NeoNotes — Nothing supernatural exists
Here's some thinking I shared on a mostly Christian conservative site.
❝The supernatural is the natural that we haven't managed to explain yet.NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
Or, as a good friend of mine put it, "Nothing supernatural exists."
ETA: Before I draw the wrath of the crowd, please notice I did not say the Divine does not exist.
ETA2: Yes, I know she was caging Star Trek. We laughed about it, especially since she didn't like Spock.
Aha, someone likes the philosophy! Always a pleasure.
Part of the barrier is the language. We're attempting to describe things that lay mostly outside our comprehension. How could Benjamin Franklin possibly explain a smartphone, much less the internet that makes it possible? We do not have a fraction of the understanding.
Part of it is we have a symbol mismatch between us. Monotheistic faiths often assume there is a distinct separation between Creator and Creation. That's not a universal or even a popular idea in all populations.
But I prefer a simpler theory. Why would a Creator make something alien to It's existence? Wouldn't Creation be a Manifestation reflecting (at the very least) the likes and dislikes of the Creator?
Well, personally I think magick is technology that we don't yet fully understand. The World is full of such wonders. Applying bread mold to wounds? Companion planting? And three of the most important civilization advances, beer, bread, and cheese. Those are pretty amazing things.
Because I really, REALLY don't want to start a major argument here, I think I'm going to leave the mechanisms of prayer and spell casting out of this discussion. For my purposes, it's enough that they work sometimes.
What's the saying? "Prayers are always answered. Sometimes the answer is no."
Well, technology requires someone to design, fabricate, and assemble, but I see your point.
We may still have a symbol mismatch here. You're thinking of magick as cheat codes that let you get around universal rules. I'm saying that the design is such that you don't need an Outside Force to get things done. With a well built car, you don't have to stop the engine and crawl underneath to shift into third.
FWIW, I'm not alone in distinguishing between stage & entertainment magic and ritual magick. A minor distinction I know, and probably not all that important to most folks.❞
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