That’s a great way to put it. Oliver Sacks said something a bit like that in the extended interview with Neil DeGrasse Tyson they put on the Star Talk podcast yesterday.
I admire things and have a sense of wonder, as much as anyone else. But I can’t stand the idea of believing things that aren’t true. That’s just me, but I know for some people believe things knowing they’re a myth, and not true, but a lot of them, somehow seem to be able to separate their fun beliefs from how they decide things.
Personally I’d rather make big fish stories explicitly so, because while a person is smart, people are dumb, and that’s how we get things like OT biblical literalism etc. which harms many people to this day. I think the only thing keeping UFOlogist in the funny kooks category is just time and popularity. If they gain the popularity of a biblical prophet in addition to a lot of time, they’ll end up just as damaging as any other fictional storytellers who insist on the veracity of their tall tales.
People are great at dealing with cognitive dissonance. I knew a psychological therapist who managed to believe in both demonic possession and schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder simultaneously. She was an intelligent and diligent woman. But I’d never trust someone like that to treating me for a psychological disorder.
With that kind of cognitive dissonance the only way to draw the line is personal comfort zones. Hers just happened to be that any episode happening in a church is demonic possession. Any episode happening in public is something natural and can be dealt with by science. That ends up being scary fast. What happens if she’s asked to attend something like an alcoholic intervention?
It’s a good dream to have. Maybe I need to start reading scifi again. Last thing I read was a Douglas Adams compilation a few years ago. So maybe my imagination isn’t being properly fed with a little fantasy here and there.
If time is the pinch I suggest something like the short stories on http://escapepod.org I just listen over a headset on the bus/train or car bluetooth. The downside is then you loose the free time to think about stuff, but there are times for me where thinking time leads to stress chasing it’s tail in my head, so audio book beats ethanol I have seen too many choose.
Eeew, holy water. Do you know how many infants get infected with e. Coli every year from that literal shitwater?
Seriously, Vatican, you’ve got more gold plating than freaking Donald Trump, but you can’t be bothered to put up signs in the bathrooms telling all employees to washup before returning to “work”?
Can’t put a number on it, but way more than there ought to be, seeing as typical uses and handling of holy water completely circumvents basic sanitation and safety practices.
It’s only fit for use as gray-water at best, as far as I’m concerned.
TL;DR. Need a neat graph. Actually I don’t see where to read past the abstract.
But really. If you took samples of water from something where 100+ people dipped their finger into the water per mass, It is no wonder there were microbes and fecal matter in there. Duh. But you dab water on your forehead and touch 3 points on your clothes. Doubt that is going to hurt anyone. Baptisms generally are just a small handful of water over the crown of the head. (Some sects might do more.) Again, not likely to hurt anyone. I think the average person will be exposed to as much or more bad things using a public toilet and not washing their hands. It says only 14% met drinking water standards - but you aren’t supposed to drink holy water.
Not saying some one COULDN’T get sick. I mean people got sick eating bad lettuce that one year. But hardly a real issue. Though churches should be sure to have a filter for water that is always available (the fonts or fountains) and not reuse any stagnant water. Also that abstract mentioned springs. Like natural springs? Because that is outside.
I wondered that as well, running water and all that. But if it’s exposed enough, a spring could harbor a self-sustaining population.
Or if it’s one of those mineral bath type things, it could be all the heat makes the microbes frisky, so very little contaminant is needed to get things going.
Every time they have an E.Coli breakout at a burger joint 15 states over I hear about it, but I do not remember ever hearing about a holy water breakout. You also know that there is nothing special about holy water, right? At most Catholic churches I have attended they draw it from the city water supply, and the Priest blesses it right there. They do not use the holy water that has been sitting out to baptize.
As a recovering Catholic, I rarely will defend the church but lets be serious. Second hand smoke from the incense is the real worry to me.
