Serious dealings with supernatural/death?

[DarthSte]

It only seems to be the believers who see/experience things.

Not true at all, both my father and myself have seen things that we can't explain, that make no sense, but if asked I would say I don't believe in ghosts. If pressed I might own up to having seen some weird stuff though.

I don't believe in ghosts, except once in a while, when I do.

So yeah, I'm like Meri in this instance.

[Easy E]

I have had serious dealings with death. I use to work at a funeral home.

It was my job to sell you funeral services and caskets BEFORE you died. That's why I wasn't aFuneral Director, they need a Masters degree and only sell that stuff to your relatives AFTER you have died. Plus they do one or two other things. All I needed was a Life/Health Insurance license which is laughable easy to get.

So basically, I sold caskets door-to-door.

[Yodhrin]

I think that people that don't belive in anything supernatural shouldn't be beating down on those who belive.

Look, I'm sorry, I just can't let this go; it is not a matter of belief, it's a matter of fact. If someone makes a claim which is implausible considering the broader context of our knowledge of how the universe operates, which has absolutely zero evidence to back it up, and which can be explained in a simpler or more complete fashion by an alternative claim which IS backed by evidence and makes sense within the broader context of our knowledge -or even if no alternative explanation exists-, then anyone who chooses to adopt such a claim is at best misinformed, and at worst is intentionally deluding themselves in order to support a broader ideological position.

It doesn't matter what the subject of the claim is, it doesn't matter who's making the claim, "belief" in the nonreligious sense of the word is a quality which should be earned by supporting your position with evidence and sound reasoning, not the default state adopted whenever a claim is made.

And one more thing; that something is presently unexplained does not mean that it is unexplainable in principle, and nor should the fact that an event or phenomenon is presently unexplained mean that we lower our standard of evidence such that we can accept any explanation that is proposed even if it's extremely implausible. It doesn't matter whether we prefer one idea to another, or what we "feel" is true, either we hold claims to a basic standard of evidence, or we abandon any pretense that we have advanced beyond tribal savages leaving offerings at the foot of a volcano to appease the angry Fire God.

[theunwantedbeing]

DarthSte what weird stuff did you see?
Describe it for us.

[Daniel36]

(basically, you wake up, and part of your dream seeps through for about a minute)

Having experienced them a few times, their realism can be very frightening... If someone doesn't know the scientific reasons behind it, he might think he's seeing ghosts/ visions or whatever.

I know, totally off-topic, but I've had that a couple of times, though for only a second or two. Quite scary when you genuinly think there is a HUUUUUGE spider hanging right in front of your nose ready to bite of your face when you wake up. I've also quite often seen spiders walk around on a table or chair in front of me when I was nodding off.

I think I might be arachnaphobic. :S

Anyways, I understand NCK, but I quite enjoy these discussions, even if I don't agree with everything that's being said. As long as everyone remains civil in disagreeing, no harm is done if you ask me.