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October 14th, 2010
01:46 PM ET
Can you believe in Bigfoot and the Bible?
UFOs and the Bible - how do you believe in both? That’s one of the questions that aroused the curiosity of three sociologists who wanted to examine the religious values of believers in the paranormal. In “Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture,” the authors asked if religious people are more prone to believe in the paranormal. Carson Mencken, one of the book’s co-author’s, says more conservative Christians, for example, tend not to think too much about UFOs and Bigfoot.
To research the book, the authors visited houses that were reputedly haunted, spoke to people who said they had guardian angels, and had their palms read. Christopher Bader says many paranormal devotees don’t see themselves as flaky - it’s the other paranormal believers they wonder about.
I’ve long heard old folks say that people of faith shouldn’t dabble in the occult or paranormal. I once interviewed the last surviving priest who actually participated in the incident that inspired the horror film, “The Exorcist.” The boy’s possession (the “possessed" kid was changed to a girl for the movie) was allegedly triggered by his decision to use a Ouija board to contact a dead relative. Is a person of faith who delves into the paranormal taking a risk? Or are they, in the words of some people in “Paranormal America,” just being flaky? |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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We won the Lotto for life in universe?
http://thinkpoint.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/why-god-did-not-create-the-universe/
We could also speculate on how many false starts occurred before our current universe successfully began.
@NL
We could also speculate on how many false starts occurred before our current universe successfully began.
But why speculate NL, if your happy your ancestor is a monkey?
Guest-
If he was, then he was and being happy or sad about it wouldn't make it any less true, right? Besides, I can think of worse ancestors to have. Imagine being related to Nathan Bedford Forrest? Ew!
@NL
If the National Geographic has found a 4 million year old women then it must be true….right? What is the truth then, your parents might behind bars as we speak, in the zoo down the street?
Nathan Bedford Forrest, I admire people with courage….
Guest-
If we checked your DNA and told you that you and some lady in Europe shared an ancestor back in the 1400s you probably wouldn't find that terribly difficult to accept, right? Chances are, however, rather remote that the brother of that lady could pass as your twin. So, contrary to what evolution deniers continually repeat, if you put a modern day monkey into an 'evolution machine' you won't end up with a human either. The monkeys have been evolving too, you know!
'Nathan Bedford Forrest' and 'courage' are words I've never put together in a sentence before now. I really don't have to spell out why, now do I?
I don't see what UFOs and Bigfoot have to do with the paranormal. They would just be different species. So I don't understand the atheist rejection of it, as well. As for religion: If God created us, He created them. I think it's silly to think we're the only ones here.
Every time I look up into the sky I see a UFO.
I mean, I know it's an aircraft, but I can't tell you if it's an Airbus or a 747 – ergo, it's unidentified.
So either Christians don't believe in flight (which is entirely possible given Christine O'Donnell's position regarding creationism having more scientific proof going for it than evolution does), or we need to be a little better at defining the term 🙂
Just thinkin'
Good point about UFOs, Kate. Lol.
Thankfully, O'Donnell doesn't represent all of Christianity. That would be a travesty.
Frank-
The travesty here is that the number of people who are representing Christianity like O'Donnell has is growing rapidly here in the US. You moderates of all faiths really have to fight this trend before things go from just plain ugly to tragic.
Other than God having created Angels from Light and who are said to be occupying planets in the heavens, God has as well created the Jinn from fire and then the Mankind from Clay both are occupying earth and only those two have the freedom of choice.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
We shall dispose of you, O ye two dependents (man and jinn). (31) Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that ye deny? (32)O company of jinn and men, if ye have power to penetrate (all) regions of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate (them)! Ye will never penetrate them save with (Our) sanction. (33)Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that ye deny? (34) There will be sent, against you both, heat of fire and flash of brass, and ye will not escape. (35) Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that ye deny? (36)
Sura 55:31 to 36
Example how most spaceships penetrated heavens and only one has failed? Was it because it was named as the Challenger? Was it meant to Challenge who?Challenge God? We only penetrate because God wants us to penetrate and learn and not because Mankind is so powerful over God wish!
Another Challenger that had it's faith was the Huge Ship they called the Unsinkable that in the end sunk! Therefore Discovering is one thing but Challenging is another thing!
Don't worry, NL. I'm fighting them by just being myself. I don't vote for these idiot. To be honest, I don't believe in politics. But I still vote, for some reason.
*idiots
The Challenger tragedy was planned. NASA is huge into esoteric symbolism.
Sure, I can believe in Bigfoot and the Bible
Why not? No more extraordinary then believeing in Atheists without souls! Thats a really good one! Wonder what planet they came from??
uh, Earth?
@Joker
You said...."Atheists without souls." So....... Only the christian jesus believers have souls....?
No one else does...?
Peace2All-
Actually, I think Joker is just saying that he finds the atheist assertion that we don't have a soul difficult to believe because he believes every human is born with one. Please correct me if I'm wrong, Joker.
David Johnson
@Sarah
You asked, "The Bible itself makes references to ghosts, sea monsters (leviathan), demons, dragons, UFOs, magic, heaven and hell, etc. Some people believe they see a UFO and therefore wonder about life on other planets. Others swear to have been visited by ghosts. How are these claims different from claims of those saying they've heard the word of God?
Because Sarah, silly girl, God is real. UFOs and Casper are just figments of people's imagination. The animal you mentioned, the leviathan – why god wrestled that booger and won! What a mighty god we have!
Sarah, for the sake of your immortal soul! Stop thinking! Have faith. Follow the the other sheep.
Remember sister: Whatever we cannot easily understand we call God; this saves much wear and tear on the brain tissue. – Edward Abbey
Cheers!
God is real. UFOs and Casper are just figments of people's imagination
You are right...God is Real!!
Google some UFO sightings, like the one that happened in NY City. many people "imagining " things all at once? Do thier eyes all lie? They are taking pictures of the ufo..are you denying a fact here?
It was a heap of balloons. I was there. I saw it and I said, "hey look, balloons." The media wanted to make it something else. So did the dummies that didn't want to accept that it was just balloons. Anyway, they were balloons. Balloons.
@Follower
Yes, I can see it now! I think my trouble began when I was trying to contact Jesus with an Ouija board. The damn thing kept spelling out, "This number is not in service at this time". Apparently Jesus hasn't been back for more than 2000 years.
@David Johnson
"You have 427,064,083,0751,000 unheard messages" ...
Just countin'
@Kate
I award you that many internets....my jaw just hit the floor when I read your post – which was good because I immediately started laughing my ass off. I am almost speechless....good thing I am still able to type.....!
Christians are warned against dabbling in the occult. There are for sure demons. Best never to fool with an ouija board.
http://xtragal3.blogspot.com/2010/10/ufo-show-13-14-october-2010.html
Never say never!
Mayby none of you seen this?
http://ufo-sighting.info/ufo-disclosure-update-sept-27-2010-aired-live-at-cnn-national-press-club-part-1/
The hilarious bit is the irony here. People believe that a two thousand year old man with magical powers rose from the dead, yet somehow find the concept of a UFO or or yeti somehow "absurd."
Belief in God IS a paranormal belief. It is hypocritical and condescending for religious believers to scoff at those who believe in alien beings, ghosts, or Bigfoot. The Bible itself makes references to ghosts, sea monsters (leviathan), demons, dragons, UFOs, magic, heaven and hell, etc. Some people believe they see a UFO and therefore wonder about life on other planets. Others swear to have been visited by ghosts. How are these claims different from claims of those saying they've heard the word of God? They're not. Through science, man has perhaps taken steps to declare these paranormal ideas less than likely, but certainly we have not been able to prove they do not exist. You can all believe what you feel is most likely based on your knowledge and personal experiences. For me, what feels right is not to believe in these kinds of things (with the exception of life on other planets – which I lean towards believing exists). For someone else, it may be to believe in all of them. And while its certainly anyone's right to pick and choose, it is a bit absurd to say you believe vehemently in one but that it is somehow stupid or foolish to believe in any of the others. What is stupid is for someone to take a belief they cannot prove and declare it to be completely factual based only on their gut. No one ever said we all had to take sides on every issue – there is nothing wrong with being objective and open-minded and letting the evidence present itself before you bother to make a conclusion.
@Sarah
HERESY!!! The religious will burn you at the stake for saying that stuff. They don't like people who make more sense than them.
@Sarah
You asked, "The Bible itself makes references to ghosts, sea monsters (leviathan), demons, dragons, UFOs, magic, heaven and hell, etc. Some people believe they see a UFO and therefore wonder about life on other planets. Others swear to have been visited by ghosts. How are these claims different from claims of those saying they've heard the word of God?
Because Sarah, silly girl, God is real. UFOs and Casper are just figments of people's imagination. The animal you mentioned, the leviathan – why god wrestled that booger and won! What a mighty god we have!
Sarah, for the sake of your immortal soul! Stop thinking! Have faith. Follow the the other sheep.
Remember sister: Whatever we cannot easily understand we call God; this saves much wear and tear on the brain tissue. – Edward Abbey
Cheers!
@ David explain the dogon mystery? Explain how this tribe in africa knew all about Sirus a,b,and c, when you can't see it without technology?
This is one of the things I love about blogs- cheap, free entertainment, because some of you on here are hilarious. I had to double check and see if I was not on the Comedy Central website instead of CNN. Now that I have that out of my system, whether one chooses to believe in a higher power or not, it underscores one important concept- everyone should believe in something. I believe I will take another sip of my coffee.
@Kate- just being philosophical
@finman84
The invoice is in the mail ...
Just billin'
Belief in gods = Self Induced Ignorance
@Joker
Belief in self – God-induced ignorance 🙂
Just reversin'
Better chance of bigfoot being real than god.
From an evolutionary standpoint, you're actually correct. There may have been a similar animal alive at one point in the past, or one day in the future. Certainly not now, however. And all evidence indicates that the God of Abraham is false. So without joking, you made a factual statement.
Angels and Demons in the Bible are paranormal creatures. Bible talks about them a lot. The supernatural world is just a real as the computer I am typing on. So as a christ follower i believe.
Wait. What?
The supernatural is the same as a computer? I can't even begin to wrap my mind around that one. Please explain.
And so is the Tooth Fairy.
@Luke
Oh come now, surely you've heard that computers are driven by the magic blue smoke??
Just sayin'
Kate, why's it blue? Do Jews power computers?
@Luke
No, it's because it's magic!
Just sayin'
Kate-
I thought that magic smoke was green, or white. No, wait, white smoke is the Pope. Maybe we need to ask Christine?
Wait wait wait wait – Why is it smoke? I'm so frigging confused.
@Luke
According to The Bible:
at their factories, manufacturers put a little bit of magic smoke into every electronic component and it is this smoke which makes the device work. [...] once the magic smoke has been released, the device lacks its key component and no longer works. The smoke thus can be thought of as an essential part in the device's function. It is also noted that once let out, the magic smoke cannot be put back in.
Just helpin'
Kate – Learn something new everyday, I do. That book is filled with some real crazies.
Just becuase Christians believe in the Easter Zombie doesn't mean they believe in ghosts on earth. That's just ridiculous. We all know spirits are confined to either Heaven or Hell.
And extraterrestrial life? The Bible clearly indicates that Man is the paragon of creation and our planet the literal centre of the universe.
And Ouija boards are pure hoakum. The very idea of talking with the dead is blasphemy in the extreme! Except for prayer, of course.
Ah, but the true believer could believe in space aliens that were inferior to we humans.
Remember on The Simpsons "Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
I can't remember if it was Kang or Kodos who said that, and I'm ashamed to say that they all look the same to me. 😉
I’ve long heard old folks say that people of faith shouldn’t dabble in the occult or paranormal.
I guess Christine O'Donnell is just SOL ...
Just smirkin'
LOL@Kate. Again with the Christine O? Come on... you gotta feel bad for her after the tea party man ditched her on Colbert...
Frogist-
"Christine Os, the new breakfast cereal made from peanuts, walnuts, cashews and almonds. Yet, Christine Os are remarkably low in calories. That's because they're completely free of (moral) fiber and everything else that would give them substance. So, try new Christine Os, now in Tea flavor."
@NL
NL++
Just karmain'
The Editors might want to edit this to be more accurate:
Carson Mencken, one of the book’s co-author’s, says more conservative Christians, for example, tend not to think too much about UFOs and Bigfoot.
Just sayin'
ooooh! Good one, Kate!
just grinnin'
@Raison
The quickest route between two puns is a straight line
Just sayin'
Just groanin' at your terrible pun...but that's one of the things we love about you...
😛
I..uh...hmm...grr...uh...gah.........
I just can't take this nonsense anymore. It's like watching a couple argue and both of them be wrong. It's painful to me.
@Luke
But ... but ... we bought season tickets!
Just demonstratin'
This best descibes my face when I read things like this:
You know whena dog sees itself in the mirror for the first time? It turns its head and can't figure out what's happening. That's me right now.
Christians having trouble squaring UFOs and Bigfoot with their beliefs need only open their Bibles to the verses describing Ezekiel's 'Wheel' and the 'giants' that roamed the land. Easy fix. Look hard enough and I'm sure you'll find something that mentions the Chupacabra and Elvis' ghost too.
Sometimes, you so hit the nail right on the head!
Let's nail those Bibles up on a cross and see if they come to life...or would that not work...?
...
Hmm, maybe we should burn 'em instead and see if they rise from the ashes like a phoenix....???
...
I would have burnt mine, but I threw them away instead...will they rise from the garbage dump outside of town?
Just snarkin'
Raison-
Come on, we can't burn bibles, or any other books. That's always wrong.
Someday the bible will join the Greek myths, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad and all the other ancient works we call the Classics. It has a lot of value for our culture as a piece of literature but, like the Book of Eli contends, it also makes a horrible weapon. The Road was far more inspirational, and actually featured a much brighter future for us all.
There is reference to a vampiric, chupacabra-like monster in the bible. It's called the horseleach, a mythical monster that attacks horses and drains their blood.
The horseleach is in the King James version of the bible at Prov. 30-15. Problem is that later translations make it seem as if the monster is just a normal leech. In fact, it's a reference to a monster and the bible is filled with monsters and myythological creatures that never existed.
BoyintheMachine-
There you go, the bible is truly a wondrous source of knowledge. Any luck with Elvis' ghost? Somewhere in one of the Books of Kings, perhaps?
@NL
So what does it say about me that I look into the future and all I can see is Blade Runner or Make Room! Make Room!?
Just prophesyin'
Kate-
Dystopian fiction is vastly more popular these days. Everyone just assumes that the world is going down the toilet, and the religious and environmentalist folks only encourage that for their own agenda. So, you Kate are a product of the age, that's all. If you wanted more utopian future views to choose from you would have had to been around hundreds of years ago when people dreamed of better societies.
@NL
A worrisome prophetic fact is that I believed Blade Runner was a more accurate representation of the future when I was a kid, just after it was released. I guess I should add dystopian to the list of things I am 🙂
Just sayin'
Kate-
Blade Runner may have shown us a bleak possible future, but remember how it ended! They overthrew the dogma that ruled they have a short life. So, in reality, a dystopian future was replaced by a brighter one.
In all fairness to all forms of fiction, utopias are rather boring to imagine. No story is particularly interesting without some conflict in it. Some struggle before they have their happy ending, at which point the story ends abruptly because people living happy lives is boring. All those fairy tales ended with "and they lived happily ever after' because nobody wanted to hear how people live in happiness. That's why we have gossip magazines.
Even the Bible ends this way. Hero (Christ) returns, defeats the bad guys( Satan and his minions) and they ( believers ) lived happily ever after. The end! Don't think about what happens next, or how incredibly boring heaven must be just staring at God forever, like deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. Just be satisfied that you will live happily ever after, just like in a fairy tale.
The boy’s possession (the “possessed" kid was changed to a girl for the movie) was allegedly triggered by his decision to use a Ouija board to contact a dead relative.
From which we can logically deduce that Steve Jobs is the Devil and this was the kid's punishment for daring to not use an iPhone to make contact instead.
Just jailbreakin'
Since it was a Catholic Priest involved, I would question the boys ailment.
Just speculating...
@David Johnson
Not just one, a whole orgiastic group of them.
Just notin'
@Kate
Just showin' off you mean....!
Just jellin'
@Raison
If I had skills worth showing off you'd be able to comment on my site by now 😛
Just poutin'
@Kate
You may be right, but that doesn't mean I still can't be jealous...!!
Yeah, I still can't see any comments or even anywhere I might comment. Still enamored of java? I got caffeine poisoning once and almost died. But I love espresso and Pepsi anyway. I just have to stay away from the pure stuff.
I avoid Java because I am a computer security dweeb. Try shutting off the Java or something and building your site from the ground up.
I still love the background, though. It looks like a great place to sit around and party with friends.
Just de-caffeinatin'
@Raison
You could try now I suppose ...
And as for the sekrit way around filters, all I can say to the computer securitay guru is – html entities 😛
Just cluein'
@Kate
Well, shit, I guess I'll just have to change the way I do things. Me not guru, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express once....
Thanks!
Just thankful
@Raison
You only need to switch to entities for a letter or two per word you think might trigger – the regexp used in the filter is really badly done. Like for entities I only have to do the "i" in the middle.
Easiest way is to take a couple of letters, like i, a, s and u, write what you're going to write into a file, sed it to do replacement of those letters for their entities, and paste into the reply box.
Trust me, it's a lot easier than trying to write the whole thing as entities 🙂
So am I now forgiven for making you do a double take all that time ago? 🙂
Just trainin'
@Kate
Forgiven for what? Sure, I forgive you freely for not doing anything to me. LOL I guess you didn't look at my shit very closely in my above post. LOL
Thanks for the extra tips, but I got those about a minute later when I started testing characters...:D
You are a wonderful woman, even if you might be disguised as one (cackle) and it was indeed very nice of you to help us poor and paranoid old guys to cuss and swear. I will probably only use them for special occasions...(like every other damn word the archaic filter cannot handle)...
No dust on you, you shine forth like a light in the darkness instead. Thanks.
😛
@Kate
btw, I think it was peace2all who did the double-take.
just musin'
@Raison
Maybe I got you mixed up with Verify ... It wouldn't be the first time 🙂
Just go easy on accusing me of being nice – I haz a reputation to live down to!
Just objectin'
@Kate
I am flattered that you might have confused me with Verify, for I dimly recall being impressed with Verify's posts -but I personally have never used that name if that's what you're fishing for.
Ok, then, you're a terrible, terrible person that I can't help liking. Will that work? If you do nice things, sure – we'll have to keep from noticing that. Can't let you have any respect. No, ma'am. That would be wrong. Yes, ma'am, you are the boss. I mean, no, ma'am.
Dang, now I've done it! You've got me so turned around that I might as well give up now.
You win. 😛
Just losin'
Yeah, he used a Quija board and ol' Captain Howdy was on the line. Interesting how the demon was shown as some sort of Mesopotamian half-human half-monster deity. Like how the Sumerians depicted their gods.
@Raison
I must be getting old, sleepy, or low on coffee, you just made my head hurt!
Keep up the good (bad?) work 🙂
Just sayin'
@Raison
Hey bud...! Yep.. You have now made 'my' head hurt, as well. 2 advil and bedtime... 🙂
Article asked: "Is a person of faith who delves into the paranormal taking a risk? Or are they, in the words of some people in “Paranormal America,” just being flaky?"
You can play with Ouija boards, have seances, do whatever you want. Demons don't exist. The dead are dead. So, I vote that the Paranormal America is flaky as my wife's diner rolls.
Most excellent!!!
Who can understand the phenomenal creation of our Lord? Human beings are ignorant and turn their backs on things they do not understand but there is an explanation for everything ~ only, we don't have all the answers. Frustrating isn't it?
That's why we have to dig deep into history, compare it to the facts from Biblical recounts and establish our conclusion. Otherwise, we're mere brainless twits, following opinion after opinion – conditioned and influenced, yet again, by media.
C'mon masses – use a little more of that brain power and get to know God – He will reveal things to you that will blow your spiritual mind.
DAVID how do you know deamons don't exist we exist, you ever think there is somethings we just can't understand ?
@ Christian i really do like that but we'll never find all the answers in the 66 books of the bible. It is rumored that the bible had 800 books but even if it is not true their were way more than 66 or 73 if you are catholic.
Yet ole "Christian" claims (above?), "Human beings are ignorant and turn their backs on things they do not understand but there is an explanation for everything."
That's his/her excuse for believing in God.
In fact, it's the exact reason to believe in science and not in God.
And I thought Creationism finally died after the Scopes trial in the 1920s.
When I read "Christian's" comment, I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my dinosaur.