Science, Religion, and the Paranormal

—Researching and Investigating With an Open Mind

By Doug Kelley, CH, CSL, CFPI, SPIRITeam Founder • April 2006

“A half-open mind is still half-closed.” —Doug Kelley

Paranormal investigation groups seem to be sprouting up all across the United States in recent years, no doubt due in part to increased media attention. Television shows like “Ghost Hunters,” “Most Haunted,” and numerous documentaries do very well because many people want to know the answer to perhaps the biggest question of humanity: What happens when we die? Like many others, I founded my own paranormal group, the Scientific Paranormal Investigation, Research, and Identification Team (SPIRITeam) to search for the answer to that age-old and elusive question, and to help people along the way.

As I conceived of and created the SPIRITeam (initially for a novel), I wanted to approach paranormal investigations from a scientific standpoint; I wanted to use the scientific method to gain evidence of the paranormal, whichever sub-category it fell into, e.g., ghosts, UFO’s, mysterious creatures, etc. That meant that I would first seek a rational, natural explanation of specific events before I would conclude that they were paranormal in nature. My philosophy would be “Open-mindedness tempered by healthy skepticism tempered by open-mindedness.” Many paranormal groups also take a similar approach.

As I read about the investigations of other groups as well as performed my own investigations, I began to see a common theme: Many groups would have personal paranormal experiences during investigations, sometimes even capturing apparitions on video, but then what? How can you scientifically prove that anything paranormal happened? These events are usually not reproducible in a lab. So, groups go and investigate, experience many strange things, acquire some weird pictures, video, or EVP’s, and then go do it all over again. I wondered, beyond personally experiencing these strange events, what do we really have that can be shown as concrete proof? Furthermore, are high EMF readings, cold spots, and dust orbs about all we can expect to get from our investigations? And even if we were to see and video tape a full-body apparition, then what? What would it really tell us about the “other side?” I wanted more.

This is when I began to seriously and open-mindedly reassess all of the known paranormal investigative techniques, with a particular focus on ghosts and spirits. These techniques range from the usual electronic gadgets such as EMF meters, thermometers, and cameras, to the use of psychics, mediums, dowsing rods, séances, and the like.

In this regard, I have heard and read many a paranormal group strongly discourage the use of “non scientific” tools, such as dowsing rods and séances. I couldn’t help but wonder why. Of course, the explanations range from “it’s too subjective and you can’t prove it” to “you could be dabbling in something that could ultimately hurt you, perhaps even possess you.” Contrary to what one might think, some investigators seem to harbor a deep fear of spirits.

Again I wondered, “Is it true that you can’t prove psychic evidence? And, is it true that spirits or malevolent entities can harm you?” If it is true, how can it be proven? And if not true, where did these notions come from?”

The result of my thinking and research on the matter was that it all depended on a person’s beliefs. Belief is arguably the most powerful thing in the known universe. Beliefs have started every war fought in the history of humanity, and they are responsible for everyone’s success or failure in life. Beliefs at one time killed many alleged witches, and, during the inquisition, many thousands of innocent people with contrary “beliefs.” Beliefs once told us we could not fly, and then Beliefs told us we could, so we did.

When it comes to investigating the paranormal, which belief is correct? Is the scientific method the best? Or are non-scientific methods better? Can I become possessed? Can spirits hurt me? Will a spirit follow me home if I don’t mentally surround myself with a bubble of “white light” or say a prayer before investigating or burn sage smudge sticks? Are all psychics frauds?

The answers are: Absolutely yes, and absolutely no. It all depends on your beliefs. If you believe it is so, then it is true for you.[i]

Beliefs are also responsible for all of the good and all of the bad of both religion and science, and I will go so far as to say that science and religion are principally the same thing. How so? They both often approach life—and especially the paranormal—with preconceived notions. Religion in general and mainstream science are both essentially closed-minded.

In order to arrive at a balanced and open-minded conclusion about the best approach to investigating the paranormal, consider the following regarding fundamentalist religion and fundamentalist science.

RELIGION

Even though I founded the SPIRITeam fairly recently (as of this writing), I am not new to the paranormal field. I have had an extreme interest in all aspects of the paranormal since I was a small child, having devoured dozens of books and done much research on the topic. To date, I can’t say with certainty that I’ve ever had a paranormal experience, but I’m hoping that will change. When I was about nine years old, my friends and I put together a makeshift Ouija board using a blank sheet of paper and some long-forgotten trinket to serve as a planchette. It seemed to work—at least to the minds of creative nine-year olds—but we got so spooked that we tore our “Ouija board” up and never tried again. My great-grandfather died when I was just a toddler, and as I grew up, my cousins and I swore we saw strange things happening at his house in Blackfoot, Idaho, including an apparition of him walking with his cane. Again, undoubtedly the creations of imaginative children. It was at this time that I did my first formal “paranormal investigation.”

My religious belief system put the kibosh on my serious efforts to investigate the unexplained for most of my life up until a few years ago, however I still covertly read many books on the subject as well as watched any documentary I could find. As a Jehovah’s Witness (JW),[ii] my Christian belief system dictated that spirits or ghosts of any kind were “demons” or “fallen angels,” and we as a group were warned that if we had anything to do with the occult, it could open a channel for them to attack us. The fear of demons was inculcated in us from infancy, and we were to yell God’s name out loud and flee if we saw any sign of them. Of course, I now know that this was simply cult mind control. But as a result of this belief, we were absolutely forbidden to have anything to do with Ouija boards, Tarot Cards, Mediums, Psychics, Fortune Tellers, or anything else that even smacked of the occult—and this included some television shows or movies. Some JW’s (not all) would not even watch the comic television series, “Bewitched,” as they were paranoid about “bringing demons into the house.” Even watching the Smurfs were thought by some to invite demons.

I remember when the movie, “The Exorcist,” came out in the early seventies. The gossip train launched into full throttle as my religious friends began to recount all the mysterious happenings during the filming, or about how people became “demonized” (possessed) by simply watching it in the theater. Christian evangelist Billy Graham even claimed an actual demon was living in the celluloid reels of the 1973 movie (and he was absolutely correct—the power of belief).[iii] In retrospect, it was amazing just how many of the religious people I knew were almost mesmerized with “demons.” It was, at times, sensationalized among them, after all, who can resist a good ghost (or demon) story? There were many “demon” stories floating around JW circles, which makes sense. Cults usually attract the lowly, the depressed, and people who can’t or won’t think for themselves. Who better to imagine that they’ve seen demons than people with demons of their own?

This naïve and Dark Ages’ mentality of “demon-fear” even spread to purchasing used items. For example, I heard more than once that it “was not a good idea to purchase items at garage sales because those items could be possessed; they could bring ‘demons’ into your home.” I never really believed that—even as a Christian—and I can attest to the fact that I’ve purchased many things from garage sales over the years and have never once had a problem with “demons,” ghosts, or spirits of any kind. Damn it.

After 40 years of mind-numbing and soul-killing fundamentalist religion, I had had enough. I could no longer justify nor reconcile the concept of a loving God with the pain and suffering of humanity. Furthermore, I was tired of lobbying a supernatural being (praying) to do the things he ought to be doing anyway. I am now an Agnostic “Dougist.” I believe in the indomitable power of the human spirit and in having a truly open mind—not half open, and therefore, not half closed. I do not believe that we need anything beyond ourselves to fix our problems. This is similar to the beliefs of Secular Humanists, but they don’t typically believe in the spirit world. At the risk of sounding ambiguous, I neither believe nor disbelieve in spirits; however, the evidence strongly suggests that something is indeed going on. Whether this means dead people or the psychic manifestations of our own minds—or both—no one knows. This is why I founded the SPIRITeam to try and find out.

Religion and Paranormal Investigations

The bottom line is that many religions (and every fundamentalist religion) regard ghosts and spirits as demons and fallen angels—things to stay away from. They also denounce anything of an occult nature, such as Ouija boards, psychics, mediums, dowsing rods, Tarot cards, séances, hypnosis, and pendulums, etc. as satanic, or “from the Devil.”

Could it be that some paranormal groups who profess to follow the scientific method but denounce alternative approaches as dangerous have allowed religious beliefs to cloud their thinking and half-close their otherwise open minds?

SCIENCE

Of all people, one would think that scientists would have the most open of minds. However, this is not always the case, at least not with mainstream science. These days, scientists in general must play the political game if they are to be eligible for grants or to get published in “respected” scientific journals. All too often, scientists in general have to balance true open-mindedness with concerns of tenure, job promotions and pay raises, acceptance, and academic stardom. To be sure, many scientists exist who do believe in the paranormal, or at least allow for it as a potential reality. However, to admit this belief publicly would often mean the death-knell to their careers. To these open-minded scientists, I understand your predicament, and I applaud you for not mentally succumbing to the “old school” beliefs of the last two centuries that will soon die out when the old boys are gone. You may have to play the game, but you don’t have to sacrifice your soul. And you never know, perhaps we’ll even have a chance to talk with these “good ole’ boys” on the other side and see what they believe now!

During the 19^th century when the Darwinian theory of evolution began to take hold, science made a concerted effort to distance itself completely from anything that even hinted at religion. A case in point is the concept of a global deluge, or the Flood of Noah’s day. Strong evidence exists that the earth suffered widespread and regional flooding, although the story of Noah building an Ark that could feed, water, and care for thousands of animals does not stand up to deductive reason nor is it logically feasible.[iv] 19^th century science categorically denied any and all evidence of a flood because if a biblical flood was proven by science, then the Bible would be proven by default, and science would not hear of such ‘heresy.” Therefore, any scientist who published or promoted the idea of widespread historical flooding could say goodbye to his or her career.

Similarly, “Skeptics” and “Debunkers” are joined at the hip with the religion of science, or “Scientism.”[v] To be fair, the words “skeptic” and “debunker” are often used loosely and can convey different shades of meaning with different intensities depending on the context. Technically, to “debunk” means “to expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of” a particular issue, and “skeptical” means “marked by or given to doubt; questioning.”[vi]

I like the following summation: “‘Skeptic[al]’ means to question and ‘Debunk’ means to expose while ridiculing."[vii] Using the foregoing definitions, to be skeptical is healthy; it implies that a person is open-minded and undecided, but is trying to prove it one way or another. To debunk implies that the person possesses preconceived notions from the outset and is trying to prove it one particular way regardless of any evidence to the contrary. Debunkers are no different than religionists in that they approach the issue with faith, which is belief absent of evidence, or in this case, belief based on denial of evidence.

It often impassions me when I watch a documentary or read a book in which the current parade of skeptics (debunkers) appear on cue to dismiss any compelling evidence out of hand saying in effect, “No, it didn’t happen; these people are kooks; it was simply their imaginations or mass hysteria or mass delusion/hallucination, etc.” They often speak with such cocky authority that they almost seem believable. They fancy themselves as open-minded and objective, but they are the very epitome of what they claim they are not: closed-minded.

Even Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a principle consultant and debunker for the U.S. Government’s UFO Projects Grudge and Blue Book as well as the credited originator of the famous “Swamp Gas” UFO explanation,[viii] could no longer deny what the evidence suggested. Late in life, he became a believer. Underscoring the predilection of many scientists and hard-core skeptics (debunkers) to ignore compelling evidence, Dr. Hynek once said, "As a scientist I must be mindful of the past; all too often it has happened that matters of great value to science were overlooked because the new phenomenon did not fit the accepted scientific outlook of the time."[ix] He was obviously a scientist who could not keep his mind even partially closed indefinitely.

SCIENCE AND PARANORMAL INVESTIGATIONS

The bottom line is that many scientists today ignore compelling evidence of the paranormal with an almost blind faith usually associated with religion. This corrupted thinking has also infected some paranormal groups who categorically reject out of hand any non-scientific means of answering paranormal questions. To be sure, any paranormal research group must be somewhat open-minded, or they would not be doing what they do. But could it be that they have allowed the religion of Scientism to partially close their minds to meaningful alternatives?

Another valid question also arises, “Can the paranormal be explained in scientific terms?” I personally believe that it can because there are physical laws governing different dimensions or planes of existence (do some research on recent discoveries in quantum physics). However, I do not believe that the technology yet exists to recreate or duplicate “scientifically” what our creative “right brains” perceive. In other words, using scientific or non-scientific tools, we cannot force a ghost to materialize on demand.

CONCLUSIONS

In the world of paranormal investigation, many researchers are certainly well educated in the field, but the term “expert” is relative because nobody conclusively understands nor can they prove exactly what is going on—and empirical evidence definitely suggests something is going on.

In our efforts to discover whatever truths exist, we as a paranormal research community must aspire to and advocate the true scientific method, that is, “the open-minded search to discover and explain reality, whatever that means and wherever that takes us.” Furthermore, we must not allow preconceived notions or beliefs to dissuade us from using any and all tools at our disposal, regardless of whether they are scientifically or intuitively based.

In her article, “Science, Scientism, and Anti-Science in the Age of Preposterism,”[x] Philosophy Professor Susan Haack wrote:

The genuine inquirer wants to get to the truth of the matter that concerns him, whether or not that truth comports with what he believed at the outset of his investigation, and whether or not his acknowledgement of that truth is likely to get him tenure, or to make him rich, famous, or popular. So he is motivated to seek out and assess the worth of evidence and arguments thoroughly and impartially. This doesn't just mean that he will be hard-working; it is a matter, rather, of willingness to re-think, to re-appraise, to spend as long as it takes on the detail that might be fatal, to give as much thought to the last one percent as to the rest. The genuine inquirer will be ready to acknowledge, to himself as well as others, where his evidence and arguments seem shakiest, and his articulation of problem or solution vaguest. He will be willing to go with the evidence even to unpopular conclusions, and to welcome someone else's having found the truth he was seeking. And, far from having a motive to obfuscate, he will try to see and explain things as clearly as he can.

During the Dark Ages, Galileo’s life was all but ruined by the Catholic Hierarchy because he dared to publish his scientific findings that the sun (and not the earth) was the center of the solar system. Human arrogance has plagued our species for millennia, and whether that arrogance states that we are the center of the universe, or whether there is only one way to approach paranormal investigation, it is still arrogance.

True science is open to all possibilities and methods. True science is about discovery. True science does not arrogantly approach unexplained events with preconceived notions.

If we are to really discover what lies beyond this plane of existence (if anything), we also must not allow ancient belief systems born at a time when humanity attributed bad storms to angry gods to deprive us of potentially useful tools and color our perceptions with preconceived notions. We must open our minds completely and then use our power of deductive reasoning to determine which tool or approach fits any particular situation best.

Like every other paranormal researcher, I want to know the truth; I want to know the reality of spirits, UFO’s, mysterious creatures, and the like. And if it means using electronic tools such as cameras and digital recorders combined with intuitive tools such as psychics and séances, then so be it. I want to know. And no disabling belief contrived from fundamentalist religion or fundamentalist science will stop me.

A half-open mind is still half-closed.

© 2006 by Doug Kelley. All Rights Reserved. Doug Kelley, CH, CSL is a Certified Hypnotist (CH), paranormal researcher, speaker, and the founder of the SPIRITeam. He has written extensively in the areas of religion, human potential, leadership, assertive communication, alcoholic relationships, and the paranormal. For more information, please visit his websites: www.SPIRITeam.org, www.DougKelley.com, www.EmpoweredRecovery.com. Email Doug Here.

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The SPIRITeam covers most of Florida, USA, and  has Certified Chapters and Partners in several locations in the United States.

SPIRITeam Founder, Doug Kelley, and Assistant Director Grant Rubendunst have been guests on Paranormal Radio with Captain Jack on WPRT Radio. Please visit their website for show schedules.