Fluther: Do you believe in anything supernatural?

Do you believe in anything supernatural?

Asked by Polly_Math (1738

) January 9th, 2010
23 responses
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I am not using “supernatural” in a pejorative sense but rather as that which relates to an order of existence beyond the visible observable world.
Religious/spiritual beliefs would fall into this category.
Have you ever had experiences that have influenced your beliefs?

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Topics: religion, God, spirituality, paranormal, transcendentalism

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Answers

Yes. There are more things in the universe than are dempt of in ANY philosophy.

CaptainHarley (22447

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Nope. Though I would believe in something that was previously considered supernatural but was later confirmed by credible evidence.

fundevogel (15506

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Never!,I can’t accept something so irrational like that. Well I’m a christian but will never believe in such thing as some of our ancestor believed then transferred it through culture,everything sounds supernatural has logical answer behind it.

Your_Majesty (8235

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Beyond the visible world, sure. There are lots of things outside the visible spectrum.

Beyond the observable world… okay, still yes. Sometimes observations are confusing, misleading, or impossible.

But anything religious or spiritual… not a bit of it.

nikipedia (28072

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Yes, I believe in a spiritual realm and reincarnation. I have met a couple of psychics who could tell me, among other things, the contents of one of my drawers at home down to the brand of watch I inherited from my grandmother. I’ve had other psychics tell me about future events which happened precisely as foretold. One had to do with how I would find a used car to buy in a place and manner that was very unusual.

I could go on and on, but I’ll end with the fact that I read tarot cards. They are eerily accurate. At least, they are for me.

Hawaii_Jake (37344

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@nikipedia One day I will understand that cat. I swear it.

fundevogel (15506

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I have strong religous beliefs in the Christian God. That should qualify.

filmfann (52224

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I’ll believe in the supernatural if you show up again. :(

Pandora (32204

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No, I don’t. There is no need to, and there is no credible theory of the supernatural that I am aware of, so I discard it as a superfluous theory.

FireMadeFlesh (16593

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Yes. I believe that there is the supernatural for good and for evil.

fancyfeast (299

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The word “supernatural” is a nonsensical category.

People used to think lightning was supernatural, caused by sky gods flinging weapons at each other. Then we figured out a natural explanation and now we don’t.

People used to think diseases were caused by supernatural demons. Now we know they’re caused by germs.

People used to think the stars, moon, sun, planets, and meteors were gods and various spirits. Now we know what they are so there’s nothing supernatural about them.

Throughout history, “supernatural” has simply meant “ignorance.” It is always a temporary category, a placeholder until we figure out what’s really going on.

So why bother? I mean, we don’t know all kinds of things. We don’t know what the hell happens inside black holes, but we’re trying to figure it out. But why would anyone say that “supernatural magic” happens inside black holes?

Qingu (21185

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@Qingu: Betcha can’t prove supernatural magic doesn’t happen inside black holes… :)

nikipedia (28072

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Touche. :)

I mean, that’s why people ultimately believe in the “supernatural.” Assuming a magical explanation for a mystery is easier and more fun than admitting you don’t know. Nobody likes to feel ignorant so we construct the category of supernatural to hide our ignorance. And this category comes with the extremely useful pseudo-logical quality of immunity to “disproof.”

Qingu (21185

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@Qingu I like my magic and mystery too, but I’d rather get it in a movie or story than allow a desire for magic and mystery to warp my perception of reality. And of course, even in stories and movies there is a limit to how far suspension of disbelief goes.

fundevogel (15506

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I once had an unusual experience with a Ouija Board but I don’t know if that would qualify as supernatural though. Probably not.

Bluefreedom (22944

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@nikipedia And you can’t prove that supernatural magic DOES happen inside black holes. So why should we assume that it does? As it doesn’t happen anywhere else a reasonable inductive conclusion would be that it doesn’t.

On the subject at hand i completely agree with @Qingu , the category “supernatural” is nonsensical.

The things that have influenced me to come to my conclusion is the fact that during my 28 years of life, nothing has happened that indicates some sort of supernatural world.

nisse (1986

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@nisse, pretty sure nikipedia was being facetious. :)

Qingu (21185

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oh :)

nisse (1986

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It depends on your take on supernatural. If you mean things that are difficult to observe and aren’t seen every day. Or things that are not yet explained, sure, I believe in the supernatural. If you mean gods, angels, demons, possession, heaven or hell, then no. The rest of the things are just too interesting and I don’t have time for fairy tales.

Ron_C (14480

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