Monday, March 23, 2009
Ghosts in an Atheist World
Okay, so recently I found out that the building that I used to work in has paranormal activity. I find myself at a cross roads. Of course, as this blog suggests, I am an atheist and do not believe in god, therefore no afterlife, and thus-ly no ghosts. But...I still think it is super fun to "believe" in them. Sure there is something going on in there that we can not explain but that doesn't mean that it is unexplainable by logical means. I watch Ghost Hunters and Paranormal State as often as I can because they are really cool shows with interesting ongoings. But I think that "ghost" are more for the people seeing them. Is it power of suggestion? Do we get chills in a particular room because there is something chilling or is it because someone told us they had gotten chills there before. Or does it happen because we want it to (in my case.) I am the queen at giving myself the heebiejeebies because I think it is fun. So I guess my question is is it okay to "believe" in something?
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4 comments:
I think the biggest problems with belief come from when you insist others believe in things you can't objectively prove and when you want other people's behavior to conform with your beliefs.
But it seems obvious to me that generally people want to believe in something beyond what makes sense, otherwise there wouldn't be faith-based religion, UFO groups, ghost groups or Republicans. ;)
Personally I've never had any experience to make me even subjectively think there might be ghosts, but I've had friends who insist they've seen and talked to them before. I try not to roll my eyes.
But now that I think about it I'd rather have those conversations than hear evangelical testimony from a Christian. Not because of the basis of the belief, but because of the intrinsic drive to change my behavior or my beliefs. Ghost story tellers don't seem to be trying to manipulate me.
i have never actually had an experience either, and im not one to jump on the bandwagon. i enjoy it just to get the spooks, but i never lose any sleep over it. ghost story teller are just sharing an experience with you they arent trying to convert you or make you believe. same with alien hunters. although i do believe in extraterrestrial life (albeit they probably havent made contact with earth)
Why PraiseNull, fancy meeting you here!
I'm kind of in the same boat, Lizzie...not about ghosts specifically, but stuff like that in general (afterlife, out of body experiences, etc). I dunno...I think it's good to leave the possibilities open. "Pending further review", as it were...
first off i really appreciate you guys reading and posting to my blog.
anything super natural is really difficult for me to believe in. it also isolates me from the rest of the world. they, for the most part, all believe in ghosts and angels and demons and what not. i just cannot and sometimes it is hard to take those people seriously. but then again, they probably dont take me seriously. but until a ghost taps me on the shoulder (kinda happened in the ghost hunt i went to) and i see its ghostly face im going to remain a non believer. well actually, i'd probably have myself committed.
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