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NDE and Cognitive Dissonance

11/29/2014

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Much research is being done on the subject of Near Death Experiences (NDE) . Many prominent scientists and philosopher are arguing that the visions and experiences of persons who where at death’s door indicates that there is a spiritual existence, which separates from one’s material body and thus there is awareness and life after death.

Interpretation in these cases as proof of an afterlife is not 100% convincing to some. This sparks furious debates between qualified educated people. Each side accusing the other side of cognitive dissonance. This tendency of hearing or seeing only what one wants is well known. The same observations are then interpreted to strengthen their position. We all indulge in wishful thinking. This creates a situation were nobody wins. People get upset that the opposite side cannot “see” the “obvious” and often leads to name calling and questioning the other side’s mental abilities. This result is unavoidable where the participants are convinced at the outset that their position is correct.

I don’t think this is the case in some NDE debates. Many people, including myself, start out with the wish that there is an afterlife and would like to see proof emerge from all the research that is going on. They wish that the research will eventually prove, without a doubt, that there is an awareness not depending on a material brain. There are people who have decided that the research so far, has proven this already and will defend their conclusions fiercely and because of cognitive dissonance see every NDE as more proof of their position. Others. Like myself are not 100% convinced yet and dispute that, although they wish it, the current research results are not convincing enough. An awareness after death requires a spiritual disconnection of the material body, The many anecdotal experiences will be accepted by many people but also rejected immediately by people who do not believe in an afterlife, this stalemate cannot be resolved , There is however a 3rd group of people, who wish an afterlife exists, who want to live forever, but see flaws in the current conclusions because their cognitive dissonance is not as strong and need a better rational proof of the matter. Since NDE could only be valid if the person is actual dead (not clinical dead) and there is some reason to believe that a person “returning” had somehow a part, even an tiniest sliver of life, not measurable with our current techniques, surviving. If that is the case, then NDEs can be classified as dreams, hallucination etc. cause by that tiny spark starting the brain activity up again. The purpose of this blog is not to start an argument whether  the evidence is conclusive or not but rather to point out that we are not there yet. I have still many questions and hope to address them in the future. The research is going on and hopefully becomes mor convincing in the future. So far it is not.

Another question I struggle with, why do we even have to do this kind of research. Why did the Almighty not make it absolutely clear in a manner that is unquestionable to all of us, instead of only to a few people who claim to have ESP.

 

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No Religion, Better World?

11/18/2014

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When you ask that question many non-believers will answer  yes!. Religion has caused many wars and killed many people but the believer will say no, it is the atheists such as Stalin, Mao, Hitler and Pol Pot who have caused more deaths, implying that the one with the most victims is therefor more guilty. That is like stating that a mass murderer who kills ten people is a better person than one who kills twenty. Comparisons, like the above, are called false equivalences or logical fallacies.

Instead of blaming religion or atheism for wars lets pause for a moment. Current human behavior is driven by the “territorial imperative”. Just like our prehistoric ancestors. We defend our title to our land or the sovereignty of our country for reasons no different than do animals. Territoriality is hard wired in our brains. There is actually only one human race left, using the biological definition of race. Our version has been so aggressive that we eliminated all other similar races from the earth, the Neanderthals being the last ones. According to Robert Ardey in “the Territorial Imperative” this is why property owners act when disputing a fence or how nations behave. Ardey, long before the war ended, predicted that because of the “Territorial Imperative” America would lose and North Vietnam would win. Many religious wars were basically territorial disputes. In prehistoric times, the God-emperors, would attack rival tribes when they grew beyond their boundaries and needed more “lebensraum”. The other tribe was ruled by the devil so most ancient wars were “religious” wars. Our “race” is particularly aggressive and murderous. Territorial conflicts can be as small as a seat, the space around your car when driving, causing road rage, fences, gang territory, or as large as a nation, when it needs resources such as food, minerals or oil. The bible is full of examples of “religious” wars, such when Moses, eliminated by genocide, many tribes in the “Holy” land because the land was needed to expand his tribe. This is morally justified in the bible’ so if we want to get rid of wars, it is not only religion we must get rid of, but we must recognize and overcome our hardwired territorial instincts which were so successful in the past and resulting of the human animal dominating the earth. It has become a liability in the modern world. We have the capacity for reasoning, which is lacking in non-human animals so let’s use it. We must develop a new set of morals (laws) benefitting every human on earth. If we fail to do so and cling to the ancient “morals” of the past which were a result of our territorial instincts, we are doomed.

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Prayer vs Medical Attention

11/11/2014

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When I read about another case of a child’s death because the parents relied on prayer instead of seeking medical attention, my blood boils.  It is a sign of progress that in some States the parents are charged with manslaughter or murder, such as Travis and Wenona Rossiter belonging to the Church of the First Born. The church rejects modern medicine, believing that those who are sick should be prayed over and anointed with oil. (James 5:14: Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord”).

Charging the parent is a start but that does not get at the root of the problem and is not enough of a deterrent to prevent re-occurrence. The main culprits are those religious leaders who preach these practices. They should be charged as accessories to these crimes. It is high time that “freedom of religion” as interpreted by some courts, not to include the “freedom” to advocate what amounts to criminal behavior in our society.

 In another post “Main Skeptic” wrote: Some religions can be completely corrupt, and even deadly, and the government won't hold them accountable. The IRS even had a policy, up until recently, that it wouldn't investigate complaints about churches. The Ninth District court decided a couple of years ago that human trafficking by the Church of Scientology was a protected sacrament”. Imagine that in some future case that Sharia Law was argued to be also a “protected sacrament” in the case of stoning to death an unfaithful woman.

We must try to persuade our judicial system to pass laws that make it illegal to advocate practices that endanger one’s health and can lead to severe consequences, including death. This would discourage religious leaders and politicians to advocating practices such as prayers, withholding blood transfusions, and even alternative unproven medicines. Faith Healers should also be prevented from practicing unless they can pass a rigorous neutral examination of their “powers” by documenting the medical condition of a person before and after the “cure” for a suitable length for time to check the effectiveness of their “treatment”. Psychics should similarly be tested before being licensed to practice and if not licensed should be charged to prevent exploiting the gullible.

To get back to the death of children because of the withholding proper medical procedures that could have prevented such tragedies, we must start to demand that anyone, including politicians, who advocate these practices are criminally charged as accessories. We MUST especially save the lives of the children where the decision is made by their caregivers.



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The Beginning of the End of Religion

11/3/2014

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The whole basis of most religions. especially in the Abrahamic ones, is the existence of an afterlife. There are many wishfull thinkers trying to proof that an afterlife exists. The major “research” group is the Near Death Experience Research Foundation. (www.nderf.org). Since there are many “research” groups making a good living by keeping this going it is not going away pretty soon, so let us exam what they have accomplished so far. They have already claimed success of course by stating they have examined 3700 case of NDEs in many different countries. You would think that’s enough but they are asking people to send in their stories because “we need more research”. I bet they do, because all those stories are anecdotal testimonies of NEAR dead people. Not ACTUALLY dead people, although they were pronounced CLINICALLY dead, a determination by the attending physician(s). which could not be true since we would have thousands of “resurrected” people. Even religious persons believe in only one resurrection.

Raymond Moody, in his Book “ Paranormal, My Life in Persuit of the Afterlife states “By mere light of reason it seems impossible to prove the immortality of the soul.  Some new species of logic is required for that purpose and some new faculties of the mind that they may enable us to comprehend it. Well, to help him out, Tom Spitzer wrote. ”A New Species Of Logic” on the ndrf.org website. Please read it. It is full of “pseudo science, so dear to many pseudo scientists who love to use scientific terms, while not even understanding what they are taking about (see my blog on that subject)., for example: “Well what do we know?The sub atomic structure of any number of brains is the same and cannot be individualized.  The quantum foam, quarks is/are totally interchangeable. The atomic structure of any number of brains is the same and cannot be individualized.  Once again protons, electrons, neutrons are totally interchangeable.” And so on. That is to prove a “new species of logic"?

In contrast we find in the Skeptic’s Dictionary (Robert T Carroll on Cristian Popa’s page): ”Moody, is sure that NDEs are evidence of consciousness existing separately from the brain. He thinks that NDEs prove the existence of life after death. Others, on the other hand, believe that NDEs can be explained by neurochemistry and are the result of brain states that occur due to a dying, demented, extremely stressed, or drugged brain. Now I ask you which conclusion is more logical.( without the silly notion of having to invent a “new Species of Logic”)

Then there is Alzheimer’s disease, where the brain is slowly destroyed. I have seen my mother suffer from this dreadful affliction. Her awareness slowly died and in the final stages her awareness was totally gone. Research the web and you find plenty of reason to conclude that when the brain function is destroyed, awareness is destroyed. When awareness is gone the whole notion of an afterlife, Heaven, Hell, and God, is a moot point. I will repeat what I have stated many times before, after your brain stops working, your awareness goes back to the place it was, before you were born. Ask yourself if awareness was NOT dependent on your physical brain, why did you not have an awareness before you were conceived. Your awareness developed slowly when your brain developed so you can logically conclude that awareness is a physical brain function. You don’t have to invent a “New Species of Logic” for that.

As a footnote, the Pope declared that evolution and the Big Bang  are not in conflict with the Church’s teachings so say good bye to Creationism, sorry Ken Ham and Joshua Fuerstein.

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    Ben Vande       
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