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Originally Posted by NightSpirit  ALG, do you believe that these events really happened or do you see them as just symbolic stories to teach us principles? |
According to the Gospels, there was this guy whose name was Jesus and he went around doing lots of stuff which in our modern times, we might aptly describe as "paranormal". He also went around telling lots of stories about vineyards and wine and servants and sheep etc, and these are the parables - the symbolic stories that teach us principles.
But I think the Bible is very clear about (1) when Jesus was reportedly performing a miracle (a paranormal event) and (2) when Jesus was just narrating a parable. Focusing on the miracles / paranormal events, here are the possible conclusions we might draw:
1. The Gospels are true, and the accounts of Jesus' miracles are largely accurate;
2. The Gospels are somewhat but not completely accurate. Some of the reported miracles are true, but some others, especially the more "dramatic" & "amazing" ones, are not.
3. The Gospels are completely false about the miracles. None of these events happened, because paranormal events just do not occur. They are either fictitious; fraudulent; or myths that built up over time. It is unscientific & irrational to believe in these tales.
If you are a "Christian", in the conventional sense of the word, you accept at the very least, the following: (a) Jesus rose from the dead, and is your saviour; and (b) if you believe in Him, you too enjoy a glorious afterlife in Heaven.
But if it is possible for a person to rise from the dead, and if it is possible that by sheer belief in a person (Jesus) alone, you too can have a wonderful afterlife, then it must follow that the true nature of the universe is very, very different from what our five normal senses, and conventional science, tell us that it is.
And if it is sooooo very, very different, why should we not believe that Jesus' miracles were true? Let me put it this way - it is ILLOGICAL:
(a) to believe that a man can rise from the dead, and that there exists a wonderful Heaven that you can go to, after you die, if only you believed in that man;
AND at the same time:
(b) NOT believe that this same man could have healed the sick just like that; walked on water just like that; killed fig trees just like that etc etc.
...... AFTER ALL, the events described in (b) are not any more improbable or amazing than the events described in (a).
To put it another way, accepting the idea of Jesus as ultimate saviour, but completely rejecting the authenticity of his miracles is like saying:
"Oh yes I am a Christian and I do believe in God, but I don't think he's particularly amazing. Maybe he pulled off a few amazing feats in the past, like creating the entire universe, but that's really it, you know. As of now, he can no longer do stuff that modern science tells us is not possible."
This is inherently illogical.
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Now if we accept the Bible as true (as far as the paranormal events are generally concerned), we have to accept that the universe is NOT as our five senses, and Newtonian physics, suggest that it is. This is a matter of strict logic.
If for example, we accept that:
(1) Jesus could INSTANTLY heal very sick people who had FAITH in him;
then we MUST accept that:
(2) it is possible for very sick people to get healed INSTANTLY,
and:
(3) a necessary ingredient in this process is their FAITH.
Since FAITH is a state of mind, or a specific set of thoughts and beliefs, this must lead us, at the very least, to the logical POSSIBILITY that:
by adjusting our thoughts and beliefs in certain ways, we could effect very rapid changes in our health, and in a manner that would astound the average modern doctor.
In other words, if we ACCEPT as true that Jesus could instantly heal people who had faith in him, it is only logical to accept that it is POSSIBLE that the kind of LOA technique set out in, say, "Ask & It is Given" by the Hicks COULD work. (Abraham has a process therein which relates to how to adjust your own thoughts to heal your own illnesses).
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That was just one example. You can repeat my reasoning process to each of Jesus' reported miracles.
For example, Jesus reportedly cast out demons. If we accept this as true, we must accept that there are such things as demons and demonic possession; and this must lead us to accept that there are such things as "non-physical entities", and if there is such a thing as demonic possession, we must accept as a logical possibility that there could be such a thing as "channeling".
Another example - Jesus got angry with a fig tree and cursed it, and it died pretty much instantly. If we accept this as true, we must accept as a logical POSSIBILITY that human thoughts (including angry thoughts) can affect matter (for example, the living tissue of a tree) without the intervention of any actual physical action.
(I call that magick, I'm getting pretty good at it actually
but I haven't killed any trees yet, I like trees so I wouldn't do that)
.
Yet another example - the Bible tells us that Jesus foresaw the future. He knew beforehand that he was going to be betrayed by a kiss; and he knew beforehand that Peter would fail him. If we accept this as true, it follows that we must accept as a logical POSSIBILITY that psychic phenomena such as premonitions and clairvoyance exist.
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So as I see it, it is pretty much
impossible for a
logical Christian to dismiss outright all the kinds of weird mind stuff described by LOA folks like Esther Hicks; Shakti Gawain; Deepak Chopra; Sanayan Roman etc.
If you believe in the Christian story of salvation and redemption, it would be illogical for you to dismiss the existence (or at least the possibility) of phenomena like non-physical entities; channelling; levitation; manifestation of instant objects; affecting physical matter through your mind only; afterlife; clairvoyance etc etc.
Of course I accept that some people may say that there is no such thing as a "logical Christian", in that these people may take the view that the entire story of Jesus is false (things like the afterlife; Heaven; salvation; walking on water etc etc being just impossible and severely lacking in scientific evidence). That, however, is another kind of discussion and not within the context of the present thread.