Posts by GromitSK

65

Life after death OR Consciousness after death?

by Space Madness in

are we conscious after death?

if we don't understand why and how consciousness exsist now, how do we know it doesn't continue after death?

can consciousness survive the death of the body?

GromitSK

I am not sure what 9000 hits on google scholar tell you about research she has undertaken and published as opposed to her reviews of other people's research and how recent/relevant it is. incidentally I keyed her name and didn't get anything at all - I must have keyed something wrong.

In any event her research finding 'nothing' doesn't really take us forward in assessing the evidence from other sources of which there is a great deal.

It would be very difficult for Stevenson to 'prove' reincarnation. If one accepts survival may be possible, there are other potential explanations for most reports of reincarnation.

I don't have a particular interest in reincarnation myself but the question perhaps is: are the experiences he relates true or not? Whether he rejected stories which didn't support his ideas seems to me less relevant. He only needed to find one case that couldn't be explained other means. I think he was looking for evidence to support his contention, not conducting a dispassionate analysis of aspirin compared to paracetamol. :)

In that sense was simply bearing witness to the stories he was told and which he tried to validate as far as he could. Was he biased? Almost definitely. Do we have to accept his interpretation of the tales he recounts? No of course not we can read them ourselves and form our own view.

What kind of witness was Stevenson? Difficult to know - I suppose he had a motive to lie if his aim was to prove reincarnation but that doesn't mean he did lie.

Does the fact that he had cock-eyed ideas about disease invalidate the stories he collected? Not necessarily.

Have you read Stevenson's research for yourself Cofty?

65

Life after death OR Consciousness after death?

by Space Madness in

are we conscious after death?

if we don't understand why and how consciousness exsist now, how do we know it doesn't continue after death?

can consciousness survive the death of the body?

GromitSK

Maybe Willmarite has. Though the extent of Blackmore's actual research seemed somewhat limited to me.

In any event, the argument wasn't that Stevenson's research proved reincarnation, but that it would be unreasonable to conclude that reincarnation was impossible having read it. Purely as a matter of interest, have you read it?

62

Game: Caption this pic

by rebel8 in

jw
friends

i'll start.. .

GromitSK

Maybe someone said they wanted a goatee and were misheard? Damn! I missed page 2 of the comments.

65

Life after death OR Consciousness after death?

by Space Madness in

are we conscious after death?

if we don't understand why and how consciousness exsist now, how do we know it doesn't continue after death?

can consciousness survive the death of the body?

GromitSK

I agree with that worldview statement cofty. It does make a difference. Basing one's opinions on evidence is vital.

65

Life after death OR Consciousness after death?

by Space Madness in

are we conscious after death?

if we don't understand why and how consciousness exsist now, how do we know it doesn't continue after death?

can consciousness survive the death of the body?

GromitSK

As cofty will tell you he has been convinced he was right on spiritual matters on a number of previous occasions and changed his view. There is hope (joke Cofty :)).

65

Life after death OR Consciousness after death?

by Space Madness in

are we conscious after death?

if we don't understand why and how consciousness exsist now, how do we know it doesn't continue after death?

can consciousness survive the death of the body?

GromitSK

So cofty - did you read the research or are you reporting someone else's analysis of it? If so whose? That was a very quick response btw :)

It is very difficult to engage in conversation with people who have not even looked at the research for themselves, but who simply quote the opinion of others.

If you have actually read it I look forward to an interesting discussion between you and Willmarite :)

Of course if you haven't actually read it, then it's going to be Willmarite comparing their view against someone else's - assuming Willmarite has read it too.

65

Life after death OR Consciousness after death?

by Space Madness in

are we conscious after death?

if we don't understand why and how consciousness exsist now, how do we know it doesn't continue after death?

can consciousness survive the death of the body?

GromitSK

@cofty you're perfectly entitled of course to form your view on the research you have carried out. I don't know how much effort you've put into it or how objective you were, and really it's a matter for you. I think that's the point I was making really. Having done my own research, your assessment of your own findings is not pursuasive for me on the subject, as I wouldn't expect mine would be to you.

This only really matters if a person wants to pursuade me to their point of view (or vice versa) and I have no such desire. So people can read the evidence for themselves, if they have an interest, and form their own view. I wouldn't expect a person to form a view on the subject based on my opinion of the evidence, or on yours. I don't think you would either.

The issue won't be resolved in discussions on forums like this. The only way to do that would be to engage in discussion based on common reading and there seldom seems much genuine appetite for that. Discussing other people's experiences is,in my experience, inconclusive anyway. This kind of discussion can be constructive when it is an open-minded discussion, but if not the dialogue tends to be tiring and unproductive.

Good questions Willmarite.

9

The Euthyphro Dilemma as it Applies to the Doctrine of Atonement

by yadda yadda 2 in

interesting article here that kind of shows how absurd the idea is that jesus' ransom sacrifice could atone for all the evil in the world.

also makes a point showing the absurdity of the trinity doctrine.. http://www.infidels.org/kiosk/article869.html.

.

GromitSK

There seem to me a number of assumptions that need to be made to justify violence in a religious context, amongst which:

a) that there is a personal 'god';

b) even if a) is true, that the recipient has received a valid message from same.

Once a person commits to belief, it often seems to me the search for truth has ended and the battle to defend one's beliefs has begun.

65

Life after death OR Consciousness after death?

by Space Madness in

are we conscious after death?

if we don't understand why and how consciousness exsist now, how do we know it doesn't continue after death?

can consciousness survive the death of the body?

GromitSK

The answer to the question 'is there life after death' can only be found, if at all in this life, by doing some personal research. There is certainly a great deal of evidence IMHO to suggest that it may happen. The weight one gives to this evidence is perhaps a personal matter. For those who are interested there is a good summary of the evidence which suggests we may survive physical death in David Fontana's book "Is There An Afterlife?". David Fontana was a Professor of Psychology at the University of Liverpool in the UK.

It is a well-referenced book that will yield much further reading for those interested. I am not saying it will or should convince anyone of survival - it didn't convince me - however if one read only that book it, I don't see how anyone could confidently assert we do not survive physical death.

Anyone interested in the subject feel free to pm me and I am happy to provide further references to useful reading if required.

110

What were Albert Einstien's Religious Beliefs?

by KateWild in

this was covered a little on another thread and interested me.

i have always been convinced einstien believed in god.

i assumed what i had learned was correct and never thought i was taught something wrong.. i have seen some points posters have made.

GromitSK

Why are Einstein's views on god any more significant than my postman's views on Manchester United?

That would depend on your postman's knowledge of football - and of course on which aspect of ManU he was referring to. As. 'blue' of course it's a very tedious topic (Unless we're discussing the last Derby) :)