[kennyc]

It's all about hope. That's Kenny's theory.

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I'm currently reading The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal by Paul Kurtz.

From PrometheusBooks.com:

.....In this widely acclaimed and highly controversial book, Paul Kurtz examines the reasons why people accept supernatural and paranormal belief systems in spite of substantial evidence to the contrary. According to Kurtz, it is because there is within the human species a deeply rooted tendency toward magical thinking - the "transcendental temptation" - which undermines critical judgement and paves the way for willful beliefs.
.....Kurtz explores in detail the three major monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - finding striking psychological and sociological parallels between these religions, the spiritualism of the 19th century, and the paranormal belief systems of today. There are sections on mysticism, belief in the afterlife, the existence of God, reincarnation, astrology, and ufology. Kurtz also expresses the nature of skepticism as an antidote to belief in the transcendental.