Theos-Talk Archives (November 2005 Message tt00196)

Dear Adelasie,

You wrote:
>On the other hand, 
> theosophists are enjoined to think for themselves, and if we want to
> do that, surely we need as much information as possible. We can 
> reject something if we like. Or we can reserve judgement until we 
>are satisfied that we have enough information to make a 
determination. In 
> this case I personally would need a lot more information before I 
> could come to any conclusion. 

My response to this is that "come to any conclusion" can mean 
different things, and it's not easily avoidable given the way our 
brains are wired. Conclusions can be tentative, and in any case are 
mostly unconscious. We do tend to sort new information as more or 
less plausible based on past experience, whether or not we are 
conscious of doing so. On the face of it, "survives for months 
without eating" is implausible and one can be very open-minded and 
still say so. Impossible is a strong word, and even with something 
that far-fetched I'd be reluctant to use it. 

Hugh seems to suggest that the injunction by Jesus not to judge  
means that we should refrain from *making* negative judgments based 
on partial information. I don't think that is possible, as we are 
wired to do just that, to recognize danger from small signals. On 
the other hand, to *state* our subjective negative judgments as 
objective facts about someone else-- that's where the bad karma Jesus 
warns against kicks in. Telling people they are unfit to be 
Theosophists strikes me as problematic in that way. So is making 
sweeping negative judgments of the spiritual status of an entire 
class of people labeled "skeptics" and "debunkers."

Cheers,

Paul

If I should hear, for instance, that 
> this boy or his followers were demanding money for some sort of 
> services rendered, I would begin to feel a bit sceptical. But in 
the meantime, I really don't know what to think, so just try to keep 
an open mind and hope for the best. Like I said, any work toward 
> increasing the awareness of the unity of all life, the cyclic 
nature 
> of reality, the Brotherhood of humanity, has to be at least 
possibly 
> a good thing. We need all the help we can get.
> 
> Adelasie
> 
> On 28 Nov 2005 at 11:28, Mark Hamilton Jr. wrote:
> 
> > > Well now, that is interesting. In what way do you think this 
person
> > > sitting under a tree is going to destroy mirth?
> > 
> > As with any impostor posing as a spiritualist; they tend to lower
> > morale and make people more cynical after they are foiled. The 
more
> > ignorant of the original followers will turn away from 
spiritualism
> > after it happens on several times (e.g., the more "hoaxes" that 
are
> > uncovered, the more the people turn back toward materialism)
> > 
> > -Mark H.
>