apparitions – TheCommonAtheist

American Atheist Converted at Medjugorje, Bosnia

One of my very best friends went to the pilgrimage at Medjugorje, Bosnia while vacationing about five years ago to see Our Lady of Medjugorje He went as a skeptic. I want to give you just a short history of one of the smartest people I know. He has the best memory recall of anyone I have ever met, loves to study the sciences and religion and many other disciplines, and he is currently active in coaching and teaching at a collegiate level.

He went up to Medjugore completely convinced it was nonsense and looking to see what all the talk was about. He came down as a believer. He saw the apparitions and the images dancing in the sun. He could look directly at the sun and suffered nothing. He felt something special he can’t explain. Raised catholic but operated as an atheist since late teens. Now he is an active catholic and a 100% believer. He can’t explain it. Can you? I can’t help but believe there is a logical or psychological explanation. One thing I do know, the Catholic Church regards the first visit to the children a miracle. They are remaining skeptical about the continued messages delivered by Mary.

Phil also stated that “not everyone that goes sees it. Only those meant to see it I guess” Another question I would pose, do people that have no prior knowledge of the site see the miracles? It’s not obvious what your mind is going to do with the stored knowledge and expectations or reservations of any specific event. Here is some good read and video if you haven’t seen it, and this is an email answer I got from Professor Taboo. “Bottom-line? Neurological and endocrinological explanations are quite plausible in all cases of ‘paranormal’ activity and visions/hallucinations. The pilgrimmage/hike in Medjugorje, Bosnia contributes to those physiological conditions…. as they do in other parts of the world. When large groups/crowds all participate/perform the “worship” together, it makes it all even MORE intense — the Placebo-effect.”

The Gospel Behind Apparitions

TCA News Podcast Script 1a

2-2-2018

Apparitions caused quite a stir in out last segment, so let’s follow up with some explanations. Our first caller stated “The only reason I converted to Christianity in my teens was because I saw the face of Jesus in a tortilla”.

I wasn’t sure if the caller was being sarcastic or not, so we’ll address this on a serious note. “Your welcome. Was it a corn tortilla or flour? Tortilla de maíz or “corn tortilla” would signify Christ as a Latin American figure, while flour has a broader range of ethnicities and we could justify a white Jesus using that logic. Was the tortilla already cooked? Post resurrection apparitions are demonstrably more prevalent in cooked tortillas, whereas uncooked could have a range of 33 years to work with and could be a juvenile apparition ranging up to the bearded version we see the most. I’m happy you had such a spiritual encounter.It is remarkably as justifiable as any other I’ve heard”.

Other factors come into play here, but as the caller took the answer off the line, I’ll have to assume a few follow up questions here. Was the tortilla an authentic variety or store bought? Store bought tortillas are uncommon for verifiable apparitions second to a strict assembly line structure. Authentic hand-made are more common as the transfers of belief systems can spiritually influence the potential outcomes. For the atheist homes, use a hot iron type press to maintain apparition free tortillas.