The God that Knows

We humans are quite an incredible lot. We have an amazing capability for learning and understanding that so far, seems to be unique to our species. We have, using tools of our own devise, peered beyond the smallest of the small into the world of subatomic particles; we have utilized many expert fields of study and built crafts which have flown us beyond the gravitational pull of our home world. We have tackled head on the invisible demons such as smallpox and polio that have killed millions in the past. Information flows as freely around the world as the winds.
We are not perfect, we are far from it. The fear of the unknown permeates our lives.
I once attended a church in which a prayer was held to cure a member that had seizures all his life. His problem, as the story was told in hushed voices, was that he suffered greatly at the hands of an abusive father when he was an infant. I attended school with this individual, and I knew his seizures were to such a degree that he always wore protective head-gear in case of a fall. Now, this prayer had already been performed many times before, for God to cure him. This time was special though, because there was a new type of surgery to be performed that they could almost guarantee would work. The surgery was held, and several months later I happened to run across the guy...I think at a convenience store. I almost didn't recognize him without his helmet, and also because he reeked of cheap booze and cigarettes. The surgery was a complete success.
The people from the church stated that god had healed this young man through the doctor. The guy didn't seem, in my opinion, to think that god had anything at all to do with it, judging by his behavior. In my normal (abnormal) habit of picking apart supernatural claims, I found it hard to believe that god would channel his healing energy through a reputable doctor using a new technique based upon years of study and research AND a doctor that would use a drill, knife, and saw to get to the intended target in this young man's brain. There was nothing supernatural about that at all - yet the supernatural got the credit. IF he had been healed by a gypsy woman tapping chicken bones against his forehead - THEN I might reconsider where the credit was due. How can you make a supernatural claim using methods that SHOULD WORK ANYWAY??? That's like saying "God cranks my car every morning through the key that I put in it and turn". It's whats expected to happen. Another situation: Let's pretend that you have a hypothetical uncle, who...gets hit by a truck on the freeway and killed. Let's make his name be Zander. If you go to a medium, it will take her quite a while before she ever gets to the Z names. Let alone to the cause of his demise. At best you would receive information (aside from the lucky guess) that would be open to interpretation, you do after all have to have an "open mind".
Science on the other hand, could tell you his entire name, address, names of family members, time of death, cause of death, what type of truck hit him, birth certificate, mothers name, how fast the truck was going, what direction it was headed, what the drivers name was....etc
I'm not saying that science knows ALL the answers - there is much more to be learned about our universe and the way it works. What we HAVE learned about it so far has dispelled much of the myth about it that humans have believed for thousands of years. The beauty of science is that it relishes ignorance because it HAS to know the truth, it HAS to see it work, it HAS to have the details. In any given situation, if we have the details and can duplicate the conditions, we can reproduce the effect.
Now, this leads to the subatomic realm, in which most of what we know doesn't apply. But...we ARE learning. For every correct theory developed, hundreds of erroneous ones will be made. In spite of this, this non-understanding phase we are in, it does not mean that it is supernatural in any event. It will be understood one day, and our misunderstanding of it will most likely be jested about by our descendants much as we refer to the "flat-earthers".
There will always be people who want there to be more, or who are afraid of changing what they believe no matter what the facts are. When you have a belief that is based upon ignorance of facts, that is one thing - when you hold that same belief and shun irrefutable proof before you that that it cannot be true...that is another thing entirely.
Science has healed us, it has extended our lives, it has taken us from the fabric that the very universe is made of to the edge of the universe itself. WE accomplished this, by using tools WE designed, in our hunger to know more about ourselves and the world we live in. WE are the universe, in the flesh - exploring what we all are.
I made a comment in a recent post in which I postulated the following: (words may be changed to further impact the meaning - this is not ad verbatim)

"I have almost completely lost faith in the human race. A million years ago, our ancestors were huddled in the treetops screeching or howling at each other in whatever form of communication there was about the possibility of a lion or cheetah lurking in the shadows below. Little has changed since then, only now we've traded our spot on the branch for a recliner, we screech & howl via keyboard & internet, and the lions & cheetahs have been replaced by chemtrails, ufo's and ghosts"

I am leaving ATS for this very reason. Just as I don't find it entertaining to take a break from work & ride the merry-go-round, I find it somewhat intellectually draining to willingly immerse myself in the banality that is becoming quite frequent on this site. I am by no means an intellectual, probably not even what someone would consider smart, although I AM smart enough to know that if I hear a noise at night it is most likely my cat scratching at the door trying to get in and not some paranormal spirit from another dimension coming for me with an axe to grind. If anyone reading this wishes to keep up with any further ranting of mine, you may PM me and I will respond with a link to my blog. Unless the mods intervene and "pull the plug" on me, it is now T-48 hours before I am ATS history.

Don't let the door hit ya, where the good Lord split ya....

Please...

No....

Don't....

reply to post by sykickvision
sykickvision,

Well you should stay and fight the good fight for what you believe in, just because you find so many not of your view shouldn't score you out. Hell many of us are loners on here, sticks and stones may break your bones but words can't hurt you, just use your ducks back. Then put in your say in a civil manner and have fun but it's no good to see if you can make the fur fly.

Truthiron.

I retract my statement of departure.

Apologies for already noted wishy-washiness.