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Originally Posted by EchoedTruth
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This coming from someone with a Bible verse in their sig? [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] |
Absolutely. I'd prefer not to derail this thread; if you're seeking to engage in substantive dialogue, I'd be happy to oblige you through another medium. I'll simply state that I have concluded that a belief in Christ is rationally supportable, and I'd be happy to share that with you if you're seeking in earnest. Otherwise, consider this tangent addressed.
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Originally Posted by Nocturne
I'm sorry but which label does sitting in a near freezing cold room, wrapping yourself with cold water, heating them to the point they are completely dry, fall under? That clearly has nothing to do with strength, acrobatics nor flexibility. So just a parlor trick then?
In fact both video's I linked clearly demonstrate feats beyond any of prescribed labels you presented. I guarantee that none of the feats in those video's can be achieved without highly extensive knowledge of chi and how to use it. These monks have demonstrated superhuman capabilities and attribute it to chi and I've yet to see anyone else able to do anything close to what they are capable of, without the use of chi.
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The human body is capable of numerous feats that are extraordinary but not super natural. I can link you this:
http://www.cracked.com/article_19661...perpowers.html and ask: are these all chi masters? Or perhaps there is a fully explainable mechanism from which the abilities stem? Some of what people call chi is simply the ability to put oneself into a specific mental state that produces physical results, that fine, but to claim there exists a manipulable form of energy that performs work upon the physical environment? That is another thing entirely. If you ever attend a seminar on chi, you'll quickly note that much of what they do IS stage magic beginning with selection of the "willing member of the audience". Again, I ask: why has no one ever claimed the Randi Prize (or any of the others) for the demonstration of a supernatural power? Because they can't.
If you want to talk about chi masters, I've met many of the North American "masters." I'm even on a first name basis with one or two. I've always found it interesting how overweight they tend to be. I'll spill it: when I was 17, they had me believing. I drank the Kool-Aid straight up. As I got older, and hopefully wiser, I realized that I've never once seen an single shred of evidence for the existence of chi. As I stated before, the burden is on the claimant.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and so on. You're being criticized not because you propose interest in a fantastic unknown, but because your mysticizing it and demanding recognition of an inconclusive element. An element with no supporting evidence that is not replicable or explainable by some specific theory. I will be the first to admit there is much in this universe we don't understand. And I would
love for chi to be real (Hadoken up in here, yo). But the proof simply isn't present.
Is there something specific that enables these people to perform such feats? Obviously. Should we relegate the unknown to the unknowable and appeal to mysticism? Never.