That sounds pretty definitive and conclusive. There are no scientific studies going on anymore on NDE's?
You've illustrated there very well how ordinary imagination can develop into grand delusion. But good luck anyway with your voodoo style group phsycosis and that particular version of the Jerusalem syndrome. Just as long as you don't hurt anyone.
I see what you mean. Then people for whom reason is not enough, should not try to reason those needs . It's not a case of convincing them their needs are wrong. It is a case of pointing out they are being deceitful and dishonest in claiming those unreasoned (religious) needs (delusions) are reasoned, or reasonable, for that matter.
I tend to agree. Thankfully, most of those folks are not trying to build bridges or aircraft based only on perceptions and emotions related to those needs. I think their current reaction and intensity stem from the attempts to invalidate their experience by those without a spiritual instinct. Clumsily, they fall back on a scripture, which typically results in literalism.
Rictor, what is the spiritual instinct? That is like instinct to survive? All people have that. For example 8 people on a boat. A storm is making the boat full with water. Everyone is very afraid, everyone only think how to survive. Some people have less fear because they pray to not drown, but EVERYONE is pushing the water out of the boat with their hands, filling shoes to take the water out, using their hats, using anything to get the water out. They go to land and survive. They survive from the prayer, or they survive because they take the water out AND the storm did not last a long time? Some people say it was the prayer. They feel very special, and feel spiritual and happy. Some people feel very lucky and grateful.
http://www.audioenglish.net/dictionary/sentience.htm I am not sure what you are saying stu. But I think you are saying to be spiritual (magic) is to believing something will help you that people can not help you with. And that is comfort. But really it is effort, or lucky, or random things of time. But I see how prayer can take a fear away when someone think they will die. When they do not die, they think because it is the prayer, they are special. But not really. Just lucky, or good effort, or both. No magic.
Well sort of. What I'm saying trendlover is, to be spiritual is actually to imagine there is mysterious magic behind the outcome of any experience one cares to pick out. So the faculty through which the external world is apprehended (sentience) by those with a spiritual instinct, will by definition fly in the face of any reasoned evidence to the contrary, because they reason -- reason is never sufficient! It is said understanding certain things cannot be via reason as reason is not enough. But then contradictorily there are attempts to reason it is a good thing not being able to understand the why or how of certain outcomes or experiences (but you must display gratitude for them), because they are often provided by the magical deceptions of a Giant Cloud Wizard. Obviously (as the reasoning goes!) sentience cannot be reasoned, it is a spiritual thing (magic). When all the time spiritual instinct really, is a human emotion. A particular reaction to events and thought. Imaginations of magic.
Yes. Like if I plant the zinnia flower. And that flower likes alot of sun to grow wide with many flowers. But I put the flower in the place with some sun, but more shade. The flower does not grow wide, but grows very tall and not wide. I can (imagine) the flower is growing very tall to reach to god, or I can understand the flower grows tall and not wide because it will grow tall to be close to the sun when it does not get enough of the sun. Now I know to put the flower in more sun next time, so it is wider and have more flowers, and healthier.