Michael J. Kane
> **If one has been repeatedly exposed to a "normalized"
> perspective on the paranormal, one may be more inclined
> to make magical attributions to random events (and to be
> suckered by hucksters who veil their intentions and actions
> with magical/supernatural/paranormal screens).
>
> **Consider what effect that exposure to a religion can have
> on the interpretation of normal life events.
This is exactly the kind of thing I was trying to get at (but said much
more eloquently). Supporting anecdote: Last week the local paper ran the
results of a local survey about people's expectations for the start of the
new millenium. Roughly 50% of the respondents said (among other things) that
they expect that Jesus Christ will "definitely" or "very likely" return to
Earth within the next 50 years. That was comparable to the percentages that
believed that we will cure AIDS or cancer, or travel to Mars. The person who
wrote the article for the paper had no comment about that result. Apparently
it's not that surprising to find a percentage that high.
Paul Smith
Alverno College
Milwaukee
