Does belief in the paranormal have anything to do with religious belief?

What are your opinions ?

Well sometimes it contradicts each other , sometimes it intertwines and goes hand in hand...I guess it also depends on the phenomena one is talking or thinking about.Depends on your definition of "paranormal".

KoolEaze said:

sometimes

Tremolina said:

In my opinion Yes.

Fairies, Ghosts, God, Thor, Xanu etc etc -- all sitting around the same flying teapot sharing Moon tea and pixie biscuits !!

A position on things "paranormal" is essentially part of one's accepted cosmology and presumably it would inform, to some degree, how one conducts oneself in relation to the universe. That's quintessentially religious... albeit not necessarily governed by the doctrines and creeds of a formal church so to speak.
[Edited 8/21/08 8:28am]

NancyMoonbeam said:

"Shake yer reptile, baby!"

I was thinking about this the other day.

I think it has to do more with a spiritual belief moreso than religion. I know quite a few people who don't subscribe to religion, but do believe there is a spiritual realm/paranormal activity.

Measure in Love
"May the voice of the child in you never stop speaking. May it fall like a gift from heaven, offering to dessicated words its splendorous burst of laugher, the salt of its tears, its all powerful wildness." Maurice Blanchot

I think so.
Most atheists i've met don't believe in anything paranormal.

Not horoscopes, i mean nothing.

I think that most people that believe in things we can't necessarily explain, believe in some sort of deity.

applekisses said:

applekisses said:

Lammastide said:

madartista said:

Lammastide said:

A position on things "paranormal" is essentially part of one's accepted cosmology and presumably it would inform, to some degree, how one conducts oneself in relation to the universe. That's quintessentially religious... albeit not necessarily governed by the doctrines and creeds of a formal church so to speak.

that's what i was thinking, but in a much less eloquent manner.

Yes.
Belief in the paranormal can support your belief of your particular regligious views.

Well, the bible says that God created powerful spirt beings (angels), some rebelled and 'forsook their original place in heaven',
forming physical bodies for themselves and married human women and produced offspring.

Later, they were banished from the spiritual heavens to the confines of the earth awaiting their eventual punishment,
although they can no longer take on physical bodies.

But supernatural things deal more with the spirit world than with religious, although the bad angels tend to want to create deception to mislead people and blur the lines of Truth.


(From what I've learned studying the bible.)

I think it does. But, it's strange for me. Growing up I was terrified of demons. But taught that there was no such thing as ghosts and the dead have no souls. So all the weird things that happened at my grandfather's house were because of demons, according to my mother.

We were not allowed to have charms, watch Bewitched or Casper, own a Ouija board, go to a palm reader, read our horoscope, read Tales From the Crypt comics...as all of these things could bring demons into your life.

Today I'm not sure what to believe. Do we have a soul that lives on? Are there ghosts or spirits? What is the difference? Doesn't paranormal and supernatural go hand in hand? I know what I was taught, but I saw too many weird things in my life and I guess I just don't believe it was just demons coming after my family.

There is a lot of paranormal stuff in the Bible:

http://www.bibleufo.com/biblepara.htm

Plus, Jesus had paranormal powers and so did Moses.

For a Buddhist, absolutely, although I'm not sure there's much agreement on how literally Buddhists should take much of paranormal type goings-on in Buddhist scriptures. Certainly many forms of Buddhism involve a belief in a great many superstitions and seemingly implausible tales that could be deemed paranormal. Ghosts definitely play an important role. In the Theravada Buddhism and Hindu influenced Thai Buddhism I'm probably most familiar with, a belief in ghosts is essential to a Buddhist's day to day rituals, for both monks and laypeople. Just look at Thai spirit houses.

No connection at all.....at least 4 me.

If you take the Bible literally, then yes. Talking snakes, spontaneous combustion of speaking bushes, people turning to salt, changing physical properties of beverages and spontaneous creation of fishy matter...

G0d said:

Nikster...Nikademus...whatever, I'm still Nik

http://www.myspace.com/nikademus_1969

http://www.myspace.com/lesbiansoutloud

Aren't souls basically ghosts?

The Bible has references to both "God-ordained" spiritual giftings, as well as ones that fell outside the sphere of God-ordained practices. I, too, was thinking recently about the Bible and the paranormal. Especially the instance when, upon seeing Jesus Christ walking on water, His disciples mistook Him for a ghost. Third person in the Trinity is referred to as the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost.

Even within its explicit declarations concerning the Personhood of God, the Bible presents its information within familiar contexts and alludes to a broader context that lies beyond what generally is considered Bible-based Christianity to the paranormal.

To that end, I don't think it much a stretch to say that people who are open to the concept of a divine force reaching out to humanity and establishing a means of relationship (John 3:16) are people who at the very least are open to forces beyond humanity affecting and shaping reality as humans know it.

I think the books of Genesis, Job, Daniel, 2 Corinthians and Revelation are really cool about providing divine contexts to human reality while certainly not dispelling the entire mystery.

"...and, if it was good in the past, it's still good." -- Sly Stone, Woodstock

Some people need to believe that life has some meaning beyond the mundane. Some people need to beleive that there has to be something above and beyond their everyday lives: a point to it all. The reasons people feel this way are multitude, but all are related to a type of insecurity and desperation. Its a very human need, and in many ways perfectly understandable, but ultimatley one to be fought as it lies in the realms of denial rather than the truth so many claim to seek.

So yes, the two are very much connected since they both appeal to the same mindset of need and insecurity...
[Edited 8/25/08 19:58pm]

TY all for sharing your opinions

razor said:

Graycap23 said:

The suspension of disbelief in paranormal happenings are intrinsic to virtually every religion of course.

depends on which religion and the definition of normal

would u rather have a novice at matters of the heart....or an expert lover?....then don't complain and appreciate this.....

"today, your love. tomorrow. the world...wish could stay, but i'm looking 4 more"