Reginald Selkirknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-59844020564838317722009-05-14T19:28:00.000-07:002009-05-14T19:28:00.000-07:00Steve Martin,
Debate is not a fully trustworthy m...Steve Martin,<br /><br />Debate is not a fully trustworthy method of attaining truth.<br /><br />Why not?<br /><br />Let's pretend that I believe that things fall down because of invisible magic fairies pulling them toward the Earth. You're arguing for the theory of gravity. <br /><br />If you debate me, it appears that my position is as equally valid as yours, even though all the evidence that is available to us indicates that things do not fall down to Earth because they are pulled there by invisible magic fairies. <br /><br />Now do you see how debates can quickly become ridiculous and far-fetched? Good debating skills, in my opinion, can help clarify, but they are not equivalent to other methods, such as the processes used in science, for expanding our understanding and removing our biases.Teleprompterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13014919684351529479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-27410516713685350242009-05-14T08:39:00.000-07:002009-05-14T08:39:00.000-07:00Most evidence points to global cooling.No, and you...<I>Most evidence points to global cooling.</I>No, and you have been corrected on this in the past. Your adherence to the anti-global warming line is apparently dogmatic.Reginald Selkirknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-64962287175814851832009-05-14T07:45:00.000-07:002009-05-14T07:45:00.000-07:00"Evidence for global warming."
That's a good one...."Evidence for global warming."<br /><br />That's a good one.<br /><br />Most evidence points to global cooling.<br /><br />But Atheists need a religion, and any religion will do. The latest god is "global warming."<br /><br />Why do they refuse to debate on the topic?<br /><br />Ian Plimer knows why: <br />http://dennisprager.townhall.com/talkradio/transcripts/Transcript.aspx?ContentGuid=e669e672-a4fb-4e8b-9d94-4c89724a1cb5Steve Martinhttp://theoldadam.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8716347331682132223.post-89150508947285441922009-05-09T14:36:00.000-07:002009-05-09T14:36:00.000-07:00Hey Matt,
Just thought I'd let you know that I fi...Hey Matt,<br /><br />Just thought I'd let you know that I finally released the book that I've been working on ("Atheism and Naturalism"). Here's where you can read excerpts and where to buy:<br /><br />http://www.godriddance.com/book.php<br /><br />Peace,<br />RyanAIGBustedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03232781356086767207noreply@blogger.com