APOLOGIAreport

> trac ki n g s p i r i t u a l t r e n d s i n t h e 2 1s t ce n t u r y
V O L U M E 1 9 : 1 ( 1,1 8 4 ) / J A N U A R Y 8 , 2 0 1 4

In this issue:
T  HE OCCULT - supernatural, science,

or suspect?

+ Otherkin and the world of the virtual

online occult community

PLEASE NOTE: Our office will be closed for the next two weeks as we move to a new location in the Pueblo area. Look for AR to resume the week of January 26. THE OCCULT Supernormal: Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for Extraordinary Psychic Abilities, by Dean Radin1 it is significant that Radin, who is Chief Scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS, <www.noetic.org>) and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology at Sonoma State University, gives the appearance of lending academic clout seldom seen in this field. Kirkus reports (Jul 13, #1) that Radin combs the scientific, peer-reviewed literature and much yogic lore and historical anecdote to find evidence and validity for the claims of mysticism, miracles and the supernatural. Has our sophisticated scientific society developed blinders when it comes to reports of the supernormal? This is the question the author asks in this mostly levelheaded investigation into precognition, telepathy, psychokinesis and clairvoyance. The authors aim is not to dismiss mechanistic materialism, but to recognize that its strengths have to be weighted against the prejudices and taboos of its adherents. Radin writes with an easy hand and a sense of humor, but readers may sense that part of the problem of the general populations being accepting of the supernatural may not be religion or materialism, realism or determinism or reductionism, but simply its language: exalted states of intuitive awareness, ontological reality of the mystical realities, etc. The author references historical yogic texts for instances of illuminated, unmediated reality, and then he describes the scientific research into transcendent experiences that has been published in respected journals, which shows that evidence of precognition, telepathy, psychokinesis and clairvoyance have statistical merit. Radin is careful to ask what is coincidence, what is a hallucination, a psychiatric problem or a sham, and for range and alternative visions, he delves not just into the yogic tradition of supernatural mental powers, but also into

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Copyright 2014 by Apologia. All rights reserved. Apologia (the biblical Greek word for defense) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the proclamation and defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Apologias mission is to equip the body of Christ for spiritual discernment by providing timely, accurate religious research information within the field of Christian apologetics and to advance apologetics in Christian missions. Apologia Report surveys widely to identify the most valuable resources for its readers as they encounter competing worldviews. Since 1997, AR has been published roughly 44 times each year via e-mail. The archiving of Apologia Report (in whole or in part) is permitted for the private use of its subscribers alone. This data file is the sole property of Apologia. It may not be used without the permission of Apologia for resale or the enhancement of any other product. In citations, please give the following source credit: Copyright 2014, Apologia (apologia.org)

Catholic, Judaic and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. By the end, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that some of the supernatural abilities found in Patanjalis Yoga Sutras are real. The Dalai Lama, ever the politician wrapped in his spirituality, as quoted by Radin, maybe put it best: it would be wrong to deny that some Tantric practices do genuinely give rise to mysterious phenomena. Certainly not for everyone, but a smart reminder that we havent got the whole scene covered look at quantum mechanics and that openness is more fruitful than seclusion in dogma.4 Publishers Weekly summarizes (Jun 13, #3): Does being a skilled yogi give one superpowers and if so, how can we prove it? In this latest, Radin ... holds the ancient practices and theories of yoga up to the discerning lens of modern science. He maps yogas migration from East to West, its evolution from past to present, and he examines the practices ur-text: a 2,000-year-old manuscript known as the Yoga Sutras. Where, then, does science fit in? While Radin ... is frequently critical of the discipline, he nevertheless argues that an array of tests may be able to lend credence to siddhis (psychic phenomena like telepathy and precognition) and some of yogas other more mysterious claims. But this is not a read for the unread: Radins discussion assumes a considerable knowledge base, and its unclear whom hes writing for: devout yogis or skeptical scientists? Or both? (Radins goal may be to collapse these distinctions: in his conclusion, he argues for a worldview that melds the ancient with the modern, the scientific with the yogic.) Though unfocused and opaque at times, this is nevertheless an admirable attempt to bridge the gap between the scientific and the spiritual realm by focusing on a common desire for self and societal improvement.5 In his review for Skeptical Inquirer (38:1 - 2014, pp38-40), Dale Debakcsy <www. ow.ly/slYs3>informs us that the first third of the book is primarily a drawn out lament about parapsychologys lack of recognition by the academic community and its rejection by skeptics. As for reporting evidence
(continued on next page)

THE OCCULT (continued)

of yogas link to the supernatural, Radin sets out to answer the reasonable question, If the yoga sutras are a faithful account of the supernormal abilities of the human body, why cant I YouTube, right now, a hundred videos of yogis making themselves disappear in controlled situations? Radins answer is that the sutras instruct yoga masters not to show off their perfection of the siddhis, lest it affect their ego. So, they refuse to demonstrate their mastery in order to keep themselves from the possibility of being tainted. As you might imagine, Debakcsy finds this too convenient. Regarding a chapter on precognition, Radin produces a study that supposedly demonstrates the existence of psi effects with odds against chance of ten million billion billion [10-to-the-15th power] to one! Except its not a study, its a meta-analysis carried out in 1989 by Charles Honorton and Diane Ferrari <www.ow.ly/slYSc> in which they took all of the studies of forcedchoice recognition (think of Bill Murrays experiment in the first scene of Ghostbusters but without the shocks) between 1935 and 1987 and combined them into one superstudy. ... Radins representation left out a number of significant caveats found in the original. ... The studies are all over the map, with some highly uncharacteristic outliers. Debakcsy finds that Rudin neglects a reasonable but still intriguing result in favor of a larger result that even the original authors were uneasy about. ... With his very first statistically measurable study, Radin made a choice that casts a pall on all the numbers he will go on to convey, numbers that are far less towering than beating the odds of one chance in ten million billion billion. Debakcsy points out further cherry-picking and misrepresentation in Rudins presentation. There are more [conclusions] that accomplish little more than casting doubt on the rigor of [Rudins] whole statistical method.... In other words, if you want a study to count less, you tend to find more flaws with it, and if you want it to count more, you tend to gloss over flaws that might exist. In doing so, Radin actually tends to produce outlandish confidence numbers that work against the very belief he is trying to foster.6 For a profile on a new door to the occult that is developing within the world of pop digital culture, consider Fantasy and Belief: Alternative Religions, Popular Narratives and Digital Cultures, by Danielle Kirby.2 Choice Reviews (Dec 13) observes that Kirby

APOLOGIAreport
(Communication, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia) explores the Otherkin <<www.otherkin.net>, a virtual online community whose members believe they are beings from mythology, classical literature, and fantasy fiction: elves, satyrs, fairies, dragons, aliens, vampires, or extraterrestrial humans. Kirby draws on literature related to popular culture, specifically occulture, characterized by alternative healing, astrology, drug use, neo-shamanism, technopaganism, UFOlogy, demon worship, and eco-spirituality, to provide the broader context within which Otherkin beliefs and experience take shape and gain meaning. Kirby introduces the term fantastic milieu, an element of occulture that extends into mainstream popular culture, as a way to think about the convergence of elements of fantasy with aspects of occulture. The author points toward a phenomenology of alternative religious experience emerging from digital connections. Individualized belief systems are sustained by intersubjective understandings made possible by online interaction with others and by engagement with popular culture. Kirby offers a sympathetic treatment, taking this community at face value and seeking to understand rather

V O L U M E 1 9 : 1 ( 1,1 8 4 ) / J A N U A R Y 8 , 2 0 1 4

than to criticize it. The book includes a useful overview of related phenomena/trends such as the occult, witchcraft, paganism, magic, and New Age understandings of the world.3
SOURCES: Monographs

1 - Supernormal: Science, Yoga, and the Evidence for Extraordinary Psychic Abilities, by Dean Radin (Random House, 2013, paperback, 400 pages) <www.ow.ly/sbhNe> 2 - Fantasy and Belief: Alternative Religions, Popular Narratives and Digital Cultures, by Danielle Kirby (Acumen, 2013, hardcover, 224 pages) <www.ow.ly/sbjel>
SOURCES: Periodicals

3 - Choice, <www.choicereviews.org> 4 - Kirkus, <www.kirkusreviews.com> 5 - Publishers Weekly, <www.ow.ly/lBcRE> 6 - Skeptical Inquirer (anti-supernaturalist), <www.csicop.org/si>

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