Rationality fail

The things people believe without skepticism

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25943051

A US police captain says he believed a story about a woman who claimed her
children were possessed by demons.

Latoya Ammons, from Indiana, said her three children walked up walls, levitated and
spoke in voices.

Official reports filed in 2012 backed up her claims, with psychologists stating that they
saw the nine-year-old child speak in "different deep voices" and walk "up the wall backwards".

"He flipped over and landed on his feet," they added.

Gary Police Captain Charles Austin, who has more than 35 years of experience, said he
had been convinced by the story.

According to a local newspaper, the Indianapolis Star, he described himself as a "believer"
after visiting the house and interviewing Ms Ammons and her family.

This is where credulous faith based belief leads you.

Child abuse.

Originally posted by googlefudge
The things people believe without skepticism

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25943051

A US police captain says he believed a story about a woman who claimed her
children were possessed by demons.

Latoya Ammons, from Indiana, said her three children walked up walls, levitated and
spoke in voices.

Official reports filed in 2012 backed ...[text shortened]... d her family.

This is where credulous faith based belief leads you.

Child abuse.

yes, totally.

that is a totally sane woman that could have lived a rational life, if only she wasn't corrupted by religion. she in no way would have used something else to fuel her non-insanity.



some people get sunstroke. that doesn't mean we should stay inside instead of wearing sunblock and a big hat and hydrate.

Originally posted by Zahlanzi
yes, totally.

that is a totally sane woman that could have lived a rational life, if only she wasn't corrupted by religion. she in no way would have used something else to fuel her non-insanity.



some people get sunstroke. that doesn't mean we should stay inside instead of wearing sunblock and a big hat and hydrate.

And the police officer... and the social workers... ect ect.


EDIT: also if I were to buy your argument I would have to as a consequence
rate everyone who believed in god/demons/hell/ect as clinically insane.

Originally posted by googlefudge
The things people believe without skepticism

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25943051

A US police captain says he believed a story about a woman who claimed her
children were possessed by demons.

Latoya Ammons, from Indiana, said her three children walked up walls, levitated and
spoke in voices.

Official reports filed in 2012 backed ...[text shortened]... d her family.

This is where credulous faith based belief leads you.

Child abuse.

So...
How do you explain all of the professional people quoted in the article?

Originally posted by googlefudge
And the police officer... and the social workers... ect ect.


EDIT: also if I were to buy your argument I would have to as a consequence
rate everyone who believed in god/demons/hell/ect as clinically insane.

there is a difference between believing in god and hearing god speak to you. do you really not see it? or you intend to belittle any instance of faith, wherever you find it?

Originally posted by googlefudge
The things people believe without skepticism

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25943051

A US police captain says he believed a story about a woman who claimed her
children were possessed by demons.

Latoya Ammons, from Indiana, said her three children walked up walls, levitated and
spoke in voices.

Official reports filed in 2012 backed ...[text shortened]... d her family.

This is where credulous faith based belief leads you.

Child abuse.

i have taken the time and actually read the article.

have you noticed how they don't actually quote the captain, only paraphrase him? that saying he is a believer could mean he simply believes in demons and the devil, not necessarily those particular kids are possessed?

after that. all it is said is "psychologists witnessed event X and Y", "some people witnessed Z and W" "some people said that the kid this this and that". unspecific affirmations that can't be verified (for anonimity, it is said).

i am not saying insane people do not exist, or that insane religious people do not exist. i am saying that you get worked up over a piece of sensationalist journalism, that can't be easily verified, and probably present an occurence somewhere in a small hickville in redneck america.

hardly a reason to panic.

Originally posted by Zahlanzi
.........hardly a reason to panic.

It is for those poor children.

Originally posted by googlefudge
And the police officer... and the social workers... ect ect.


EDIT: also if I were to buy your argument I would have to as a consequence
rate everyone who believed in god/demons/hell/ect as clinically insane.

It wasn't really an argument.

It was sarcasm, at least that's the way I read it.

Also, as to the story, I'm guessing she's using the "demons" angle simply to cover for her poor parenting skills. I don't see this as a case of "religion causing child abuse" or any nonsense like that. Remember, cramming all the evils of the world under the banner of 'religion' is stupid; it's not religion that is the problem, it is evil people. Way to be careless with your labeling, though, I understand you have a point to make.

Same thing happens when people feed their kids at McDonalds every day and then sue them for making their kids obese.

Originally posted by wolfgang59
It is for those poor children.

that we should panic. we should call child support. it is a good example of defective humans.

it is however just that. an example. not a trend. not an evil that is gripping humanity. stupid and/or insane people are being stupid and/or insane. this will never change. maybe the excuse used to be stupid and/or insane will.

Originally posted by googlefudge
The things people believe without skepticism

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/25943051

A US police captain says he believed a story about a woman who claimed her
children were possessed by demons.

Latoya Ammons, from Indiana, said her three children walked up walls, levitated and
spoke in voices.

Official reports filed in 2012 backed ...[text shortened]... d her family.

This is where credulous faith based belief leads you.

Child abuse.

There was an account in the New Testament of demons possessing a man that made him wild with super human strength and he terrorized the village. Jesus casts the demons out of the msn and sent them into a herd of pigs at the demon's request and the pigs became insane and ran into the lake and drowned taking the demons with them.

Originally posted by RJHinds
There was an account in the New Testament of demons possessing a man that made him wild with super human strength and he terrorized the village. Jesus casts the demons out of the msn and sent them into a herd of pigs at the demon's request and the pigs became insane and ran into the lake and drowned taking the demons with them.

And of course, being in the bible, it HAS to be 100% true.

Originally posted by RJHinds
There was an account in the New Testament of demons possessing a man that made him wild with super human strength and he terrorized the village. Jesus casts the demons out of the msn and sent them into a herd of pigs at the demon's request and the pigs became insane and ran into the lake and drowned taking the demons with them.

why wouldn't it be true?

Originally posted by RJHinds
why wouldn't it be true?

because an eternal omnipotent being cannot go from being a psycho to a loving god in just 2000 years.

Originally posted by Zahlanzi
because an eternal omnipotent being cannot go from being a psycho to a loving god in just 2000 years.

I suppose you believe in evilution then. So how long would it take? 20 thousand years, 200 thousand years, or 2 million years?