The fantastic Fanta is back!

That's right. I find flesh eating alien lizards easier to believe in than Christianity. What does tell you about Christianity? It is less believable and makes less sense.

I have very good reasons for my conclusions about alien lizards, (to include ancient depictions of them raping women and eating children, and even the serpant in the garden of Eden was a Naga, one of the snake people so you should believe in them too actually, if you believe in the Bible. But you just call all those sightings Satan.)

JB

You put an unreasonable burden of evidence on Christianity, but you believe in Dracos and gnomes and Tarot card reading with no evidence at all. The Amazing Randi has proven agian and again that Tarot cards are bunk. I used to do Tarot card readings with my Rider-Waite Tarot cards and was amazed at the accuracy. Then one day I realized that the cards have so many possible, yet vague meanings that they can't be wrong. They are designed that way to fool the guilible, but today many of the guilible aren't on the other side of the table...they are on both sides.

Believe what you will, but the evidence of the Bible far out-weights the the evidence for your beliefs. Not saying your beliefs are wrong...just that there isn't as much evidence as you have suggested.

This is awesome and just a small taste of the awesomeness that is James Randi.

http://www.randi.org/swift/current/psychic.html

Christianity claims outlandish things and wants everyone to believe them, so they need to show proof if they want to claim these things are true because they seek to convince everyone else they are.

I don't have the foggiest idea who "the amazing Randy" is and I don't much care what his opinion about tarot cards is. I go by my own personal experience and I continue to be skeptical in the use of them, and I continue to tell people that they are not to be taken seriously, and they continue to amaze me in their accuracy.

I have personal evidence in dracos and gnomes and tarot cards. Personal experience is all I accept. I do not offer proof for others because I don't give a rat's behind what they believe if they are not willing to investigate or ask questions, they will not find answers.

It is true that tarot cards have ambiguous meanings, that is why when I do a reading, the person must be specific if they want a specific answer, otherwise if they are vague they will get a vague energy reading. The cards only indicate energies present. They do not predict the future.

JB

Wow...You demand proof of Christianity but exempt your own beliefs. Just like I said: Double Standard.

You pretend to have some great important knowledge and to love all people, but you refuse to share your evidence. More likely, your "evidence" is so flimsy that you are afraid you would be laughed at or you are simply afraid to have your beliefs looked at critically.

Heya Spider. Long time no talk.

Thanks for posting that article it was really very interesting, and yes I do believe that there are some people that are so adept at picking up peoples body language and are so empathetic they can appear to be psychic. I myself have always been extremely empathetic and I am honing my abilities much in the way this person was. Not for the sake of fooling anyone into thinking I am psychic. Mainly because I enjoy nothing else than researching the human mind and trying to figure out what makes us all tick and why we think the way we do. It's why I love this forum so much. So many thoughts and opinions from every which way.

That being said, at the same time I do believe there are some people that do truly have a supernatural psychic ability. Just because some people are frauds does not make them all frauds. I also believe in aliens, demons, and some things that go bump in the night. I am very open to my beliefs and I believe in what I can find support that makes sense to me.

Back to the original topic though because I think this post kind of strayed away from the actual issue at hand. I do feel it is wrong to lie to children about anything. When they are that age they are the most impressionable and easy to manipulate and we can't use that to take advantage of them. Convincing children Santa is real can have the same psychological misfortunes as telling them the boogyman will come and eat them if they don't eat their vegetables or their face will stick if they make keep it one way for too long.

Our brains our a magnificent organ that can do amazing things based on the knowledge it is given and allowed to process and it is different for each person. Some people take great offense when they learned they have been lied to, especially by someone they trust. I am one of those people who hates nothing more than to catch someone lying to me. I honestly believe that we should tell and teach our children the truth. Or like some people have suggested tell people the stories and fairy tales but let the children know that they are not real. Give them the straight facts and let them ask questions and understand things. That is how they grow up to be logical and independant thinking children. I wish my parents had done that for me instead of shrouding me in lies for my entire childhood.

I luckily was able to see through the lies and find my own way. My brother and sister have not been as lucky as of yet and I am still trying to get them to open their eyes and understand there is so much more to the world once you start to think for yourself. I definately understand how it is fun to have your fantasies and stories. I love nothing more than to lose myself in imagination. Although people also need to be able to differentiate the difference between real world and imaginary world and that is sometimes not as easy when you have been lied to in your youth.

Spider,

I read his bit about his experience with Tarot Cards. I can relate to that. I read the cards the best I can but I don't pretend to see things or try to let on that I am psychic.

I got into them as an experiment after reading about a guy who did it as a college term paper.

If you can read signs and faces and body language you don't need cards at all.

If you are truly psychic like my friend Val, you don't need the cards. She used the cards but she does not need them as she really does see things. She even comes up with names.

I continually test the cards and I continue to practice with them because they do work. I love cold readings with strangers because you know nothing about them so there are no preconceived ideas or guessing. Sometimes I just draw the cards and read the book meaning.

JB

It is not a double standard Spider, because I seek truth for my own sake, not to start a cult.

If a person truly is interested in what I know or think and why, I will share my experience with them. But I do not waste my time seeking non-believers and trying to convince them of something, nor do I tell people that what I believe is a fact. I tell them it is a consideration or conclusion based on personal experience and information.



I share my information and evidence only to genuinely or concerned interested persons, which are few and far between, although I have met a couple on this site.

Whether my evidence is "flimsy" or not is for them to be the judge, not me. I only show them what I have.

My beliefs ARE looked at critically by the run of the mill population (as are all beliefs that challenge the status quo.) But convincing the world is not my purpose or mission.

JB

That is not the case. By your logic, before we had the technology to prove oxygen was real then it was either a myth, legend, or lie. That is why the proof lies in the person making the claim. I never claimed Jesus was real. I believe he is.

There are many things that science believes or teaches that are not proven. You may mean well, but your logic is flawed.

If that is what you believe then remember that I have always said that everything I state is just my opinion, consideration or conclusion. I believe that religion is based on a myth. It cannot be proven otherwise. That is my belief and my opinion. I sometimes state my truth in an affirmative manner but it is still a matter of belief. I don't expect everyone to believe me.

JB

The problem with that statement is we never needed technology to prove to us Oxygen was real. Everyone already knew oxygen was real as it is what we breathe to keep us alive. We may not have always had the name oxygen for it, but that doesn't mean it never existed. The very fact we were alive was our proof which is why it was accepted. Technology had nothing to do with it.

What about a million other things. Other planets, plant/animal life (they use to think the giant squid was a myth). The world being round was once thought a myth too. Despite whether or not I gave a good example, her logic is still flawed.

Wow, for a simple question this is really getting out of hand!!!

Okay, first of all, the difference between truth and fiction is that fiction has to be believable. Christianity must then be truth, because the story to too fantastic to be believable and therefore cannot be fiction.

Santa Claus must also be true, because no one could possibly believe that one man can visit all 3.4 billion homes world wide in one night.

Look the simple truth is this. Acts of kindness and charity occur every day without someone donning a red suit or sitting in a manger. Christmas has nothing to do with religion, sorry the concepts of the American traditional christmas were started by Sears and Roebuck in the 1870's. Christmas was not celebrated in America because it was considered an "English" holiday.

If you need these things to give you an explanation as to why, then take it, believe in it, and run with it. Near as I could tell, no one was bashing Christianity in here until the Christians came in to tell everyone else how misguided and ignorant they were. Yes, everyone is picking on the so maligned christian right again. Notice how no one has a problem with the Christian left? That's because they actually follow the teachings of their dogma and don't sit in judgement of other men. They know that is reserved for god and god alone.

Santa Claus? He exists in the heart of every person of good will no matter what religion. You know what, God does the same thing.

I say as long as you believe in something its real whether it be Santa,ghosts,monsters under the bed or whatever.
As far as Santa being Satan get a grip.

So are you saying that if I don't believe in my phone bill it will disappear? I'll try that.

If Santa exists, he exists in the dream world, not the physical dimension. If he exists in the dream world he is unable to bring toys to kids all over the world. Therefore that part of the story is false.

my kid believes in santa.i told him i bought the toys and santa delivers them....
as far as bills it works for me..

A true story:

I was my opening bills and my sister, who was my new roommate, saw me toss two of them in the trash.

She asked me why I did that. I said because I just don't have the money to pay them. She asked why did I throw them in the trash, why didn't I set them aside.

I said. "Oh, they will send another one next month, no problem."

people have claim to have seen santa in their house even climbing down their chimney with a bag full of toys, parents even take their children to the mall to see santa and sit in his lap and ask for their wish to come true, on the News during the weather reports the News service tracks santa and his reindeer with doppler radar, people claim to have heard santa sleigh land on their roof tops,

there are cookies or hot coco or alcohol left out for santa that disappears and the kids swear they saw santa feast on it and even the post office send all the mail that is addressed to santa to the north pole and it's a federal offense to intentionly mis-direct the U.S. mail and what about the kids that will kneel and pray to santa to answer their prayers

so are all these people that claim they have seen or heard or receive blessing from santa all lieing or delusional ..clearly the government wouldn't approve of or even condone or take part in such a deception of it's citizens ..so clearly this means that santa exist

I never understood the *need* for Santa Claus. Why can't the presents just come from the parents? The whole "be good or you won't get any presents" would still work.

And I think Santa turned into kind of a bully at some point. The original were just nice but the later version was threatening- "he sees you when your sleeping" (pervert!) "he knows when you're awake, he know if you've been good or bad" etc. and then threats.

I was taught to be good for the sake of bringing joy and order into the universe. Why does there have to be an omniscient boogie man?