Date Posted:06:30 Author: ketch - 11 April 2002 Subject: Re: Query for Ketch (and maybe others) In reply to:
Eponymous - 11 April 2002
's message, "Query for Ketch (and maybe others)" on 06:29
I argued against the aliens from space interpretation of UFO phenomena because there is usually a better explanation. On the other hand, if a spaceship were to land at the Pentagon, and a delegation from another planet were to emerge, then the explanation that this particular UFO was caused by an alien spaceship would have to be taken seriously.
In the case of many religious experiences alternative explanations are probably better. However there seem to remain a few where spiritual explanations remain the most likely.
I would agree though, that religious experience is often highly subjective. To the experiencer a religious explanation may be best, while to others a psychological explanation may be better.
Perhaps someone who believes themselves to have been a victim of alien abduction may be justified in invoking an extraterrestrial explanation of their experience. For others who have merely heard of the experience another explanation is probably better. Being the better explanation does not necessarily make it the correct one.
