... you DID claim that there's life/consciousness after death. while there is no good evidence to support this
Look again, BFP: Find one sentence where I wrote:
I KNOW and have evidence that there is life after death. I have never talked to, or seen, a spirit, or even a zombi. Mind you, I have seen some so-called humans who appear to be trapped in zombi-like and harmful trances.
As a young minister--one with some training in philosophy and psychology--out of curiosity, I explored the claims of spiritualism, which is similar to voodooism. I was then living in the very interesting and multi-cultural city of Montreal.
I spent many hours reading about Spiritualism. I attended quite a number of Sunday-evening services at a Spiritualist church. The result. Despite the claims, I found no evidence that the dead can speak to the living. I found that some of the "leaders" of spiritualism were out and out scam artists. Actually, at some personal risk, I exposed more than one of them, and I even discussed what I found in the media.
I found that many of the ordinary believers in "Spiritualism" were unsophisticated people easily capable of being deluded. When I became familiar with the story of animal magnetism (Dr. Franz A. Mesmer), mesmerism, hypnotism (The work of Dr. James Braid), the trance phenomenon (Dr. Milton Erickson) and the like, I began to get a handle on what was going on.
Through the use of pneumatherapy--talk therapy, without the hocus pocus, which I developed--I was actually able to help some people free themselves from their delusions.
Needless to say, those who profited from keeping gullible people under their "spell", and under their power and control, were not pleased with my work and became bitter enemies.
I was even attacked by traditional religionists who, without actually exploring what I was doing to expose frauds, accused me of being part of what they labelled "the occult".
Keep in mind, I am well aware that any religion--even of the traditional kind--can be a form of superstition, which can even cause much harm to mentally unbalanced people.
Have I clarified this for you? The late Dr. Scott Peck--the psychiatrist who wrote THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED--used to say: Many of my patients are guilt-ridden and fear-ridden traditional Christians and Jews.===============================================================
It is important to understand that believing in and having faith that a thing is possible and worth looking into is not the same as KNOWING. As we read in Hebrews 11--a letter in the NT, supposedly written by Paul: "Faith is the substance of things hope for..." Faith is a precursor to knowledge, but knowledge does away with the need for faith.
For example, certain scientists (not all), prior to 1969, believed that one day we would land people on the moon. Since then, we all know than it can be done.
BTW, I don't remember one apology by the naysayers.
THE EXPLORATION OF OUTER SPACE
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Many scientists today--plus those of us interested in science--believe that it is possible that there could be life, in any numbers of forms, out there in outer space. Based on this, no one that I know of--at least among the ones who are thinkers--says it is a waste of time and money to explore what is going on in outer space.
THE EXPLORATION OF INNER SPACE
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But what about inner space?
This brings us to the importance of psychology, the study of the mind in animals and human beings, and to pneumatology,the study of spirituality, which, IMO, is peculiar to human, especially humane, beings.
I make no apologies for advocating the exploration of what is going on in the psyche (mind) of man and animals, and the human pneuma (the spirit).
IMO, understanding what is going on in the "inner space" of the unconscious and conscious mind could help us avoid the mistakes made by the early explorers of earth. Virtually all, including the so-called Christians, were motivated by pride and the greed for power and wealth. This made them immoral and unethical colonizers who looked on the "lesser breeds, without the law" as fair fame for conquest and converts to the one TRUE Faith. To this very day many are still feeling the pain and suffering caused by the sinful and evil natures of our ancestors.
DO WE REALLY WANT TO BE TRULY HUMANE BEINGS?
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The more we understand who we are, for better or for worse; and understand why we do what we do--whether it be good or evil--the more control we will have in achieving what I feel ought to be the goal of all human beings: our becoming kind, honest, loving, just, moral and ethical humane beings.
BFP, please, be fair and try not to put your spin on my words. I will do my best to do the same for you.
