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proof of the supernatural on a personal level.

Cainkane1

Philosopher
Cainkane1
Joined
Jul 16, 2005
Messages
9,011
Location
The great American southeast
I have an online friendship with a Mormon. He knows I'm an atheist but he told me he had a personal experience with a shining spirit that answered questions and did so in the presence of several witnesses. His story actually parallels a story of Joseph Smith proving the gold plates existed because some angels came down and showed them.

His story is this. He was praying Mormon fashion (don't ask me) and a being of light appeared and when asked questions the light thingy answered him. He claims that the light thing told him all about the age of the earth and how moment in Gods life is about 2000 years.

If I had been there I'm certain I would have seen or heard nothing but he seems sincere.

Could this have been group hysteria?
 
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You don't really have the group response to this experience, you only have your online friends account (I presume). You'd want to hear the personal testimony of the other witnesses. If their accounts corroborate your friends then.... yes. it's group hysteria. :)
 
Yes, it would be interesting to hear a detailed descriptoin of the event by all members of the group.

For example, what did the shiny thingy look like? Was it just a light or was it person shaped? What sort of accent did it talk with?

And did the others see and hear the spirit, or did they just see your friend talking?
 
Robin said:
Yes, it would be interesting to hear a detailed descriptoin of the event by all members of the group.

For example, what did the shiny thingy look like? Was it just a light or was it person shaped? What sort of accent did it talk with?

And did the others see and hear the spirit, or did they just see your friend talking?
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He didn't describe the shiny guys looks but I can tell you by what I know of Mormon angel art. Big tall blond guy dressed in snow white robes with a big sword on his side. Light shining whitely. Mormons are into white. Skin, cloth, etc.
 
This reminds me of that time when that dude was on the road to that place and he was all blind and stuff and then god spoke to him and he, like, could totally see again and afterwards all the dudes mates were all "Yeah man! The voice of god spoke from the heavens" and all the other guys that were around at the time said "No way, dude, it was just thunder." And then they all went surfing and caught some sweet breaks.

Paul on the road to Damascus?
 
Pardon for playing captain obvious for a moment...

But who the heck said there was even a group?

It's not exactly unheard of that the believers invent stuff and then embelish the story later on.
 
If such visions were unique to Christians, I might be on my way to converting, but believers of other religions have similar stories too. Delusion, Illusion and mass hysteria appear to be the best explanations.
 
As a cynic, I'd say the guy is flat out lying in the hope of making a new convert.
 
GrandMasterFox said:
Pardon for playing captain obvious for a moment...

But who the heck said there was even a group?

It's not exactly unheard of that the believers invent stuff and then embelish the story later on.
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The Bleever said there was:

he had a personal experience with a shining spirit that answered questions and did so in the presence of several witnesses.
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That doesn't mean, of course, that one word he said was in any way reflecting reality. But that is what he said.
 
This does sound very much (as indicated above by CriticalSock) like a temporal-lobe hallucination. We had a thread on this phenomena up a couple of months ago, the descriptions are very similar.
The individual feels (and sometimes sees) a "presence" which is usually not identifiable. Often there is a feeling that some information is being conveyed. Usually, the individual cannot recall the exact message.
In this case, with the "message" mimicking Mormon thought, we might lean to thinking that he merely "interpreted" the message....
 
slingblade said:
The Bleever said there was:
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Sorry, I guess I need to take a couple of lessons from Sledge in matters of saying it directly.

I am flat out asking why do we assume the guy is telling the truth and there was even a group of people there?
 
Until you have verification from other "witnesses", my first instinct would be some form of syncope (i.e., he fainted, whether due to low blood pressure, low oxygen, or what - I don't know what's involved in praying in "Mormon fashion"). Fainting can definitely be accompanied by hallucinations (as my husband can attest when he fainted due to his first blood donation).
 
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It's a typical example of the provincial ignorance of the deeply religious.
Knowing the "age of the earth" is more important to be informed of by the supernatural than say, THE fix for peace in the Middle East.
Or the grinding poverty in Africa... or.. the list of real problems that could use divine intervention is nearly endless, but these ignoranti can only focus on the aberrations of their beliefs.
A Mormon seeing a spirit just gives that fool a boost in the esteem of the other fools that have swallowed crap, pure and simple. Espeically the simple part.
 
GrandMasterFox said:
Sorry, I guess I need to take a couple of lessons from Sledge in matters of saying it directly.

I am flat out asking why do we assume the guy is telling the truth and there was even a group of people there?
Click to expand...

Then I must ask why you assume that we assume his veracity? I made it quite plain I'm aware that he could have been making up every word of the story he tells, including the presence of others, aside from the obvious delusion of having been visited by some "being."

I assume the entire story is a lie. But without more information, I can only say that HE spoke of a group, and that is why the OP asks about group delusions.

None of this claims the story is in any way true. Cainkane was asking, I take it, what one would call such a delusion amongst a group. This doesn't affirm the group existed. He simply wanted to know the label for such a thing.
 
Assuming that the story is true, exactly as the friend relayed it, which is just an assumption for the sake of discussion, it could be a type of religious group hysteria. I don't see why not.

Also, I wonder if even a sincere group sharing a spiritual experience might sacrifice being strictly honest about what they've seen or heard in favor of supporting each other.
 
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