Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site pyuxd.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!bellcore!petrus!scherzo!allegra!ulysses!gamma!pyuxww!pyuxd!rlr From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) Newsgroups: net.religion.christian,net.religion Subject: Re: On the Power of Arcane Symbols Message-ID: <2023@pyuxd.UUCP> Date: Mon, 4-Nov-85 00:48:53 EST Article-I.D.: pyuxd.2023 Posted: Mon Nov 4 00:48:53 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 5-Nov-85 07:04:52 EST References: <1516@vax3.fluke.UUCP> <1227@mhuxt.UUCP> <2002@umcp-cs.UUCP> Organization: Whatever we're calling ourselves this week Lines: 20 Xref: linus net.religion.christian:1539 net.religion:7743 > My feeling, based on these experiences, is to treat every occultish thing as > if it were real. In the first place, I know no way to exclude the > possibility that these things function as claimed on occaision (although I > doubt most of them). It is reasonably well-established (I can't cite > references but they should be easily locatable) that these things have a lot > of psychological power, even such poor tools as the newspaper horoscopes. > At one time, a number of researchers substituted randomly selected > horoscopes for the normal ones in a newspaper for a period of some weeks. > Not suprisingly, the change went unnoticed; what was suprising was the > number of 'hits' the random texts produced. I myself believe that most > oracles work in the same way. So I treat these things with great respect; > whether or not they do invoke the supernatural, they do have power. [WINGATE] My God, Charles!!! Are you actually close to admitting that the same things you describe might apply to your own beliefs? (Naah, for me to believe that would be wishful thinking... :-) -- Popular consensus says that reality is based on popular consensus. Rich Rosen pyuxd!rlr