Atheists, skepticism, and strange beliefs

[Claymore]

I realise that not all atheists came there the same way, and nor do they all have the same outlook on life.

For example, I'm the skeptical type. I was brought up Christian, and came to atheism via questioning things, in contrast to other people who have never believed in a deity at all. Over time, my outlook has become more skeptical of any sort of claim; I'll be the one asking for evidence for strange things before I'll accept them. I must admit, James Randi's weekly columns (http://www.randi.org/) have been very useful in that respect.

It occurs to me that there may be those who may be atheist but still believe in other odd things; my ex-wife, for example, didn't believe in God but did believe in the devil. Having known her, maybe she had a point. :D What about those who might believe in things like astrology, homeopathy, copper healing bracelets, magnetic fuel efficiency improvers, and suchlike - are there those who are skeptical in some aspcts of their lives but not in others?

[BCO]

Alternative medicine's a tricky one for me - a lot of it seems like real quack stuff, but it does appear to work for many people. My 2c: if it makes you feel better (placebo effect, or whatever), then use it.

[ShaunSA]

I was a believer for the first twenty odd years of my life. Born into a conservative Hindu family doesn't leave much room for anything else lol. But then I started to think and question what I had been brought up to believe. Ended up athiest. Theres a ton of things out there that we cant explain currently. I refuse to accept "made-up" answers just because we don't have the ability to figure it out yet. As time goes by and we advance we will know better.

[Mr TB]

I questioned atheism on the basis that it can't give me a true honest answer for the origin of life.
I questioned evolution because it can not explain how life started...
I ended up with the the bible explaining both...

[ToxicBunny]

Ummm, Mr TB : Evolution does not cover the topic of how life started so of course its not going to explain it.

And what exactly does atheism have to do with the origin of life? pray tell cos I'd love to know

The bible doesn't explain anything, it gives stories and metaphors at best, lies at worst....

[texo]

Dammit -- another potentially very interesting thread has been dodo'd.

Trying to get back on track:
I'll admit that there are a few "alternative" health practices which I'm uncertain about. I actually edited a magazine for a while (called "Alternatives") which meant that I had a lot of contact with "healers": from acupuncture to bee venom therapy to tai chi. Some of them were real nutjobs, but I still wonder...

[ghoti]

What do you guys think of karma?

[Nick333]

What do you guys think of karma?

Its a bitch. :p

It depends on your definition of karma of course. Some people see it as a a sort of banking system were bad actions rack up bad karma that has to be paid off through good deeds.

I like the Buddhist idea of karma which is more along the lines of that we create our own suffering through clinging to delusions. I'm obviously a bit skeptical that we carry our karma from life to life (because I'm skeptical of the concept of rebirth), but I can see how the nerosis', conditioning and delusional thought patterns we accumulate from the minute we are born could be described as karma.

[noxibox]

I'll admit that there are a few "alternative" health practices which I'm uncertain about. I actually edited a magazine for a while (called "Alternatives") which meant that I had a lot of contact with "healers": from acupuncture to bee venom therapy to tai chi.
Using needles to break up internal scar tissue is a good idea. The rest of acupuncture is pointless mumbo jumbo.

[Dr Seuss]

alternative medicine is tricky - and i stand by the "if it works for you" statement. and a few generations ago, it was mainstream medicine, not just alternative. and it worked for those people because they believed in it. look how we believe in western "non-alternative" medicine, when it actually does not work for some - we just live with the side effects and belive what we're told.

looking at it purely from a scientific viewpoint, all alternative therapy actually makes sense, because the human consciousness can direct it's own healing through altering it's own focus and vibration - vibration being the rate of energy exchange, or something like that. some therapies, like acupuncture work with electrical currents. alternative therapies take on a whole new meaning when seen not as faith healing, but as actual practices with scientific theories behind them.

[Dr Seuss]

you guys HAVE to check this site out.:eek:

http://www.god-forum.co.za/

[Nanfeishen]

I grew up in a spiritualist household, so i was exposed to alternate ideas from a young age, and was always allowed to question the ideas. Believe me in the early 70's, that wasnt easy with the mindset of most people in those days, "if it wasnt Religion, it was the Devils work".
Have been doing Tai Chi for 22 years, and have done and experienced a lot of alternate healing. Acupuncture, acupressure, moxibustion, Reiki and Qigong healing, tried them all ,and found i had some positive experiences, and some neutral(no effect), but nothing negative.
Nowadays i practice Qigong on a daily basis, along with my Tai Chi and find my energy levels are higher, my health is better than average, and my general well being for someone of 43 is better than average.
There is i believe a lot to be said for alternate medicine and healing, but and this is important, you must approach it with an open mind, free of prejudgements and perconceptions.

[Dr Seuss]

that's what's so great about alternative therapies - i actually left the medical profession because mainstream medicine seems to have too many negative effects, with little regard to the long term effect for the patient. alternative therapies have no negative effects. they take longer sometimes, and we all want to see instant results with no responsibility for our own healing. don't get me wrong, western medicine has it's place, but so do alternative therapies.

[noxibox]

looking at it purely from a scientific viewpoint, all alternative therapy actually makes sense, because the human consciousness can direct it's own healing through altering it's own focus and vibration - vibration being the rate of energy exchange, or something like that. some therapies, like acupuncture work with electrical currents. alternative therapies take on a whole new meaning when seen not as faith healing, but as actual practices with scientific theories behind them.
Then you'll be able to demonstrate these things in controlled scientific experiments.

That's the difference - medicine is based on research and blind testing, so-called alternative medicine is based on believing and the placebo effect.

The "feats" seen in practices like Qigong are nothing other than basic natural abilities of the body and the building of physical strength/resilience. They're similar to walking on fire, walking on glass, breaking a piece of wood with your hand, bending a metal rod with your breastbone or throat, beinding an arrow with your throat. None of these are anything special.

[Claymore]

As far as I'm concerned, there is medicine, and there is non-medicine. Ether it works (medicine) or it doesn't. "Alternative medicine" seems to be a way of making "non-working" sound better. If something works, medicine embraces it.

[Dr Seuss]

Then you'll be able to demonstrate these things in controlled scientific experiments.

I have actually seen, with the aid of energy sensors, how people can direct energy to where they want it in the body. obviously previously understood methods of healing are being researched to recover lost knowledge and put the therapies back into practice. the knowledge has been lost through world strife and powers directing what they want people to believe. don't make the mistake of underestimating faith, though. we have creational abilities yet untapped. for now, all we understand is that we have the ability to make choices and act on those choices, and bring about reality. ie. goes from a thought(energy) to reality. i'd call that concrete evidence that we are creationists, even if we take it for granted. so why do you think we would not be able to bring about healing in our own bodies through energy healing??
it's not evil, you know.