Re: If Magick Exists (was RE: Ideological blinders)

From: Samantha Atkins (samantha@objectent.com)
Date: Thu Apr 03 2003 - 11:35:33 MST

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    spike66 wrote:
    > Samantha Atkins wrote:
    >
    >> Charles Hixson wrote:
    >>
    >>> That said, I don't consider a hallucination supplied by a "God" to be
    >>> any proof...
    >>
    >>
    >> Well, if we claim that any/all experience of what appears to be a
    >> transcendent reality usually considered spiritual is in fact an
    >> hallucination then we have a rather closed loop system going, don't
    >> we? We can't possibly get any experience of anything transcendent
    >> because we will just chalk it up as hallucination or "activated
    >> archetype" and be done with it. So I am not at all clear there is
    >> anything that could be encountered that would in fact be convincing
    >> that God is... - samantha
    >
    >
    > There are those of us who would settle for a good
    > halucination. No drugs allowed however. Advanced
    > alien intelligences may apply, for I would think
    > they would have nanotech, therefore creating an
    > halucination in individual human brains would be
    > a good way to communicate with us.

    Are you sure that a hallucination would be sufficient for you?
    As one who is subject to occassional mystical experiences I ask
    the question. In my experience such things are quite
    overwhelming and very difficult to not take as big T Truth. But
    they are ultimately not convincing to the intellect.

    >
    > A loose paraphase of an Arthur C. Clarke comment
    > says that any contact between two civilizations
    > of vastly different technological ability is always
    > destructive to the less advanced. Perhaps the
    > aliens (gods) are not talking on purpose. spike
    >

    Well, if we are talking about God vs some other more advanced
    species which had no real creative role in this mess I think we
    are talking about something a bit different than what A.C. had
    in mind. Any being claiming to be the Creator is subject to
    questions about why this type of universe, why this much
    suffering, why the silent routine, to what end and so on. Since
    most of the world's people have claimed to believe in such a
    being and still do, I doubt that being forthcoming (to say the
    least) would be terribly destructive.

    - samantha

    >
    >
    >

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