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I don’t have any conscious or deliberate bias toward one set of beliefs or another. I’m pragmatic, and generally promote whatever works best. The original poster came to the Nexus with a problem, and I responded in the most rational and responsible way that I could.

To my knowledge, no one has ever died as a result of hearing evil voices. But people have died as a result of brain tumors that, as a symptom, may cause them to hear voices or other sounds. To my knowledge, no one has ever died because of “negative energy” surrounding them. But people have died as a result of acting on what voices in their heads tell them to do.

If someone has stated that he has already taken action (moving to a new state on short notice) as the result of voices/sounds in his head, I don’t think that the most responsible thing to say to such a person is to take a salt-water bath. Sorry if that isn’t agreeable with your worldview, but I couldn’t in good conscience say such a thing.

It’s not a question of what I believe. As you said, there are MANY belief systems in the world. So the question is how do we select a belief system or a course of action when there are so many out there?

What makes an Amazonian shaman’s belief system and course of healing action (salt bath cleansing) more desirable or effective than an UFOlogist’s belief system and course of action (tin foil hat) or a Western physician’s (psychotherapy and anti-psychotic medication)? Out of the many belief systems available to us, why are you biased toward a particular one (Amazonian shamanism) rather than another, such as that of a UFOlogist or a Western physician?

And I really WOULD like you to explain how one unsupported claim (salt bath cleansing to rid one of evil spirits) is superior to another (tin foil hat to rid one of evil spirits), but I don’t see how you could. The fact that both claims are unsupported makes them equivalent.

The claims made by Western medicine are supported by research, clinical trials, etc. It’s far from perfect, but it does oftentimes work.

<blockquote data-quote="gibran2" data-source="post: 3368191" data-attributes="member: 4390">I don’t have any conscious or deliberate bias toward one set of beliefs or another. I’m pragmatic, and generally promote whatever works best. The original poster came to the Nexus with a problem, and I responded in the most rational and responsible way that I could.To my knowledge, no one has ever died as a result of hearing evil voices. But people have died as a result of brain tumors that, as a symptom, may cause them to hear voices or other sounds. To my knowledge, no one has ever died because of “negative energy” surrounding them. But people have died as a result of acting on what voices in their heads tell them to do.If someone has stated that he has already taken action (moving to a new state on short notice) as the result of voices/sounds in his head, I don’t think that the most responsible thing to say to such a person is to take a salt-water bath. Sorry if that isn’t agreeable with your worldview, but I couldn’t in good conscience say such a thing.It’s not a question of what I believe. As you said, there are MANY belief systems in the world. So the question is how do we select a belief system or a course of action when there are so many out there?What makes an Amazonian shaman’s belief system and course of healing action (salt bath cleansing) more desirable or effective than an UFOlogist’s belief system and course of action (tin foil hat) or a Western physician’s (psychotherapy and anti-psychotic medication)? Out of the many belief systems available to us, why are you biased toward a particular one (Amazonian shamanism) rather than another, such as that of a UFOlogist or a Western physician?And I really WOULD like you to explain how one unsupported claim (salt bath cleansing to rid one of evil spirits) is superior to another (tin foil hat to rid one of evil spirits), but I don’t see how you could. The fact that both claims are unsupported makes them equivalent.The claims made by Western medicine are supported by research, clinical trials, etc. It’s far from perfect, but it does oftentimes work.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="gibran2, post: 3368191, member: 4390"] I don’t have any conscious or deliberate bias toward one set of beliefs or another. I’m pragmatic, and generally promote whatever works best. The original poster came to the Nexus with a problem, and I responded in the most rational and responsible way that I could. To my knowledge, no one has ever died as a result of hearing evil voices. But people have died as a result of brain tumors that, as a symptom, may cause them to hear voices or other sounds. To my knowledge, no one has ever died because of “negative energy” surrounding them. But people have died as a result of acting on what voices in their heads tell them to do. If someone has stated that he has already taken action (moving to a new state on short notice) as the result of voices/sounds in his head, I don’t think that the most responsible thing to say to such a person is to take a salt-water bath. Sorry if that isn’t agreeable with your worldview, but I couldn’t in good conscience say such a thing. It’s not a question of what I believe. As you said, there are MANY belief systems in the world. So the question is how do we select a belief system or a course of action when there are so many out there? What makes an Amazonian shaman’s belief system and course of healing action (salt bath cleansing) more desirable or effective than an UFOlogist’s belief system and course of action (tin foil hat) or a Western physician’s (psychotherapy and anti-psychotic medication)? Out of the many belief systems available to us, why are you biased toward a particular one (Amazonian shamanism) rather than another, such as that of a UFOlogist or a Western physician? And I really WOULD like you to explain how one unsupported claim (salt bath cleansing to rid one of evil spirits) is superior to another (tin foil hat to rid one of evil spirits), but I don’t see how you could. The fact that both claims are unsupported makes them equivalent. The claims made by Western medicine are supported by research, clinical trials, etc. It’s far from perfect, but it does oftentimes work. [/QUOTE]