A question cropped up on a Face Book group in which, once
again, demons were referred to as the culprits and I responded that I did not
believe in demons. The response was absolutism: yes they do.
I have left out names as to include them might be a tad
unfair.
I wrote:
"Terry Hooper
There are no such things as Demons -other than the Demons of the Mind. In
40+ years I have been involved (officially unofficially) in looking into UFO
cases and I have looked into ghost cases and a great many other areas of
research and investigation and I have personally seen and examined people who
have had straking physiological effects 'caused' by whatever.
Example. I was about twelve years old and dreamt that I was
in a sword fight -no idea why- but my opponent scratched along the upper left
hand side of my chest. I woke up and realised I was sleeping with both hands
under my back and both had "gone asleep" so I pulled them from under
me. I then realised my upper left chest area felt sore so pulled back my
pyjamas and there was the welt left by my opponents sword!
In the 1970s a friend of mine had a nervous and physical
breakdown so I visited him in hospital daily. He was getting better and one
morning I went in to see him and thought he had been involved in a fire -his
face was bloated, very reddened and the skin was peeling. Apparently he had
some bad news after I left the previous evening 8pm and woke up looking as he
did at 4am. I have seen people who have woken to find one entire half of their
bodies (vertically divided) reddened as though they had been sun-bathing and
the other side normal.
So when I talk to someone involved in these cases I do not
go straight to "What did that!" I talk to them and get background
information and much more and I explained why in my last book because we have
had the example of "Ruth" since the 1970s -explained in detail and
though it crosses into other fields my book deals specifically with UFO cases
but you cannot look at the paranormal without real knowledge of other subjects
that offer explanations.
I have seen weird stuff and I leave open things that quantum
physics might explain as they are good theories but just theories. Not all of
these people are "crazy" or suffering mental illness as it is defined
and should not be dismissed outright without investigation because that is NOT
the Principle of Science. Science (established) will not take this field
seriously because it does not apply scientific methodology or principles to
gain proof -there are far too many expensive "Ghost toys" out there
used by the fans. In 40+ years we have moved no further forward in this field
than when I got involved in it. Saying that makes me very unpopular!"
I even put a smiley to show that I was not being
"nasty".
I then got this response:
" - I agree with a lot of your post but IMHO you do
yourself no justice by starting off by
saying "XXX don't exist". Such apparent
closed-mindness should be the reserve of the uber-sceptic that won't even make
an attempt to look at the evidence, or indeed the credulous believer who
refuses to accept any other explanation. "Demons" in an
Exorcist/Hollywood etc. sense may well not exist in the way that they are
portrayed, but as ------ alludes to there are cultural issues here too, e.g.
what do people think 'demons', 'evil spirits" etc. are? Whether or not one
believes or not, none of us can say with 100% conviction that something does or
does not exist..."
So I replied:
" ------- "demons" as in creatures from Hell
do not exist. In the original Bible there was no fallen angel -Satan. There was
no hell. These were later additions to the Bible and it has been translated and
mis-translated so many times -the Red Sea parting was in fact the Sea of Reeds USA (if we are to believe TV".
"Uber sceptic" is a silly statement and assessment
to make based on the fact that you read one response from me here and I would assume
have never read my books nor regularly checked out my blog. Seriously, I do not
really care what people who do not know me want to call me.
A good and debatable response would have been "What do
you think demons might be?" But that chance has gone. I DID in that
response hint at possible origins (excluding -and you really should read The
Story of Ruth, or my book in which I discuss this- those created by the human
mind and I do NOT mean "imagined").
I've spent almost fifty years at this and not narrowed my
focus because that makes you miss all the connections in other fields. When
people who are absolutely credible describe seeing a strange creature on land
(not Sasquatch) and they display not history or characteristics of Ruth
Syndrome and, occasionally, there is possible evidence to support their
accounts then you need to ask "Where did It/They come from?"
Look at Quantum physics and the theoretical explanations and
possibilities that it opens up for those involved in paranormal research. I have
seen poltergeist activity but I did not immediately scream "Demon!" I
have seen things that made myself, and on one occasion two others, literally
leave an area VERY quickly -something I would never have done years later.
So please do not assess me to be an uber sceptic from just
one post -it does not make me look silly.
ps: And, no, you had your chance for discussion and debate.
"
You see, I will discuss these things and I am not, as I hope this blog and my
books prove, a sceptic in any other way than asking for evidence. "Uber sceptic" is very silly as I
noted. But I find that unless you want to jump into the "I'm a
believer!" or "I do not believe any of this even with evidence" camps
you can never have your opinion listened to and discussed.
Maybe I'll get kicked off another group -though the group
involved is fairly open to opinions.
