Hawkeye: “Many of these so-called miracles cannot be proved..."
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Winston Churchill defined a “fanatic” as someone who won’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”  This definition applies to New Age Fundamentalists like Hawkeye.  For the countless time, I never claim to offer anything close to proof.  I try to distinguish evidentially relevant material from material that suffers by comparison and should be deemed a counterfeit and then I seek the interpretation that makes the best sense of all  the data. 

Hawkeye: Many of these so-called miracles…seem more likely just coincidence.”
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This statement is all the more absurd by the unsubstantiated subjective New Age claims that Hawkeye uncritically embraces.  Hawkeye’s clichéd objection is like someone who claims that our rocket program launched spaceships into deep space and it is just a coincidence that landing craft reached Mars in safety.  Of course, he could backpedal in typical New Age fashion and resort to the desperate expedient of arguing that every claim made by someone who lacks Ghetto credentials must be lying or self-deluded.  But let’s expose the absurdity of the “mere coincidence” explanation by summarizing most of the cases I actually site:

(1) I have 4 death premonitions that all come true. I have never had such a premonition that did not come true.  I’m even psychically warned to sit down and wait to hear about one such death and the phone rings at once so I can hear about it and the need for me to replace the newly dead professor—and you actually deem it plausible to dismiss all this as mere coincidence?  Wow! 

(2) Gary is the source of this prayer healing.  Gary’s Grandpa is directed to a man he has never met at an address he has never visited to pray for an inoperable cancer that he otherwise knows nothing about, and you ask us to believe that the resulting prayer cure is just coincidence?!

(3) This experience is narrated by Ken Gaub’s daughter who was present at the time.  A suicidal woman calls Pastor Ken Gaub at a gas station pay phone near Dayton, OH with no idea of where Ken is or what the phone number there is.  And Hawkeye discerningly dismisses this as mere coincidence? 

(4) Leah’s friend feels an impulse to take a freeway exit and enter a McDonalds lady’s room with a word of comfort for a woman in the toilet booth is on the verge of suicide.   Leah’s friend had no reason to believe a suicidal woman was there, but Hawkeye deems this a mere coincidence?

(5) My Dad’s friend, Ken, explains his conversion from agnosticism to Christianity.  He challenges God to give him a sign, namely that a man will approach him in front of an Edmonton office building where he will attend a business meeting and say, “Alms please.”  A panhandler dressed like a Scotsman says these implausible archaic words and dematerializes—and our Hawkeye dismisses this as mere coincidence?

(6) Muslim extremist, Ahmed ia dying of AIDS and in retrospect admits he wanted to kill the young Christian couple who visited him in the hospital an prayed for his recovery.  Jesus appears to him in his room, showering him with pure unconditional love so powerfully that Ahmed immediately wants to become a Christian.  He seeks out the kind Christian couple and their prayers complete the healing of advanced AIDs that the apparition of Jesus began.  And Hawkeye suggests that all this has a natural explanation? 


(7) Jesus enters a hospital room as a blinding light as a pre-arranged time in front of several witnesses.  Psychologist Nita Edwards is healed of severe spinal damage, and  withered hands.  Even the thighs on her useless legs are restored.—and Hawkeye actually quibbles with the need to concede that a miracle has occurred?

(8) Leonard Sleight’s son returns from the dead, drives his old pick-up, informs his Dad about his total financial situation so that Leonard does not need to do any research.  Jeff’s late wife Karen appears to Leonard the next day and instantly heals his grief for all to see—and Hawkeye sees no need to consider this a miracle?

(9) My cousin Darlene’s eye is badly torn up when struck by a stray tennis smash.  X-rays show that she needs surgery, which is scheduled for the next day.  But her girlfriends at ORU maintain a long prayer vigil for her healing and she receives “a brand new baby eye.”  But our bigot, Hawkeye, cannot accept a miracle like this because of his hatred and bias against Oral Roberts.  Hawkeye is so blind he cannot even consider the fact that Darlene and her friends had rebelled against Oral’s fundamentalism!

(10) John dies in a car crash.  The medical examiner verifies that John has no heart-beat, pulse, etc. and pronounces him dead.  John is sent to the morgue.  But his wife Helen feels compelled to pray for a resurrection miracle and gets it.  But our Hawkeye who is willing to embrace all sorts of unverifiable New Age drivel is unimpressed!

Hawkeye: "Many of these so-called miracles seem more likely just coincidence."
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In reply, I pointed to the paranormal aspects of 10 of my cases that make the "just coincidence" rationalization absurd.  Hawkeye immediately realizes this, and so, he backpedals and offers a different objection that is even more absurd:

Hawkeye: "These so-called miracles can be explained as helpers from other dimensions using the appearance of Jesus so as not to scare, or in orider make the apparition acceptable to the receiver."
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This evasion assumes that any astral appearances that don't fit the New Age Ghetto's preconceptions must be cases of spirit impersonation!  The claim stoops to the paralllel argument of some in the Fundamentalist Ghetto that any astral appearances that don't fit their preceptions must stem from demonic impersonators.  Both variations of this impersonation claim are designed to make verification, even in principle, impossible.  This ploy short-circuits any pretensions to an honest spiritual quest. 

But that is not what is most absurd about Hawkeye's backpedaling; he is critiquing the 10 paranormal experiences I cite from my 12, but invokes his New Age doctrine without even noting that only 2 of my 12 cases feature an apparition of Jesus!  Hawkeye's backpedaling blinds him to the fact that his revised theory no longer even addresses 10 of my 12 examples!  Duh!

Also, notice carefully that New Age fundamentalists constantly project their own propensity to pontificate on to me, someone who never pontificates about bilblical truth or the provabiility of his paranormal verifications.  I will continue to rub your nose in the irrationality of your rants until you display the ability or at least the inclination to offer reasoned positions.  Note that I always offer rationales for my positions, unlike my pontificating New Age friends.

Don

When you know, YOU KNOW don....good luck.

Tally HO!

See ya upon your return. I look forward to it and hope that you have the brown cleaned out of your eyes by then.
Those at "Gods" church that you speak in are doing many good works. They should be commended. Their acts of charity may end up bringing about real miracles. Good luck on your quest. I truely hope that you can find what you are looking for.

Berserk complains about a lack of philosophical debate here. He has a degree in, I guess, theology, I have an degree in philosophy. And I can tell you, the philosophers very often shake their heads when theologians tell about what they think is a philosophy.

Berserk undoubtly has a sense for scientific methods and discriminations. That's good. But he has no sense of their limitations. And he weights "proof" differently, depending on the source: Christian or not. That's not so good. He might not be aware of it, as he looks as well at mundane science, but the acceptance of old scripture's tellings as if it were as good as a proof identifies him as a hard believer in a certain concept.

We should consider though that each of us might be in some ways influenced by baseless, but still basic beliefs. So let's be wakeful. As believing in a religion or a similar system will not give you peace.

Spooky

Don't believe the pudding, don't believe the taste.
Spooky

P.S.
OK, I admit it, philosophy graduates can be destructive. Maybe they should sent immediately to a Zen convent .