Why We Believe

The fact that certain scientists and the authors of this article include "religious faith" in the same category as those believing in alien abductions or the abilities of psychics is insulting to people of faith, and frankly, quite ignorant. Millions upon millions of people believe in God because it offers a plausible explanation to the existence of the universe. Science can only get us to the Big Bang, but what or who caused that and why there was a necessity for something or someone to "create" a human universe cannot be explained by anyone. So, that is why people have faith in a supernatural being such as God, not because they went through a "tumultous event." This is as ridiculous as Barack Obama claiming that certain members of the populace "cling...to religion." As a believer, religion and God are not something I "cling" to. The presence of a creator and subsequently a creed to follow makes the most sense to me from both a spiritual and intellectual standpoint. And a belief in angels is not a delusional fantasy as the article claims; rather, people of faith believe in them because the Bible tells us they exist and ARE protecting us. It is clear that these scientists' lack of a belief in anything not provable by the scientific method is influencing their "research" quite a bit. And one last thought - the belief in God is the only "supernatural" belief that claims to influence what happens to a person when they die a physical death. These skeptics sure are taking a big gamble that it's all in the mind.

In a purely scientific perspective, cant it be that we are are physical manifestations or containers for packets of energy and these energy packets just take different forms (physical body) when the original container stops functioning because of old age, disease or an accident. Our human minds have limited capability to think beyond the realms of known science, which is still very young and growing. Till a century ago, we were sceptical about existence of atoms, few hundred centuries before that we were sceptical of a universe where our earth was not the center of it. As we are not sure of the scientific working of such phenomenon, it is best to have an open mind towards their occurances, with an emphasis on trying to understand them, if and how it is possible for these to happen from a scientific angle.The human mind should be studied more deeply, to understand what are minds are capable of doing.

In a purely scientific perspective, cant it be that we are are physical manifestations or containers for packets of energy and these energy packets just take different forms (physical body) when the original container stops functioning because of old age, disease or an accident. Our human minds have limited capability to think beyond the realms of known science, which is still very young and growing. Till a century ago, we were sceptical about existence of atoms, few hundred centuries before that we were sceptical of a universe where our earth was not the center of it. As we are not sure of the scientific working of such phenomenon, it is best to have an open mind towards their occurances, with an emphasis on trying to understand them, if and how it is possible for these to happen from a scientific angle.The human mind should be studied more deeply, to understand what are minds are capable of doing.

In the infinite scope of consciousness not only are all things possible but plausible as well.

jerasmiles

Hmmmm.... maybe some of us believe in ghosts and ESP because they are actually things we have experienced so clearly that there is no explaining them away. When I was in junior high school, my best friend had the gift of being able to tell me what seven digit number I was thinking of, with perfect accuracy about 90% of the time. I have also had the experience of seeing a ghost with such clarity that I was able to distinguish facial features as it stood in my bedroom and watched me for 10 minutes. I still remember that experience (the only time I've seen a ghost) like it was yesterday, even though it happened 40 years ago.

I do not clain a gift of prophecy, but I foresee a time when Shermer will once again embrace his Christianity. We can try to walk away from Him, but once we believe, the Saviour Jesus Christ never leaves us.

This is a bit farfetched. While I lean toward believing in some form of reincarnation, I am much more apt to believe those who were "ordinary" people - not presidents, royalty or celebreties.

The pervasiveness of your DISbelief in the supernatural and paranormal in this age is what I find odd. As everyone knows, science is only ONE view of the universe, not THE view. In this age of illumination and expansion it sounds so strange to hear such an old-fashioned, closed, one-sided statement basically saying 'it's all in your head'. It most surely is not. No matter how hard the case you are making tries to force the 'evidence' to fit, it is based more on fear than anything of science. The left-brained, arrogant scientific world is so determined to debunk the supernatural for no better reason than there vast, limitless egos. I
would like to see scientific proof that there are no ghosts, proof that reincarnation is not real. But alas, you cannot and we wind up in the same boat. Believers may not be able to prove the existance of things beyond this world yet but science cannot prove the lack of their existance either. To those of us who have clearly and undoubtedly seen what you so hope does not exist, no scientic proof in necessary. It is the height of arrogance to tell anyone their experience is not real. Some may not be, but there are many, many who know what they have experienced in a ghostly encounter or the absolute knowledge that they have lived before is the truth as only one can see first hand. We do not need your scientific data to prove that the 'supernatural' is as natural as anything else in this world.

Sharon Begley is a nut case, who thinks she has all the answers for every situation. What a delusional QUACK! If any of you have read, don't waste your time, any of her other writings, you'd know what I'm talking about. Please for the love of -FIRE THIS FREAK OF NATURE!

I love science, it is a true thing and makes things tangible. Yet scientists are as bad as the religious believers but in the opposite direction. Religious believers know there is a god and that there is a heaven and hell but there is no proof, and their book ( the bible in it's many forms) is written by men and then re-written by kings and people that want to push their agenda.
Now scientists can't grasp god because it isn't something they can touch and put under a micro scope. They sit down and make the statistics show the numbers they want and push their own agenda.
Makes me think that both groups are pushing their own agendas and that if you don't go along with their beliefs, either science or religion then you are just wrong and need to be fixed or they need to show that it is one of their groups that you fit into by statistics or Satan.

Your feelings of "intellectual superiority" are apparent in your article. And all you have to do is write everything off as coincidence and look down your nose at all the idiot believers.

If I believe that what is out there is not, then by the same token, what is not there, is....

We need to be careful when we talk about objective reality. Einstein proved that nobody knows what that is. Einstein's theories prove that time and space are variable, that is, they change depending upon where you are in the universe, how fast you are going, and the strength of the gravitational field in which you are. The author of this article is talking about empirical evidence and objective reality as being in the here and now, that is, as being defined by time and space. How can the true definition of existence and the true nature of reality, that which is absolute and unchanging, that which is the underlying factor of the universe from which all things are born, be defined by that which is variable, changing depending on where you are in the universe? It cannot. The true definition of existence and the nature of reality extend far beyond the 4D spacetime in which we are trapped. It defines time and space, not the other way around. What the definition is though, no one knows. We have been trying to figure this out ever since Man could think and write. And this is where science, empirical evidence, and all logic and reasoning break down and fail, and where belief, religion, and faith succeed. We cannot *know*, as a fact, the true nature of reality. We can only believe.
~ Melissa Douthit, Monterey, CA