Skeptics turned Believers?

[Unfortunately]

Now we all know that the existence of the paranormal is in essence impossible to 'definitively' prove/disprove to the masses.

Regardless of this, I've created this thread because I am exceedingly curious to hear about the experiences of people who would have definitely called themselves skeptics prior to conducting one or multiple paranormal investigations (which have since caused them to be less skeptical and/or changed their minds completely). I'm interested in this because I'm entirely on the fence about the paranormal as I have heard about many different things that sound somewhat convincing but have never experienced something myself. I take more of an open-minded skepticism in regards to it all, being that although I will not dismiss the experiences of others I cannot use those experiences to alter my own beliefs as I have not seen it or felt it with my own senses.

I also want to point out that this is not a thread for people who know other people that have had experiences, this is purely from the experiences of the posters and their personal standpoints.

As it takes more of an effort to convince a skeptic to be less skeptical I want to hear about those particular people rather than from people that wanted to believe originally and then found reason to. I have personally heard an argument involving someone who definitively stated that ghosts are real purely because they heard one loud bang in their house when no one else was home, this isn't what I'm looking for as that person was clearly not skeptical to begin with. Skeptics primarily try to dismiss something first.

So yes, any skeptics out there please enlighten me on your unexplainable experiences! I'm utterly fascinated by this topic, if there's any other information you want from me don't hesitate to ask. 

-Unfortunate.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Unfortunately

[BarnCat68]

What kind of paranormal/unexplained experiences are you interested in particularly?

I have never been involved in any kind of paranormal research and consider myself to be a skeptic.  However, for the past ten years, I've been living with events or phenomena that I can't just shrug off or easily explain.  Most of it I keep to myself, because I doubt anyone would believe it.  I've gotten used to convincing myself that all of the weirdness is just my imagination trying to run away with what's left of my mind.

[aquatus1]

I was a believer for a long time before becoming a skeptic, and I have met many people who claim to have done the opposite.  I have, however, never met a single one of those who was able to convince me they actually knew what proper skepticism was about.  Mostly, they only used the claim as a method of persuasion.

[WoIverine]

If anyone wants to google:

"famous last words spoken by atheists on their deathbeds"

"famous last words spoken by agnostics on their deathbeds"

"famous last words spoken by believers on their deathbeds"

and then post the results, it might make the thread more interesting.

I'll throw in a couple I came across:

David Hume: Reportedly said, "I am in flames!" and he died.

Sir Thomas Scott: "Until this moment, I thought there was neither God nor Hell…Now I know and feel that there are both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty." and he died.

Sir Francis Newport: "Do not tell me there is no God for I know there is one, and that I am in his angry presence! You need not tell me there is no hell, for I already feel my soul slipping into its fires! Wretches, cease your idle talk about there being hope for me! I know that I am lost forever." Dead.

Edited May 16, 2017 by WoIverine

[BarnCat68]

1 hour ago, aquatus1 said:

I was a believer for a long time before becoming a skeptic, and I have met many people who claim to have done the opposite.  I have, however, never met a single one of those who was able to convince me they actually knew what proper skepticism was about.  Mostly, they only used the claim as a method of persuasion.

I am probably not using the word 'skeptic' correctly according to the usual accepted sense for this forum.  I only meant that I am undecided about the existence of paranormal phenomena.  When I was young, I was taught by religion to be a firm disbeliever in ghosts.  As I get older, I am less and less sure about things I used to dismiss as mere superstition.

[ShadowSot]

Being skeptical is a method. 

 It's different from cynicism, where people just automatically dismiss a claim or from believer where people automatically believe a claim. 

 And there's a spectrum of course. 

 I usually don't participate on ghost threads anymore, because over the years I've settled more into a cynical position on ghost claims. 

 I accept people have an experience, but I differ over what that experience actually was. 

 There are a lot of claims, some that are testable, but don't hold a lot of credibility. The stone tape idea, for example. 

I will say that not believing because of what your religion taught you is not skepticism. At least, it depends on what exactly you were taught. If you were taught that ghosts don't exist because the religion teaches that people go directly to the afterlife when they die, that's just a different form of belief. 

 You have to make a method to tease out the difference between those claims, and you have to be aware of basic human faults in reasoning and interpreting experiences. 

 

[XenoFish]

4 hours ago, WoIverine said:

"famous last words spoken by atheists on their deathbeds"

I'm going to straight up poltergeist all of you.

[ShadowSot]

4 hours ago, WoIverine said:

If anyone wants to google:

"famous last words spoken by atheists on their deathbeds"

"famous last words spoken by agnostics on their deathbeds"

"famous last words spoken by believers on their deathbeds"

and then post the results, it might make the thread more interesting.

I'll throw in a couple I came across:

David Hume: Reportedly said, "I am in flames!" and he died.

Sir Thomas Scott: "Until this moment, I thought there was neither God nor Hell…Now I know and feel that there are both, and I am doomed to perdition by the just judgment of the Almighty." and he died.

Sir Francis Newport: "Do not tell me there is no God for I know there is one, and that I am in his angry presence! You need not tell me there is no hell, for I already feel my soul slipping into its fires! Wretches, cease your idle talk about there being hope for me! I know that I am lost forever." Dead.

It's interesting too how many were invented afterwards by pious Christians. Darwin often gets accused of this, Sagan too. Though the family repeatedly decried those claims and in the case of Darwin he was still as far as I know very lightly agnostic or some form of Christian. 

 Personally, I always like Voltair's response when asked to repent on his deathbed. "Now now, this is not the time to be making enemies."

 Or something to that effect. 

 I'm not a huge Hitchens fan, but he made the point that if he made any such claims as he died, it's important to note that the being who was undergoing the suffering he did would not be the same one who spoke and wrote as he did in health, and should not be treated with the same expectations of rationality. 

 That said there were no recant actions from him as he died. 

 And his own descriptions of his suffering were pretty detailed. 

[BarnCat68]

24 minutes ago, ShadowSot said:

I usually don't participate on ghost threads anymore, because over the years I've settled more into a cynical position on ghost claims. 

 I accept people have an experience, but I differ over what that experience actually was. 

 There are a lot of claims, some that are testable, but don't hold a lot of credibility. The stone tape idea, for example. 

I will say that not believing because of what your religion taught you is not skepticism.

 

Thanks for the clarification.  In conversation outside of this forum, I'd say I feel 'skeptical' about the existence of the paranormal, only meaning, of course, that I am undecided about what I believe.

[ShadowSot]

Just now, BarnCat68 said:

Thanks for the clarification.  In conversation outside of this forum, I'd say I feel 'skeptical' about the existence of the paranormal, only meaning, of course, that I am undecided about what I believe.

Doubting is good, in anything. I would say if you want to deal with pedantic people you could describe yourself as agnostic on claims of the paranormal. 

 I tend to treat skepticism as approaching claims in a critical fashion.