Supernatural science: Why we want to believe

Interesting that a difference between religiousity and the paranormal is implied. It's all the same.
Magic is magic, regardless of how mainstream or accepted it may be.

I read the article and have one problem. The studies that the author sites (the author also seems to support the idea) suggest that people of devout faith are not believers in the supernatural. This is a touchy subject to some, and risking the ire of the faithful I would have to say that by definition religious belief is belief in the supernatural. If one defines supernatural in a narrow sense as believing in psychics and Bigfoot, then perhaps yes, religious people may not believe. But if one defines supernatural in its full meaning as anything that exists outside of nature and natural laws, such as the performing of miracles, talking to the dead, the existence of angels and all knowing deities, then religious belief IS supernatural belief.

If your belief is based on faith and exists outside natural explanation, then you believe in the supernatural.

It's simple -- people want to feel more comfortable that there is another world "beyond", that this life isn't all there is, that science can't explain everything. We fear what we don't understand and their is no greater unknown than "what's next?" (if anything). Personally, I believe that we will never understand fully "what's next" and that is by design. To fully appreciate what we call "life" means that we must be fully-vested in the experience while we are living. A thousand years from now there will be just as much paranormal activity as there is today and they will still be looking for Bigfoot.

When the press begins treating metaphysics, mediumship, ufo research, and other as they claim "fringe" beliefs with some degree of seriousness coupled with those writing these articles actually do their research beforehand, then and only then can one have a serious discussion. Articles like this come across as filler news pieces and only serve to increase news ratings vs actually lending credibility to subject matters that do have valid talking points.

First of all, if a person is religious (regardless of which religion is practiced), does that not infer that there is then a belief in the supernatural? Is God/god not supernatural? Angles, demons, prayer - these are things that exist in the realm of the supernatural. I am surprised to see the article state that to be religious is to ignore the possibility for the supernatural. Secondly, human thought is fallible. Science is created by human thought - as is religion. So believing in science is a religious state. We created the very tool (the scientific process) that enables us to believe and understand what is 'true' or 'real' and what is not; or what is paranormal. I am saying that I do or do not believe in the paranormal. But I am saying that is likely that there is a thin line between science and religion, therefore, between paranormal and scientific.

I agree that God, by definition, is paranormal.

I would argue that true Christians (Protestants) are not prohibited from believing in psychic phenomenon. The bible admonishes against "listening" and "participating"; Lev 19:26,31; 20:27; Deut 18:9-14.

If it doesn't exist - why are we warned against listening and participating?

There is tons of evidence on the paranormal, from ghosts to UFO's. The only reason that they are not taken seriously by the main stream scientific community is because the evidence is not replicable on demand.

It is up to researchers to come up with more innovative procedures and experiments to go beyond their traditional standard model of what exists and what does not.

One question, why is the belief that extraterrestrials are here lumped as supernatural?
That is something I never really understood.
Sure, one who believes such a thing is hard pressed to PROVE their beliefs, but it is rather silly and not to mention more than a little egotistical to think that mankind has any idea as to what can be done with a few more thousand years of technological advancement or that if such a group had such advancement and did NOT wish to be detected we at our current level of technological advancement would EVER hope to actually be able to conclusively detect them. So lumping UFO's as "supernatural" seems little more than a node to mankind's innate need to feel special in the universe. Funny thing this comes from those that decry "religion" for such foolish excesses.

To begin with, the article merges everything that really falls under the category of "Unexplained Phenomena". While Cryptozoology, UFOlogy, and The Paranormal are all subject to the same influences of faith, superstition, commercial exploitation, skepticism and fraudulent behavior, they otherwise have no more in common than water polo shares with baseball. So there's probably no single expalnation as to why the disparate believers persist in believing. From my own perspective of someone who has produced various television shows dealing with this sort of subject matter, I would say that it largely stems from the stubbornly optimistic refusal to accept that common animals are the apex predators on this planet, and that it's highest form of intelligence is human. The former is boring and the latter depressing, so we hope there is something beyond our experience still to be discovered.

They put money on the pockets of their purveyors.

I find that money stays with me longer when it is in my pocket as opposed to on my pocket, but maybe that's just me... :)

What do so many people want to believe in things for which there is often no concrete proof? Or is there proof?

Put simply: believing that the only things that are real are the things you, yourself, have experienced is shallow, shortsighted and sad.

On the other hand, people often see "proof" where there is none, because they NEED something to believe in.

Though, to be fair, others use lack of proof as proof that such and such doesn't exist. (God, Bigfoot, Aliens etc...)

This is how it is and is likely how it will always be, so, why not "let believers believe and nonbelievers not believe," in peace? Or, is that too much to ask?

Why do you people always put witches into the category of the supernatural? They are just the opposite. Witches are practitioners of a nature (that's natural - not SUPERnatural) oriented religion.
Unless of course you mean the green faced, cackling, broom riding, Hollywood witches; they're imaginary, OK, call THEM supernatural.

Why do people believe in the "supernatural?" For arguments sake, I will define "supernatural" as anything that occurs outside of the "natural" world; the world we live in where we can see, hear, touch, taste and smell things. The world where things can be observed and recorded. So, since I believe in GOD, who exists outside of this "natural" world, I do believe in the supernatural, even if I don't believe in demons or ghosts, or Bigfoot.

I have seen documentaries on the History Channel dealing with dragon folklore. Like religion, there are so many similarities in the dragon folklore going around the world that it's pretty easy to think that, at one time there might actually have been dragons. But another possibility is the human brain functions pretty much the same way for everyone, so it might not be so unbelievable that humans around the world could look at, say an exposed dinosaur skeloton, and visually imagined a similar creature based on the "evidence" presented.

Then again, maybe as humans we really do NEED to believe that there IS something else out there, beyond this natural world, where our spirits or energy goes after our physical body dies. I'm not a physicist, but what little I know about energy does suggest there is some validity to this idea. As for why I believe in GOD but not Bigfoot, I guess that's because Bigfoot allegedly exists in our natural world, and therefore we should be able to find it. Ghosts and demons, well that's a little tougher.

People do not need scientific proof that something exists. Science is full of theories and we still do not know everything there is to know about science. That is why I laugh when someone says it is "scientifically impossible for so and so to exist". I remember watching a show that explored the possibility of a giant octopus. This "expert" said it was impossible for such a creature to exist. The funny thing is, we have not explored a great deal of the oceans on the planet so how can someone come to such a conclusion. For those who say it is all in our head, I once had a supernatural experiance that more then 5 people experianced. I challenge anyone to say that it was all in our head.

My rant is basically that we can't always rely on science for everything because science is not as advanced as we all think it is. I believe that it is possible that bigfoot exists along with every other creature of myth because it IS possible. Although experts may say it is impossible for such a creature to exist, they show their ignorance because they DON'T know everything about the creature living on this planet.

you ask why there are so many superstitious beliefs? why do people continue to belive in supernatural things. because deep down, we can all sense it. We can all sense that there is some other force, some unexplained mysteries. Something that keeps our world working. If nothing super natural ever truly occurred, then there would be no myths or stories or legends or odd beliefs. There would be no religion. Its all the same, every religion, every supernatural event, the same, just in a different form, called a different name. There would be no one pretending to possess abilities to speak to the dead. There would be nothing, just the natural, the visible. But in truth there is, there is power that we can all learn to wield, if we truly, and faithfully, tap into the right source. That's where all these stories come from, that's why there are so many myths. Because deep down in our roots we know its true. Back closer to when the world was created, we had a much easier time recognizing this power. A much easier time tapping into it. But we are lost, we are becoming farther and farther away from the core truth of our existence. The power is becoming less and less apparent to us, and more and more hidden. And so, we encounter things like false prophets. People like chris angel that claim to have some power. All lies. As we get farther and farther away from the truth our stories and ideas and myths become more and more absurd. That is the truth. All the supernatural shows on tv, all of it is a shadow, a echo, a weak copy of the power that once pulsed powerfully through the earth, through every one of us.

I run a blog on the merger of the paranormal and religion, and many Christians do believe in the supernatural outside of the strictly Biblical variety. While it might not be popular with certain church leaders I think they are not in the minority due to the volume of letters I receive. My readers cover the gambit of religious beliefs and we freely exchange views respectfully, while being unified in a belief in the supernatural and unexplained. It is our desire for an experience of the Mysterium Tremendum as Rudolph Otto would describe it and this desire is universal. Right on the blog now we are in a series of the Bible and paranormal phenomena-Ghosts and UFOs have already been covered. Google Paranormal Pastor and take a gander if you will, join the discussion there and see for yourself.

Maybe it's the same reason so many of us want to believe in God and life after death, when there is really no objective evidence to support this. Christians, Muslims, and Jews number in the billions, yet the foundations of our beliefs are simply words written down anywhere from 1400 to 3000 years ago by basically just a handful of people. During these times, people believed that the earth was the center of everything, that it was flat, and that the sun magically disappeared each day, although no one knew where it went. Still, billions of us firmly believe that these people must have spoken directly to God. Wouldn't it make much more sense if God would just appear to all 6 billion of us at once, and say something like, "Hey, it's me, the Almighty. Look, lead a good decent life, and spend eternity with me in paradise, or screw up, and face eternal damnation. Simple choice. Got to run." Wouldn't that stop a awful lot of wars, killing and suffering in the name of God?

Good point T Bourlon. I think you've emphasized the fact that Cryptozoology should be viewed in a completely different light, as opposed to UFOs, Ghosts, Religion etc. I'm not coming down on either side of those contoversial topics, but there has been plenty of imperical proof that we have not come close to identifying and cataloguing every species on this planet. Some new discoveries of small birds and mammals may seem a bit disapointing to monster-chasers, but The Collosal Squid was entirely unknown until a few years ago. If an exotic carnivore that size can escape our notice, there's plenty of hiding space left for other strange fauna. I just wish the Bigfoot Hoaxers of the world would stick to conning their own kind, and leave the pursuit to real scientists and serious scholars.

writer2008 said: "We created the very tool (the scientific process) that enables us to believe and understand what is 'true' or 'real' and what is not; or what is paranormal. I am saying that I do or do not believe in the paranormal. But I am saying that is likely that there is a thin line between science and religion, therefore, between paranormal and scientific."

There are 2 points I'd like to make.

1) I think that Writer2008 and others do not fully understand what "science" is. Many people feel that science is a viewpoint or an opinion. "Science" as writer2008 and others have stated is a way of trying to understand the world in which we life. The core of "science" is the scientific method (or as writer2008 calls it, the scientific process). The scientific method is designed to minimize personal bias to help our observations and thus help make our interpretations of those observations to be as accurate as possible.

When a scientist states, "There is no bigfoot, UFOs, or whatever", what they mean is that there is no strong evidence for those issues. Most scientists wouldn't claim that the existence of bigfoot, aliens, or as Josh suggested, giant squids are impossible. They would say, "Given the current data or evidence we have, it is highly unlikely that such things exist." If new, compelling evidence comes to light, then usually scientists get quite exited about it. Scientists don't generally get excited about blurry pictures, and of course, frozen rubber suits. Those aren't particularly compelling.

This leads to my second point (at the risk of getting to long). Writer2008 states "that there is a thin line between science and religion, therefore, between paranormal and scientific." I would strongly disagree with this statement and this is why I feel that writer2008 doesn't fully understand what science is. While both science and religion seek to understand and explain the world around us, they each go about in in VERY different ways. Science requires evidence to explain phenomena. Religion does not. As others have stated above, there is no hard evidence for God. You simply have to believe. Simply believing that you are right about something doesn't take you very far in science. You have to prove it.

Toboro, that was a profound explanation and a vital reminder. Thanks.

We forget that there is a world out there (outside of the U.S.) were there are millions that indulge in traditional worship. It's simple, those who do not believe in God (or do not know of God) and worship a tradition god, are prone to being exposed to what we may refer to as supernatural. Believe you me, I hail from Africa, and boy are there tons of Witches (women that turn into Bats and Cats), Witchdoctors (traditional Doctors that can put curses on fellow practioners) and Evil Spirits/Demons (spawns of satan that encourage followers that their worship isn't in vain (despite the fact that their roots are Hellish).

How it works is that in these third world countries, those who believe and practice in black magic, easily(and often) see and are affected by what a lot of people in developed countries believe to be nonexistent (e.g. Evil Spirits). During the time of Jesus, Evil Spirits were all over the place, and people saw them often. Now, they dare not roam around where God reigns (e.g. in U.S. and most other developed countries), that's why they flock 3rd worlds (like those in Africa) were there are a lot that don't know about or choose not to know about God. So, with that said, if you know of or are exposed to God, don't count on seeing a Demon (let alone Big Foot) anytime soon, because they are too scared to come close. You gotta believe in, participate in, and be vulnerable to black-magic/traditional god worship before you come close to seeing one. The Bible does admonishes against "listening" and "participating" though. I can testify to all what I'm saying because I am from a thirld world nation and have seen and know tons of people affected by Evil Spirits. I'm a Christian and I know God is all too powerful to allow Satan's spawns anywhere close to those that he's reached (whether they believe or not). I must confess, I almost fell for the Big Foot post though.

They did indeed find a life-size Chupacabra (Goat Blood-sucker) in Texas on August 8th of this year. How's that for a myth becoming real?! That ought to do for now. Email me with questions/comments (chuka_i@hotmail.com).

Chucka, I call Shinanigans.

I work with a number of people from Africa (mostly Uganda and Kenya) and I have never heard them say anything similar to what you said. What you say about 3rd world countries sounds much more like someone who has never left the states. ;)

You state that the evil spirits flock to places like Africa because they don't know God. According to wikipedia (Religion_in_Africa and Religious_demographics) 80%-99% people from Africa believe in God depending on the specific country, combining Christianity and Islam. Africa is a very religious continent. These people know God.

Whats far more likely is that there is also a large amount of people who still have traditional religious beliefs which tended to be more magical in nature. This then lends itself to belief in evil spirits and the like.

As for the Chupacabra, I can't find any links to that. However, similar to the recent bigfoot story, "Show me the body."

I think it is almost universally agreed among us, regardless of our system of beliefs (scientific or through faith), that we exist in a natural world, a world that we can interact with through our senses. I think we can all agree also that this natural world was created, as were we, by processes, powers and systems beyond our own abilities to fully describe and far less, to duplicate. My personal and unwavering belief is that those processes, powers and systems are the provision of God.

Even so, there are some commonalities between faith believers and scientific believers.

We all (some are more sensitive to it than others) have a longing to have answers to the questions about the things that we cannot see, and answers for the things that we can see; we long to get answers for the things we cannot understand. I suggest that we are all seeking the truth, the truth that we can embrace and say is the truth, and one that we can believe in enough to represent. It would be very unsatisfying to prove a truth to onself and feel it was worthing presenting to others.

We are going about isatisfying this longing, finding these truths, in a variety of ways. Some dabble in paranormal sciences, some in witchcraft, some only believe in the natural sciences, some seek God's truths in the Bible, some seek other faiths, and some even get so overwhelmed by this unsatisfied longing that they end up declaring that they can't be bothered to think about it anymore just so they can cope. Our methods are as diverse and as individual as we are.

My belief is this:

God created us. He created us with this longing on purpose, and not as a by the way thing. This longing comes as part of the life spirit he puts in this shell of a body we walk around. It is bundled with what we call our consience, which is God's voice and character that he implants in all of us.

This voice of God in each of us calls us to Him, but because our individual levels of spiritual clarity and readiness to listen and obey (we operate at different levels of willingness to hear and obey this voice inside us), we end up responding to this voice in many different ways. The bottom line message from this voice is "Come to Me and Follow My Ways".

The soul who answers the voice and finds God and obeys Him is on the right path. So God says many times in various ways in the Bible. My conclusion is that everyone is looking for that path, whether they know it or not. This he says several times in several ways in the Bible as well. This is not a condemnation of those who are not on the path, this is really a message of guidance for them; and for those who are on the path, this is a message of reassurance.

In response to humanity's diverse methods for seeking God knowingly and unknowingly, God says there is only one way to find Him. God (who is Jesus) says in the Bible "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me". Jesus is the way (He has cleared the path for us to have a direct relationship with God, believe in Him and follow His example), the truth (He is God, and the more we become as Jesus was, the more of God is revealed to us; i.e. the more we see and understand and believe the truth that we are all seeking) and the life (God gave us existence, he has given us life, and He is the source of the true life). These are just a few of God's words to us, but they come with a megaton of meaning.

I have not run into a Christian with a thriving relationship with God who has said otherwise, and I have met and heard quite a few of them. These are people who have had their longing satisfied and are still having it satisfied, and this satisfaction is from God.

My urgent advice to everyone who has not received the full truth of what God has done and promised to us, his greatest creation, is to seek God now; seek Him before you are gone from this natural world. He promises a greater, a freer, a more abundant life than what we can imagine. Look for a professing Christian, and ask them to explain as best as they can what it is they believe, what this Truth is. And if they don't give you a satisfactory answer, ask another one. And contest what they say with what the Bible says. The Truth is in there.

God has given us His promises in His Words, and he has given us His spirit that affords us the life and time to exist and to live in this world. He is the one that will reveal the truth of what we are all looking for that we don't know how to find. There's no good reason to try another way so I hope you will come choose this way.

People want to believe because they don't like uncertainty. The Industrial and Scientific Revolution has given people the false impression that the answers to all questions are just around the corner. But even the best scientists must learn to live with uncertainty. People latch on to a myth or to unexplained phenomena, forgetting that the purpose of any myth -religious, spiritual, urban, social, "magical" or "paranormal" is to illuminate a message. They confuse the myth for the message.

Toboro, religion does not require belief without evidence. There is plenty of evidence for the existence of God. The fact is, we filter evidence through our own worldview which compels us to interpret evidence in a certain way. If you approach data from the a priori assumption that God does not exist, then your interpretation will not find evidence for the existence of God. If, however, you allow for the existence of God (or the supernatural), you may interpret the same evidence in a different way. It is fallacious to assume that ANYONE can come to the table with a "clean slate" containing no pre-conceived notions. Scientists who make this claim are probably being dishonest. Not understanding certain phenomena should not prompt the believer to throw up their hands and say, "God did it. We need no further explanation," contrary to the popular idea that people of faith are anti-science. We still seek further knowledge. People of faith can be (and are) very capable scientific thinkers.

My main point is that science has no business trying to answer the questions involving origins or the existence of the supernatural. In my opinion, this is where modern science has overstepped its boundaries. It may theorize that life has increased in complexity from a single cell over the eons to lead to the diversity of life today. There is good evidence for this idea (though not without flaws as some would have us BELIEVE). However, science should be careful when it begins to make the assumption (non-observable and non-repeatable) that abiogenesis has ever occurred. Unless we develop the technology to travel back in time and observe the creation of the universe, the creation of the earth, and the creation of life, science will NEVER be in a position to posit a theory of origins as FACT. Even some great scientific breakthrough such as creating living cells in the laboratory from non-living organic molecules would only suggest that given the proper (engineered) circumstances, a living cell can come from non-living organic substances; this would not speak then to the increasing complexity of that cell into a multicellular animal. Science may uncover the mysteries of "how", but by its very nature science cannot involve itself in metaphysical/spiritual questions, which include origins. These are the subject matter of theology and religion.

Are you guys talking about natural vs. supernatural, or are you talking about experimental evidence vs. no evidence? That is to say, if it actually exists it is by definition natural, and thus supernatural is another way of saying "fictitious". On the other hand, belief in something without any evidence existing anywhere, that can be independently verified, applies to religion, UFOs, magical beasties for which there is no evidence, etc. Oh, and before anybody starts with "photographs" of Bigfoot, miracles, etc...I draw your attention to Star Trek, Bewitched, Stargate, Blair Witch Project, etc., etc. etc. Evidence that can be examined is always available for independent verification, TV shows DON'T count:)