Alex's religious beliefs?

[Venom]

Originally Posted by David Bailey

I would say that you have to open your mind a little (i.e. sit on the fence) to things that you think are unlikely - otherwise you never know when you are wrong!

Well, you know, I'm listenning to proponent podcasts, and I'm here, talking to you. So I think I'm pretty open minded.

By the way, any definition of "spirituality" (that doesn't imply believing in a God and/or in an afterlife) anyone? I'm waiting...

[Open Mind]

Originally Posted by Venom

By the way, any definition of "spirituality" (that doesn't imply believing in a God and/or in an afterlife) anyone? I'm waiting...

From the Royal College of Psychiatrists website ....

Spirituality and Mental Health.....


Introduction
Spirituality involves a dimension of human experience that psychiatrists are increasingly interested in, because of its potential benefits to mental health.


It is not necessary to hold formal religious beliefs, or engage in religious practices, or belong to an established faith tradition, to experience the spiritual dimension.



What is spirituality?

In healthcare, spirituality is identified with experiencing a deep-seated sense of meaning and purpose in life, together with a sense of belonging. It is about acceptance, integration and wholeness.



According to one definition, “The spiritual dimension tries to be in harmony with the universe, strives for answers about the infinite, and comes especially into focus in times of emotional stress, physical and mental illness, loss, bereavement and death.” This desire for wholeness of being is not an intellectual attainment, for it is no less present in people with learning disability, but lies in the essence of what it means to be human.


From the spiritual perspective, a distinction can be made between cure, or relief of symptoms, and healing of the whole person. Life is a perpetual journey of discovery and development, during which maturity is often gained through adversity. The relief of suffering remains a primary aim of health care, but it is by no means the whole story.

How is spirituality distinguished from religion?

Spirituality, described as “linking the deeply personal with the universal”, is inclusive and unifying. It naturally leads to the recognition that to harm another is to harm oneself, and equally that helping others is to help oneself. It applies to everyone, including those who do not believe in God or a ‘higher being’.

There you go ....

[Venom]

Originally Posted by Venom

Well, I have noticed in the past that Alex has a strong tendency not to respond to skeptic's messages.

I just want to say: hey, Alex AGAIN didn't reply to a simple question (probably too easy for him ).

He's way of avoiding questions is really annoying, but hey, I'm still waiting for him to actually apply to the Million Dollar Challenge (I was thinking of putting an "Alex clock" somewhere, with a caption has: "X months have passsed since Alex Tsakiris was anable to fill in a very simple form and by doing so to apply for the Million Dollar Challenge, invoquing a lame excuse in order to avoid doing it").

Well, thruly, I'm just kidding. I know is not gonna do it anyway, because he knows is doggy experiments is not has sound as he claims on his YouTube video.

Hey Alex, next time you read this thread (after all this is your forum, well in a matter of speaking), please answer this simple question: what are your religious beliefs. Thanks in advance.

[alextsakiris]

Originally Posted by Venom

Well, I have noticed in the past that Alex has a strong tendency not to respond to skeptic's messages. Here on this forum, or on the SGU forum, or on YouTube. On this forum, he writes from time time to time, but always responding to a Psi-believer. A don't remember him responding to me once.

- I think I've responded to a couple of your posts... most don't really seems to require a lot of input on my part.

So ok, it would be great if he could answer this question himself. Fell free to do so Alex, after all, this forum is about your show.

I think I've been pretty open about all this, but here goes:

- was raised Greek Orthodox (kinda like Catholic) but was not particluatylly devout.

- began to question Christianty in my 20's and soon became a non-Christian

- became interested in Eastern philosophies... Buddhism, Yoga, Neem Karoli Baba.

- think science is an underutilized tool for unlocking the mysteries of spirituality.

- find the evidence highly suggestive of some sort of divine force and a human connection with it

- find the smirky new atheists annoying and on shaky ground scientifically

[eyemsougly]

Originally Posted by alextsakiris

- was raised Greek Orthodox (kinda like Catholic) but was not particluatylly devout.

With your last name I am shocked to hear that you were raised Greek Orthodox.

find the smirky new atheists annoying...

yeah, they are.

[alextsakiris]

Originally Posted by eyemsougly

With your last name I am shocked to hear that you were raised Greek Orthodox.

................................

[Venom]

Originally Posted by alextsakiris

I think I've been pretty open about all this, but here goes:

- was raised Greek Orthodox (kinda like Catholic) but was not particluatylly devout.

- began to question Christianty in my 20's and soon became a non-Christian

- became interested in Eastern philosophies... Buddhism, Yoga, Neem Karoli Baba.

- think science is an underutilized tool for unlocking the mysteries of spirituality.

- find the evidence highly suggestive of some sort of divine force and a human connection with it

- find the smirky new atheists annoying and on shaky ground scientifically

OK. Thanks. What took you so long? Why do I have the impression to have to push really hard to have that kind of informations?

Originally Posted by alextsakiris

- I think I've responded to a couple of your posts... most don't really seems to require a lot of input on my part.

Did you ever answer my question about the fact that in your second video you said:

"The dogs are less likely to wait when someone is in the house"

(around 1:21 on your second video)

And in his interview, Sheldrake states (I'm quoting your transcription here):

And we did a similar number with the dog alone in her own apartment. And, although the dog showed the behavior when it was alone, it was much weaker and, you know, it waited less long. It did it less frequently and, instead of statistic, there’s significant fact. But it wasn’t as much.

It's pretty obvious that those two statements are complete opposite to each other. But when Sheldrake says that, you're answer to it during the interview is (still quoting from your transcript).

Right

I have asked you before to comment on that on this forum. You didn't answer. It's not the first time you don't answers questions from skeptics. Many skeptics on the SGU board made that same observations (especially on the YouTube discussions threads, when you moderated skeptical comments/questions about your videos, without responding clearly to some questions).

But hey, if you're feeling like to comment now on the fact that you disagree on this point with Sheldrake, I'd be happy to read what you have to said about it.

ps: but don't patronize me like that:

most don't really seems to require a lot of input on my part.

You don't reply to my posts, fine, I understand that you prefer to answer to your fans (it's of course easier to debate with people who share your beliefs), but don't pretend you're above the crowd, because you're not.

[David Bailey]

Venom,

Perhaps you are forgetting that Alex is pretty busy arranging podcasts, doing experiments, answering other people, etc.

Yes, I suppose listening to Alex's podcasts and possibly associated reading does show a degree of openness on your part. I can tell you that I used to take very much the same line as you and Chris, and one of the things that changed my mind was the realisation that when people - such as Sheldrake - did research, it was dismissed on the flimsiest of grounds. In other words, when I encountered an assertion such as "there is no scientific evidence for Ψ", I was reading something akin to a propaganda statement rather than a cold scientific fact.

I remember seeing one skeptical response to an experiment (sorry I have forgotten the details) in which the best he could suggest that that the pseudo-random number generator must have had some residual pattern. Now it is not that such things don't ever happen, but he provided absolutely no evidence for this assertion - it was just anything to create a sense of uncertainty!

In other areas of science ideas get accepted initially on a tentative basis - "there is some evidence for X". This allows evidence to build up in people's consciousness, or for an idea to explode (as happened with N rays) but skeptics absolutely refuse to acknowledge that any Ψ experiment passes the threshold for that initial acceptance.

I suspect asking for a definition of spirituality is a bit like asking for a definition of love. It is interesting that we all use a range of words in everyday life that don't have a crisp definition, but still seem useful!

I have had a long wrangle with Paul about my opinion that defining words - such as consciousness - can be counter-productive because such definitions drag in too many assumptions.

David

[David Bailey]

Originally Posted by alextsakiris

I think I've been pretty open about all this, but here goes:

- was raised Greek Orthodox (kinda like Catholic) but was not particluatylly devout.

- began to question Christianty in my 20's and soon became a non-Christian

- became interested in Eastern philosophies... Buddhism, Yoga, Neem Karoli Baba.

- think science is an underutilized tool for unlocking the mysteries of spirituality.

- find the evidence highly suggestive of some sort of divine force and a human connection with it

- find the smirky new atheists annoying and on shaky ground scientifically

All that sounds very reasonable, but I think you should avoid using explicitly religious terminology. Religion is all about a closed way of thinking, and if you start to use that language, people will think you are developing the same approach.

LOL - just as in religion, people often quarrel most when they almost agree!

David

[scomsjw]

Originally Posted by alextsakiris

- find the smirky new atheists annoying and on shaky ground scientifically

I don't like the use of that word "smirky". It doesn't seem too appropriate from someone who can't quote Richard Wiseman without snorting derisively and what about all that sniggering on the podcasts about James Randi and the challenge? In comparison "smirking" seems quite affectionate.