From: rescorla@rtnmr.chem.yale.edu (Eric Rescorla)
Subject: Re: Help
Organization: Rescorla for himself.
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 01:16:27 GMT

In article <1992Nov13.004925.11717@samba.oit.unc.edu> Mic.Oettinger@launchpad.unc.edu (Mic Oettinger) writes:
>In article <1992Nov12.194234.27903@cs.yale.edu> rescorla@rtnmr.chem.yale.edu (Eric Rescorla) writes:
>>In article <1992Nov12.192506.26872@samba.oit.unc.edu> Mic.Oettinger@launchpad.unc.edu (Mic Oettinger) writes:
>>>wasting your breath because you know as well as I that there will never
>>>be what you would call proof unless God shows himself to each and every
>>>atheist in this world.
>>Yes, so what's your point?
>I guess the point Sir, is that God DID give proof, you just were not there
>to witness it. In fact, just back in 1916 Our Lady of Fatima gave yet
>another show for all you people, but I guess you weren't there, huh?
I guess not. But I'm pretty doubtful that the events you call "proof"
ever happened at all. And you don't seem to be able to prove that
they did, or to make ones like them happen again. Moreoever, there are
lots of people out there who say that their God did similar things
and insist that their God is entirely different from yours. Do you
believe them?

>>that LIF spectra of CS2 exist, even though I've never actually
>>taken one myself. The difference is that my friend who did take
>>such a spectrum told me how to do it if I wanted to. If I followed
>>his instructions and it didn't work, I'd be kinda skeptical.
>What if 70 to 100 thousand people from Portugal told you of the miracle they
>saw back in 1917 -- that is, the miracle of the sun? Would you believe these
>people (who btw were not all Catholics, but many were instantly converted
>at that moment)
I'd believe that they think they saw something. Barring photographs,
I'm apt to suspect far more mundane reasons than miracles from
Yahweh. 

>>That's funny. I've never heard of this.
>>You have a peer reviewed paper for this, I'm sure.
>You doubt it? I'd be happy to refer you to the source.
Good. Please do. Which journal is it published in?

>>I don't need to explain this, because I don't even know it exists.
>>Sounds like bullshit to me.
>Tell that to those who have experienced it! You are showing what a narrow
>mind you have, just by calling it bullshit when you admit you don't even
>know anything about it. tut tut
I didn't say it WAS bullshit. I said it SOUNDED like bullshit.
In my experience, when people claim stuff like this, it tends to
be bullshit. I'm open to being proved wrong. Just doubtful that
you will do so.

>>I'd settle for a paper in a refereed journal. Surely you have one.
>With your snotty attitude, maybe I will just bypass your request. Ask me nice!
I guess that means you won't be backing up your claims. That's fine.
I'll continue to suspect they are bullshit until you show otherwise.
Look, you've made a claim. You can support it or not and retract it
or not. If you continue to make it, however, and fail to support it,
you are going to look even more foolish than you do now. Now it's
possible that these people are having out of body experiences, but then
you should have no trouble showing it to be the case. IF you can't,
or won't, it suggests that the evidence must not be very strong.

-Ekr




-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Rescorla, DoD#431 (Nighthawk S)              rescorla@rtnmr.chem.yale.edu
Former chemist now CM400 mechanic                 ekr@eitech.com(preferred)
                "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
Newsgroups: alt.atheism