Mysticism Elimination Vs. The God Of The Gaps

3/14/2008 5:50:25 AM	Mysticism Elimination Vs. The God Of The Gaps
burnkitty Fayetteville, AR age: 32	Before, it was quite simple. The world was a child's Mad Libs book, full of blank spaces in the scentences, which desperately cried out to be filled. And fill them we did, with the simplist answers we could come up with at the time. It was so very easy to explain the unexplained. Headaches were the result of unclean spirits. Bleeding the ill was considered somehow productive. Every celestial body orbits our world, which may or may not be flat. But then our knowledge has increased, education abounds, and the language barrior deminishes. Communication and exchange of ideas and discoveries are not done only by the well to do, but by the modivated as well. The more we learn of our universe, the less mystical it is. We eliminate it, and with just cause. Headaches are not the result of an unclean spirit after all. It turns out that bleeding a person isn't the for the best. And bodies in space orbit one another... our world is spherical. We know better now. The blanks in the Mad Libs' pages are replaced, and what once was a child's humor story is now a science book. Mysticism dies, as it rightfully should. We need not be ignorant of the world around us, nor jump to conclusions without evidence. But there is opposition. It is called the "God of the Gaps", and is not a new concept. The idea is that anything that is not explained must be supernatural. Thus it fills this gap with such ideas that have no backing. An example: [The body loses 21 grams of weight upon the exact moment of death. Ergo, it must be the soul leaving ones self. After all, 7+7+7=21.] This is jumping to a conclusion, filling the void with the God of the Gaps. But the closer science gets to explaining these things, the smaller the gap becomes, until ultimately it loses its' blank. For the religious and the non-religious alike, what are your thoughts on the above mentioned?
3/14/2008 9:51:05 AM	Mysticism Elimination Vs. The God Of The Gaps
skunkbreath Saint James, MO age: 88	An interesting post, thank you. "Before, it was quite simple. The world was a child's Mad Libs book, full of blank spaces in the scentences, which desperately cried out to be filled. And fill them we did, with the simplist answers we could come up with at the time." A desperately simplistic, unsupportable theory to explain a highly complex interaction of many elements.... "The more we learn of our universe, the less mystical it is." W. T. Stace, who discovered seven common themes of mysticism when studying Roman Catholic, Protestant, ancient classical, Hindu, and American agnostic mystical experiences. They were (1) a unifying vision and perception of the One by the senses and through many objects; (2) the apprehension of the One as an inner life; (3) and objective that is a feeling of the holy and sacred; (6) a paradoxical feeling; (7) and inexpressible feelings.http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/m/mysticism.html Knowledge of science sometimes increases the sense of awe and mystical in those who are open to that form of knowledge acquisition. There are many instances of "answers" to complex problems coming in the form of "revelation" or "insight". How that happens is speculation, but the possiblity of the mind connecting to a source of mystical knowledge is as valid as subconscious calculations, from the evidence that i am aware of. " "God of the Gaps", " I believe you are confusing superstition to mysticism. To ascribe to a god those things we can not nor do not understand is superstition. Though forms of mysticism delve into understanding of Prime Cause and lesser "gods" and entities, it also provides a connection to a source of information for the more mundane. Mysticism, as well as science, can be associated with "cultish religious" thought, but a non-dogmatic science will explore as best it can the phenomenon of mysticism, and a few will experience mystical moments that compliment their scientific investigations, whether they admit it or not. And a few of those will give in to the superstition of a "leading of god" in their desperate attempt to understand and label the experience.
3/16/2008 7:21:24 AM	Mysticism Elimination Vs. The God Of The Gaps
burnkitty Fayetteville, AR age: 32	Interesting thoughts on the subject. Thank you very much, Skunk. I will check out the aforementioned site on the articles mentioned. Just wondering, would you consider fascination and mysticism one and the same? It's hard for me to tell the difference sometimes. Surely the scientist is not excluded if this is so. I will half agree with you that I may mistake superstition and mysticism as being one and the same with the term "God of the Gaps". But on the flipside, this term will also include the mystisism many seem to possess with the superstitious. It is easier to attribute the unknown to something you are in awe over(whether it be religion or another form of the supernatural), even if one lacks formal evidence. I do agree that the term itself is a bit broad.
3/16/2008 10:42:55 AM	Mysticism Elimination Vs. The God Of The Gaps
queenofhearts61 Seymour, IN age: 62	I disagree that the more science explains the less mystical some things are. Certainly the things that have been explained are not as mystical but do not answers 'always' bring more questions? I do not think we will ever have to worry about not finding something new to examine, unless, we expect to BE that mythical god that knows, sees, hears all before it happens. Maybe that is why he tests his subjects--to see if he is right, or maybe he makes bets [already knowing the outcome; I would think that would qualify as cheating]. But then again maybe he likes to see humans and animals suffer. Maybe that goes with his low self esteem that needs the microscopic creatures in his creation to tell him how wonderful he is all the time.
3/16/2008 10:50:47 AM	Mysticism Elimination Vs. The God Of The Gaps
skunkbreath Saint James, MO age: 88	thank you.. "-fascination and mysticism one and the same? " without thinking on it very much , i would say that fascination could lead to mystic (or scientific) investigation, or open the door to a mystical experience. ""-It's hard for me to tell the difference sometimes.-" Yes, our minds can play tricks..Indeed, consciousness may all be a trick!....storm has some interesting experiences and thoughts that he expressed in the "consciousness debate" thread...All brains and minds are not created equal!!.. I have had some mystical experiences, but i give them little weight till i find out that science also points toward that. I don't make a belief out of it, i just add them to those things that i do not undrstand, a huge repository! Actually, those things that i partially understand and completely understand are subdirectories of it...(; "-superstition and mysticism as being one and the same -" Just as belief in a scientific theory that has been disproven is superstition, continued belief in mystical insight that can not be verified is superstition. I look at insight gained from the mystic experience as suspect untill it can be confirmed in some way, logically or empirically. "-It is easier to attribute the unknown to something you are in awe over-" Many people need something more emotionally substantial to lean against than the awesome unknown. Even the tenuous hold upon superstitious belief which one can focus upon , distracting the gaze from the bottomless unknown, is needed by the strongest of minds whether that superstition is religious or ostensibly scientific in nature. We can touch upon mysticism with mythology. Have you looked at the works of Joseph Campbell? Study of neuroscience and even mathematics has been known to open the door to a mystical experience. There are things that you may not wish to understand once you do. [Edited 3/16/2008 10:54:47 AM]
3/16/2008 5:04:53 PM	Mysticism Elimination Vs. The God Of The Gaps
deathmetalman77 Crescent City, CA age: 34	Using "God" to explain something is kinda like going to the casino and playing poker... Then you use a "Joker" as a wild card!!!! It just doesn't work!!!
3/17/2008 9:20:47 PM	Mysticism Elimination Vs. The God Of The Gaps
burnkitty Fayetteville, AR age: 32	One final thing I'll add; I had a conversation with a good friend of mine, whom recently graduated with a respectable degree in physics. He shared an interesting viewpoint that if "magic" were to exist, it would be something science has yet to catagorize. Once it does, it is no longer "magic", but another area of physics/science to be explored. He goes on to say the things we invent in today's world show very similar attributes to things we may once have considered magical; A flat screen, high definition television as opposed to a scraying glass and so forth. Given his passion for physics, I'd say his statement didn't suprise me. Any opinions on this view?
3/18/2008 12:12:15 PM	Mysticism Elimination Vs. The God Of The Gaps
skunkbreath Saint James, MO age: 88	Your friend's viewpoint is valid..... Excerpts from Forward to, "The Seat of The Soul" by Gary Zukav "- I was drawn again and again to the writings of William James, Carl Jung, Benjamin Lee Whorf, Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein. - these fellow humans reached for something greater than they were able to express directly through their work. They saw more than they could express in the language of psychology or linguistics or physics, and they sought to share what they saw. . They were mystics. They would not use such language, but they knew -. They feared that their careers might become contaminated by association with those who did not work within the scientific model, but in the depths of their own thoughts they each saw much too much to be limited by the five senses, and they were not. Their works contribute not only to the evolution of psychology, linguistics and physics, but also to the evolution of those who read them. They have the capability to change those who touch them in ways that also cannot be expressed directly in the terms of psychology, or linguistics, or physics. -what motivated these men was not Earthly prizes or the respect of colleagues, but that they put their souls and minds on something and reached the extraordinary place where the mind could no longer produce data of the type that they wanted, and they were in the territory of inspiration where their intuitions accelerated and they knew that there was something more than the realm of time and space and matter, something more than physical life. They knew it. They could not necessarily articulate this clearly because they were not equipped to talk about such things, but they felt it and their writings reflected it. -what motivated these men, and many others, was in fact something of great vision that comes from beyond the personality. "
3/19/2008 4:44:38 PM	Mysticism Elimination Vs. The God Of The Gaps
deathmetalman77 Crescent City, CA age: 34	ALCHEMY~~~~Was once called magick!!! It is now a real science called "CHEMISTRY"!!!

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