Difference Between Supernatural and Extra-natural
Inherent in religious belief is an acceptance of the supernatural. The concept of a Divine being is essentially supernatural. In all of its various forms, religion maintains that the world as a whole is not confined within what we may call "natural phenomena," and that there is an existence that is, by definition, beyond nature. Furthermore, most – if not all – religions believe in prayer, at least in the sense that one can get help and relief in a way that seems to defy natural law.
But this sort of religious belief is not necessarily connected with belief in the paranormal, phenomena like ESP, or extra-natural events or beings. Certainly a person can have deep religious belief and still not give any credence to devils or ghosts, telepathy or clairvoyance. Belief in the paranormal – even among people of different levels of knowledge and ritual observance – is not intrinsically connected to religious belief.
Nevertheless, sometimes we humans forge false connections between things – even those of unwavering faith. In my view, to make the connection between the supernatural and the paranormal reflects a limited understanding of both.
By
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
|
July 17, 2008; 7:16 PM ET
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Posted by: Anonymous | August 4, 2008 6:14 PM
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WE should Enslave all Openly Admitting Non-Straights! Or Put Ye on Ye Own Islands so that the "AID's" Epidemic in America will Stop!
Posted by: Anonymous | August 4, 2008 6:12 PM
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VOTE: Marriage between a SPORADE (a Real-Lady) & a MAVORiTE (Real-Man), NEVER between 1/2 Man man or 1/2 Woman woman.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 4, 2008 6:11 PM
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"In my view, to make the connection between the supernatural and the paranormal reflects a limited understanding of both."
This is true and some of the misunderstanding comes about because of a limited understanding of the authority of God over all things. To dabble into the paranormal becomes adulterous idol worship because there is reliance on something other than the one true creator and the one who pre-eminent over all other things. To be concerned with or give power to aliens or sorcery or tarot cards is to misplace power and authority and it is idolatry. It is like the man who is married but finds satisfaction outside the marriage.
Colossians 1:15-19 He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.
Posted by: Tm | July 21, 2008 1:38 PM
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PEACE, PAZ, SHALOM, SALAAM, AHiMSA, ZHENGYU et al!
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Rabbi Arthur WasKow
BY: http://{J}***{O}***{Z}***{E}***{V}***{Z} **{dot}**{US}
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[v]..A Deliveror, Maitreya, Mahdi & Holy NO-Man! Experience “IT” (G-d).
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Payed For By the JOKTANiAN PARTY, U.S.A. 2012/13 & Beyond
Posted by: We JOKTAN-ian(s), not PELEG-ian(s) inherited AlL EARTH(s), not Tenach, Bible, Quran. Gita...(s) | July 20, 2008 7:09 PM
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From: NEbula-Built Holy Earth Apocalypt{ARiAN} movement 2013:
Att: A N O Y M O U S, et a; On: Mon.July.14th.08, You saith,
"Idiot. The surge *doesn't matter* because the Iraqi constitution that *George Bush personally allowed* is a THEOCRACY, not a DEMOCRACY. It states within itself (GOOGLE an English copy and READ IT) that Islam is the ultimate authority."
Please see NewyorkPosts (American Press Translation) of the 'Iraq Constitution' @ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/12/AR2005101201450.html
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Below are Condensed excerpts of Key Words like 'GOD' ['Allah' is not Mentioned] , 'REliGiON" "OiL" etc..
Iraqi Final Draft Constitution:
QUESTiON: If in the Middle-East We have a ‘Democratic’ (involving Ecclastiates not Separate nor Free from Religio) Government, then How Compatiable can it be With ISRAELS Parliamentary ‘SECULAR’ seperation of Mosque/Synogogue/Church/Telple & Government????
Are They Compatible? Imagine This Iraqi ‘Holy’ Constitution being replaced & religiously enforced in Israel proper!? How about America?
PS: Ye Should See The PALiSTiNiAN Constitution of Mr. yaSiR ARAFAT [pbuh et al] 1976 too! Talking about Theocracy Wahabi Saud Allegence ties et al...?!
THE P R E A M B L E {Begins with ‘Al Fatihah’, aka ‘The Opening’ of Quran}
“In the name of G O D [‘ALLAH‘] , the most merciful, the most compassionate.”
We have honored the sons of Adam.
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--- “GOD” & “HOLY” words;
Acknowledging G O D's right over us, and in fulfillment of the call of our homeland and citizens, and in response to the call of our religious and national leaderships and the determination of our great (r e l I g I o u s) authorities and of our leaders and reformers, and in the midst of an international support from our friends and those who love us, marched for the first time in our history toward the ballot boxes by the millions, men and women, young and old, on the 30th of January, 2005, invoking the pains of sectarian oppression sufferings inflicted by the autocratic clique and inspired by the tragedies of Iraq's martyrs, Shiite and Sunni, Arabs and Kurds and Turkmen and from all the other components of the people and recollecting the darkness of the ravage of the H O L Y - cities and the South in the Sha'abaniyya uprising and burnt by the flames of grief of the mass graves, the marshes, Dujail and others and articulating the sufferings of racial oppression in the massacres of Halabja, Barzan, Anfal and the Fayli Kurds and inspired by the ordeals of the Turkmen in Bashir and as is the case in the remaining areas of Iraq where the people of the west suffered from the assassinations of their leaders, symbols and elderly and from the displacement of their skilled individuals and from the drying out of their cultural and intellectual wells, so we sought hand-in-hand and shoulder-to-shoulder to create our new Iraq, the Iraq of the future free from sectarianism, racism, locality complex, discrimination and exclusion. [Note: GOD, Religious & HOLY].
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Article 10: The H O L Y shrines and religious places in Iraq are religious and cultural entities. The State is committed to confirming and safeguarding their sanctity, and
guaranteeing the free practice of rituals in them.
ARTiCLE 48
Amendment:(I swear by G O D the Almighty to carry out my legal tasks and responsibilities devotedly and honestly and preserve the independence and sovereignty of Iraq, and safeguard the interests of its people, and watch over the safety of its land, skies, waters, resources and federal democratic system, and I shall endeavor to protect public and private liberties, the independence of the judiciary and adhere to the applications of the legislation neutrally and faithfully. G O D is my witness).
--- “iSLAM” words
Article 2: First: I S L A M is the official religion of the State and it is a fundamental source of legislation:
A. No law that contradicts the established provisions of I S L A M may be established.
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Second: This Constitution guarantees the I S L A M identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights of all individuals to freedom of religious belief and practice such as Christians, Yazedis, and Mandi Sabeans. [note not Judeo-Hindu, Judeo Buddhist, No Judeo-JU‘s?]
Article 3: Amendment:(Iraq is a country of many nationalities, religions and sects and is a founding and active member of the ARAB-LEAGUE and is committed to its covenant. Iraq is a part of the I S L A M I C world.)
Iraq is a country of many nationalities, religions and sects, and is a part of the I S L A M I C world, is a founding and active member of the Arab League, and is committed to its covenant.
SECOND: Federal Supreme Court Article 89:
Second: The Federal Supreme Court shall be made up of number of judges, and experts in I S L A M I C - jurisprudence and law experts whose number, the method of their selection and the work of the court shall be determined by a law enacted by a two-third majority of the members of the Council of Representatives.
---- “OiL” Words
Article 108:
O I L and gas are the ownership of all the people of Iraq in all the regions and governorates.
Article 109:
First: The federal government with the producing governorates and regional governments shall undertake the management of O I L and gas extracted from current fields provided that it distributes O I L and gas revenues in a fair manner in proportion to the population distribution in all parts of the country with a set allotment for a set time for the damaged regions that were unjustly deprived by the
former regime and the regions that were damaged later on, and in a way that assures balanced development in different areas of the country, and this will be regulated by law.
---- “RELiGiO” (N-s) Words
Said 19 Times:
Second: A law shall regulate the decorations, official holidays, r e l i g I o u s and national occasions and the Hijri and Gregorian calendar.
Article 14: Iraqis are equal before the law without discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, origin, color, r e l i g i o n, creed, belief or opinion, or economic and social status.
Article 29: First:
A. The family is the foundation of society; the State preserves its entity and its r e l I g I o u s, moral and patriotic values.
Second: The State guarantees the protection of the individual from intellectual, political and r e l I g I o u s coercion.
Article 39: Iraqis are free in their commitment to their personal status according to their r e l I g I o n s, sects, beliefs, or choices. This shall be regulated by law.
Article 41: First: The followers of all r e l I g I o n s and sects are free in the: A. Practice of r e l I g I o u s rites, including the Husseini ceremonies (Shiite r e l I g I o u s ceremonies) B. Management of the endowments, its affairs and its r e l I g I o u s institutions. The law shall regulate this. Second: The state guarantees freedom of worship and the protection of the places of worship.
Article 43:
Second: The State shall seek the advancement of the Iraqi clans and tribes and shall attend to their affairs in a manner that is consistent with r.e.l.I.g.I.o.n and the law and upholds its noble human values in a way that contributes to the development of society. The State shall prohibit the tribal traditions that are in contradiction with human rights.
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Happy Everyday.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 20, 2008 7:02 PM
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Bgone
Be careful. I just read that we've been wrong. God exists and (I hope you're not near any sharp objects), S/He's an environmentalist.
PS. My tribe never envisioned Him as an elderly man with a beard, never visualized, pictorialized HIm at all. Hence, He could be anywhere. Maybe at the gas station. Who is to say?
Posted by: Farnaz | July 20, 2008 5:06 AM
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Isn't God really the projection to the ultimate explanation of what man observed but could not explain? I see the world. Where did it come from? God is the simple minded, easiest way to explain where the world came from. The world is here isn't it?
What was the first person to utter the word God thinking? What did the first person to hear the word God think it meant, what the fellow who said it wanted him to think? How was the word God originally defined? We're straining the dictionary writers obligated to tell us what the word means.
God is without a doubt the product of natural phenomena that was not understood. As we better understand the world faith there is a God at all declines while the specification of God is upgraded to cover the latest found knowledge. Gods were a lot easier to understand when they could be bought at the gods store.
Some of the items listed in the survey are questionable as phenomena at all, ESP for example. Like the round earth being rejected because it was assumed anyone on the bottom half would fall off some phenomena may well have a valid basis that makes no sense because we don't know the whole physics. The connection between unexplained phenomena and con men claiming to know that supernatural being(s) called god(s)/God(s) are behind it is the basis in fact for all so called faith in God that is really faith in sacred scriptures and folks expert in what sacred scriptures say. We can't really expect those experts to admit they don't know can we?
There was the old man who came wandering in off the desert. "All I've had to eat lately is sun meat and it was charred" was accepted as truth by the villagers because people did not understand. They were told and believed the sun gives out, burns up and falls to earth out there on the desert by people who know, witch doctors, priests, Rabbis even. They were told by experts and believed them that the sun was a living creature. The sun must be alive for "dead things don't fly." Why not claim one had eaten it's flesh? Good for a free meal or two. As a person who had actually seen the sun on the ground, highly unusual, he was a celebrity.
I think you missed this one but then I understand why. Are you sure you're not God. You look so much like pictures of God I've seen.
Posted by: BGone | July 18, 2008 5:30 PM
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'Supernatural' and 'paranormal' are synonyms. There is no 'both'.
Posted by: TJ | July 18, 2008 5:30 PM
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Isn't God really the projection to the ultimate explanation of what man observed but could not explain? I see the world. Where did it come from? God is the simple minded, easiest way to explain where the world came from. The world is here isn't it?
What was the first person to utter the word God thinking? What did the first person to hear the word God think it meant, what the fellow who said it wanted him to think? How was the word God originally defined? We're straining the dictionary writers obligated to tell us what the word means.
God is without a doubt the product of natural phenomena that was not understood. As we better understand the world faith there is a God at all declines while the specification of God is upgraded to cover the latest found knowledge. Gods were a lot easier to understand when they could be bought at the gods store.
Some of the items listed in the survey are questionable as phenomena at all, ESP for example. Like the round earth being rejected because it was assumed anyone on the bottom half would fall off some phenomena may well have a valid basis that makes no sense because we don't know the whole physics. The connection between unexplained phenomena and con men claiming to know that supernatural being(s) called god(s)/God(s) are behind it is the basis in fact for all so called faith in God that is really faith in sacred scriptures and folks expert in what sacred scriptures say. We can't really expect those experts to admit they don't know can we?
There was the old man who came wandering in off the desert. "All I've had to eat lately is sun meat and it was charred" was accepted as truth by the villagers because people did not understand. They were told and believed the sun gives out, burns up and falls to earth out there on the desert by people who know, witch doctors, priests, Rabbis even. They were told by experts and believed them that the sun was a living creature. The sun must be alive for "dead things don't fly." Why not claim one had eaten it's flesh? Good for a free meal or two. As a person who had actually seen the sun on the ground, highly unusual, he was a celebrity.
I think you missed this one but then I understand why. Are you sure you're not God. You look so much like pictures of God I've seen.
Posted by: BGone | July 18, 2008 5:26 PM
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PS: Ye People Are Vile, Testy & Hath No Conscious, only Penis, Oss's & Vagin's & Dooldo's!