RootsBooster Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 From here... Only a quarter of those questioned thought spiritual forces had no influence on Earth. And almost two-thirds of those who identified themselves as Christians thought such spiritual forces could influence people's thoughts or the natural world. More than a third of the non-religious shared that belief. Between 2001 and 2011, the proportion of people in England and Wales identifying themselves as Christian fell from 72% to 59%. In the last census a quarter of the population said they had no religion - up from 15% 10 years earlier. Bear in mind the study was conducted by a Christian group (which may or may not be biased). So what's the opinion of S.Forummers on the subject, do you believe in supernatural/spiritual forces? If so, why? (also bear in mind that not believing/being without belief in such things isn't the same as believing they don't exist) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockjaw Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 No. ............... ETA: Durrr; sorry, I didn't notice it was a poll. I've voted now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamo Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 It tells us what we already know. People are scared of the unknown and plug the knowledge gaps with made up things for comfort. Nothing wrong with it if it makes you feel better. The problem is with people exploiting the fear and making up religions to control people. I don't believe in spirits influencing things. I live with the fear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 Gah typo in the title (majorit). I see someone's voted yes with no explanation. Bolded the important part of the question now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alchresearch Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 I voted yes because I simply think there's more to this universe than what we see and hear with our own eyes. Does Karma exist? Who knows, but I sure hope it does and it rights some wrongs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgksheff Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 The full report is here: http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/files/files/Reports/Spirit%20of%20Things%20-%20Digital%20%28update%29.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockjaw Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 I voted yes because I simply think there's more to this universe than what we see and hear with our own eyes. Hmm. I agree with that but fail to see why the "more" needs to be labelled as "supernatural" and not just accepted as stuff we don't understand yet. Then I go and look for definitions of supernatural and realise that what we really need is some intolerably tedious threads discussing what "supernatural" actually means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 I voted yes because I simply think there's more to this universe than what we see and hear with our own eyes. Does Karma exist? Who knows, but I sure hope it does and it rights some wrongs. I agree there's more to this Universe than we can see/hear but I don't understand how that would qualify as a reason to believe in the spiritual forces. It's a bit like saying "there's something in this bag, I can't see or hear what it is so I believe it's apples" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamo Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 It's a bit like saying "there's something in this bag, I can't see or hear what it is so I believe it's apples" No... they are pears you filthy infidel!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Hmm. I agree with that but fail to see why the "more" needs to be labelled as "supernatural" and not just accepted as stuff we don't understand yet. Then I go and look for definitions of supernatural and realise that what we really need is some intolerably tedious threads discussing what "supernatural" actually means. A simple definition would be something that isn't natural wouldn't it? A physical property of the universe that we don't yet understand is still natural, so not supernatural and definitely not "spiritual". Rather than the apple analogy, I see attributing anything to the supernatural as a response akin to going, "well, we don't understand this thing/phenomenon/event yet, and so I declare it impossible to understand and will believe that it is not part of the natural order of the universe, but instead is some sort of special thing/event/phenomenon that requires a special label." It's just giving up on reason and instead making up a reason so as to not appear ignorant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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