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Post by worlder on Jul 29, 2010 16:40:47 GMT -5
Suppose for some reason, you discovered that fundies might not be lying that much on the topic of the supernatural.
Yeah, "OMGWTFBBQ You're a ghost/angel/demon/fairy/elf/genie! (Just like in the movies!)"
Well what would be your general response to such an encounter?
After that what would be your response to a benevolent supernatural creature, to a malevolent one, and to a trickster?
Well for me I would still be pretty skeptical if such a creature revealed itself to me. I would try to rationalize "what the hell is going" first. I could be hallucinating and will attempt to force myself to snap back into reality.
If what I am seeing is real and the being is benevolent, I tell him or her find someone else who really needs help.
If the being seeks to do harm, then it is a case of "shoot first ask questions later".
If it is a trickster character, well I'll probably try to bribe him or her leave me alone.
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Post by peanutfan on Jul 29, 2010 17:00:50 GMT -5
I don't believe in the supernatural at all. Therefore, anything that presented strange/obscure abilities would have to fit somewhere within natural law.
A benevolent being...I might ask for help if I really needed it, but I'd try not to take advantage.
A malevolent being would become the subject of the various wards and protective spells I know.
A trickster would be directed toward the nearest fundamentalist church.
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Post by Vene on Jul 29, 2010 17:24:17 GMT -5
I question the wisdom of bribing a trickster.
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Post by Vypernight on Jul 29, 2010 17:24:40 GMT -5
Depends on whether there's a link between said supernatural and the fundy's beliefs. Even if ghosts were proven to exist, no part of that shows that everything the fundies want you to believe in the Bible is true.
Come to think of it, the very existance of ghosts would probably discredit at least half of the crap in the Bible to begin with.
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Post by Shane for Wax on Jul 29, 2010 17:48:07 GMT -5
I believe in the supernatural like ghosts and whatnot. Just not a One True God.
If I came across a trickster, I'd stay away.
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Post by Meshakhad on Jul 29, 2010 17:51:06 GMT -5
Benevolent, I would treat it with kindness
Malevolent, I would attempt to determine its strengths and weaknesses, and then either fight or run. For instance, if it is a vampire that is vulnerable to holy symbols wielded by a person of faith, it's screwed. If, on the other hand, it is a ravenous werewolf that can only be killed by a silver bullet, then I run.
Trickster, I would be EXTREMELY cautious in my dealings with it.
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Post by Thejebusfire on Jul 29, 2010 18:39:43 GMT -5
I believe in soul reapers.
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Post by Admiral Lithp on Jul 29, 2010 19:21:10 GMT -5
I believe in soul reapers. You're my new best friend. I'd urinate on them to show my dominance. |
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Post by matante on Jul 29, 2010 19:35:39 GMT -5
If there's any way they can be dealt with rationally, I'd try to learn about how they view the world and people from their point of view, because that's interesting. I'll catch an occasion to ask them if they happen to work with scientists, because if a succubus can drain a man's life-force through his sex, medicine could benefit from understanding what this life-force is and how it can be handled. I imagine if they are numerous to wish to deal with humans, they would eventually become part of future society and possibly bring new understanding to some phenomena.
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Post by worlder on Jul 29, 2010 19:44:34 GMT -5
Ah the paths of Mulder and Scully.
Do you want to live in world where fairy tales are true or do you want to live in a world where you can meet little green men from outer space?
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Post by Thejebusfire on Jul 29, 2010 19:46:13 GMT -5
How about both.
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Post by Tiberius on Jul 29, 2010 19:47:11 GMT -5
I want to live in a world where fairy tale characters are little green men from outer space.
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Post by worlder on Jul 29, 2010 19:57:57 GMT -5
I want to live in a world where fairy tale characters are little green men from outer space. That too.  Ahh Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law (with some modifications). So some fundies claim they were spiritually attacked. WTF does that mean? Did some fairies begin teasing some of them? Wimps. |
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Post by valsa on Jul 29, 2010 19:58:38 GMT -5
Despite being strongly atheist, I believe in ghosts. However, I do not believe they're supernatural. I think they're a natural phenomena that we just don't have an explanation for, as of yet.
If I encountered anything else on that list, and was confident that I wasn't hallucinating and/or hadn't gone crazy, I'd probably assume the same thing- it’s a natural occurrence we just don't have enough experience with to explain.
The senses of human beings are really rather limited, when compared to other animals. We mostly, out of necessity, focus on exploring and explaining things that interact with our senses. Once we advance more and hit the limits of what we can see/hear/touch, etc, we’ll start exploring things beyond our ability to impact directly. We’ve already attempted to communicate with ghosts/spirits/whatever (watch any "ghost hunting" related shows) and gotten some interesting results (legitimacy of those results (versus hoaxes and scams) notwithstanding), but we haven’t yet gotten to the point where we can verify if those results are indeed created by the entities we consider “ghosts”. Or, even if they are, figuring out exactly what ghosts are and how they come to exist.
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Post by worlder on Jul 29, 2010 20:33:09 GMT -5
Not just ghosts.
Angels, demons, fairies, the whole fantasy shebang.
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