Both stances are a matter of faith. The new age garbage can possibly be refuted with math, science, and logic. The individual can accept or reject reason, just the same as one can reject matters of pure faith.
The religious zealots will keep this thread alive for months. They are the reason I am hesitant to post in the first place. They just can't stand the notion that I find their interpretation of Scripture and their application of logic terribly flawed.
You can work through your family problem. The heart of the matter is to discredit the moronic and highly uneducated new age leaders.
I’m confused by this statement you made;
“I have discovered that zealous Christians cannot handle the thought of ETs without equating them to demons.”
I know there are some, including FReepers I consider to be good friends of mine who believe all aliens to be of satanic origin. I also know that some Christians believe all ‘spirits’ or other such entities are demons as well. I know some other ‘zealous’ Christians that believe that it is very possible that we are not God’s only intelligent life created in this, or perhaps even another universe.
I don’t know why you would be hesitant to post just because others disagree with your specific interpretations or beliefs. And, given the fact that I did spend (not waste) time answering some clearly religious questions posed to me regarding my beliefs on Angels in particular, I find the statement that “religious zealots” will keep this thread alive for months a little off-putting.
If I am one of those that you feel makes you hesitant to post, I apologize for that. I don’t think I’ve said anything that could be interpreted as doing so, but since you went from basically calling out one or two people to speaking of 3 or more, and grouping us all together basically I just thought I’d throw that out there.
I think many times people take what is meant as pure information and sharing of opinion to mean that they are trying to force others to share their exact beliefs... Why not just say thanks, but no thanks, I disagree with that particular opinion?
Don’t worry - I’m not going to be offended if you do not respond, I was just curious... I don’t see why one needs to speak about someone in particular without naming names - as if people can’t tell who you are speaking about though. That’s kind of rude in itself, IMHO... And clearly that can lead to people making possible wrong assumptions that you are speaking about them when you may not be (like it feels to me for instance).
Exactly....and the purpose of this thread was how to speak to the family member involved and their understanding of what exactly the NEWAge UFO cults are about so they can help bring the member involved back from “the darkness”.
Obvious some do not see this as the dark side... and you are so right it centers on what one wants to “believe/faith”.....and believing is what separates those who simply have an interest and might find investigation of fun...and those who want to and do already believe and see it as true regardless of the true science which proves otherwise.....it then becomes a matter of faith/belief.
Below is a very interesting comment made on another site I thought might be of interest. He certainly gives food for thought between logic and faith.
In his book ....."101 Theory Drive, A Neuroscientist's Quest for Memory", by Terry McDermott, the author said something that I thought was worth mentioning to you. He was making reference to solving problems associated with understanding memory, however, I think there's a much broader application to what he said....... He said, that in problem solving: "Problems can arise when tools dictate direction, an illustration of the axiom that if you have only a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."
With regard to the current situation, my "hammer" is logic, so I see the problem as simply as a logical explanation (nail) of reality. Actually the current problem appears to be more of a fantasy/religious problem. If logic were the major force here, they probably wouldn't find themselves in the current situation, so any persuasion may be better provided from the biblical realm.
"If a person professes to be a Christian, but knowingly participates in many activities that are clearly spelled out in the bible as forbidden and demonic, it is reasonable to interpret this to be that they're not really a Christian and that they may be risking the loss of their soul. That cold hard reality may have a more profound effect on the person than all of the "LOGIC" in the world.
I agree with your solution but as others have indicated, the person involved (imho) has to be somewhat receptive and has a doubt about the belief. It is truly a spirtual warfare for his mind and this type of teaching/warning surfaces in Scripture over and over again.
With that said, I'm not sure what your interpretation of a zealous Christian or religious zealot would be. You seem to imply (I may be misunderstanding your point) that if someone asserts that the presence of a spirtual being or ET is demonic, they are a zealot? From what I've read, the Bible is largely silent on ET's, it is not however, silent about spirtual forces and entitities.
The case was made to me years ago, that Eziekel's vision of a 'wheel within a wheel' could have been a possible indication of a UFO but...that was only speculation. jimho, if ET's existed and were spotted throughout time or prophesied about, God would have made that plain to us in His word. I doubt the existance of them myself but not because I'm a zealot but because there is no hardcore evidence,only fabricated tales by humans. And yes, my doubt also comes from Scripture as I've yet to see God speaking about ET's.
It's pretty astounding that through all the years that man has studied this, nothing has materialized and yet these 'groups & cults' are hardcore and swear that they do exist. That people could fall into such a snare is extremely concerning.
Welllllllllllllll
HARUMPH!
LOL.