Yet Another Exercise in Observational Fallacy
More and more, I hear people say they do not believe in the spiritual or supernatural. Sometimes, same people believe in getting in touch with their inner selves, with their inner selves obviously neither spiritual nor supernatural. Frankly, I have no interest in getting in touch with tissues in my body. My spiritual self, however, surely.
A simple illustration reveals refusal to believe in the supernatural or spiritual is an exercise in observational fallacy.
Consider architectural marvels all over the world. Each and every marvel existed first on paper in form an architectural plan. Prior to existence in form of an architectural plan, the plan existed in the mind of an architect who possessed requisite ability, intelligence, and skills to come up with a good plan and communicate the plan.
Clearly, it is an exercise in observational fallacy for an admirer of an architectural marvel to declare there does not exist any intelligent mind behind an architectural marvel simply because the architect is not known or observable. In the fact that there exists an intelligent mind behind every architectural marvel in our physical world lies evidence there can exist an intelligent mind behind our universe. Perhaps much as declared by Christian Scriptures, we have need of spiritual senses if we are to come in contact with spiritual or supernatural spheres of our existence. If we do not allow for possibility of the spiritual or supernatural, development of spiritual senses?Nigh impossible.
Oh, and by the way with all of the knowledge of the universe we possess, while we have estimated the speed of light, origins of light remain very much a mystery. There are competing theories, yet nothing is known for certain or with certainty. If we still are grappling with origins of light, a property essential to our very lives, how dare we assume the universe consists only of what we are able to see, hear, touch, smell, or taste? If there exist spectra of light not visible to our naked eyes yet beneficial to us; if we do not understand origins of light — light we have needed for life or existence ever since there was time — is it not hubris to form beliefs only on basis of what remains detectable to our senses?
Much before advent of science, Christian Scriptures declared light originated out of God (Genesis 1), meaning light is essence of the universe, without source other than the Creator Himself. We can measure light. The source, which is God Himself, undetectable. In regard of origins of light, both science and Christian Scriptures agree because “we do not know” is equivalent to “source is God who Himself is Spirit, invisible, undetectable to physical senses.”
It is an exercise in hubris and observational fallacy to assume what cannot be detected by our physical senses does not exist.
