Look, it cannot be seen.
Listen, it cannot be heard.
Reach out, it cannot be touched.
Breathe in, it has no taste or smell.
I perceive things when matter and energy in the world around me interact with special cells in my body called receptors. Receptor cells respond to input from physical matter and energy. They translate patterns in the physical matter and energy into information that my brain analyzes and “perceives.” However, the supernatural is not made of physical matter or physical energy. The supernatural cannot interact with the receptor cells in my body. The supernatural cannot be perceived.
It is neither up nor down.
It is neither in nor out.
It is neither large nor small.
It is neither before nor after.
It is neither light nor dark.
It is neither alive nor dead.
It is neither one nor many.
It neither exists nor does not exist.
Concepts do not apply to it.
Words cannot describe it.
Concepts and words are grounded in people’s experiences with the physical world around them. They help people understand and interact with the physical world. However, there is no reason to assume that concepts and words created for use in the physical world also apply to the supernatural. There is no reason to assume that concepts and words accurately describe what is “beyond” the physical world or what is “other than” the physical world.
Suppose someone comes to me and says, “The supernatural has been miraculously revealed to me.” How do I know this person is not caught up in wishful thinking, deluded by the misguided advice of others, mistaking a psychological experience for a miraculous revelation, suffering from hallucinations, or simply lying? How can I prove the person has actually received a revelation?
Moreover, people from different places and different historical periods have made conflicting claims about the supernatural.
- Should I accept ancient Egyptian claims about gods, goddesses, magic, and life after death?
- Should I accept ancient Greek claims about gods, goddesses, magic, and life after death?
- Should I accept Hindu claims about gods, goddesses, and life after death?
- Should I accept Christian claims about god, angels, demons, miracles, and life after death?
- Should I accept Buddhist claims about divine beings, karma, reincarnation, and nirvana?
How do I know whose claims about the supernatural are right and whose claims are wrong? Who can prove it to me?
I do not deny the supernatural. I simply have no convincing evidence of the supernatural. Without evidence, I have no basis to form beliefs about the supernatural. Without beliefs about the supernatural, I cannot practice a spirituality that relies on beliefs about the supernatural.
If the agnostic does not believe in God, then, so the argument goes, they will not do any of the things associated with that belief: engage in prayer, worship, read their experiences in a religious light, refer to religious ideas in deciding what they should do, and so on. And this, in effect, is a rejection, or an ignoring, of religion. Surely it would just be irrational to live a religious life, whilst not accepting the theoretical basis for such a life? Such a life, it seems, could only be based on self-deception. (‘I do not believe, but I will pretend that I do, and perhaps half-convince myself that I do.’) And how could anyone rationally opt for a life of self-deception?