Wolfgang & dianavan - Okay. Faith. Yes, everyone has it, "but not everything someone says is faith based." Correct, Wolfgang.

For instance, if dianavan says she saw what she terms a UFO (meaning, I presume, something that she figures was an alien vehicle) then she is not making a statement of faith, she's making a statement based on her memory of an actual experience. Her faith in that case (like everyone's) is in her own powers of observation, and that's perfectly normal.

No, what I meant when I said that everyone has faith was something more like this: Some people have faith in, let's say, the basic authority systems around them in their society, such as...the government, the lawmakers, their teachers, their law enforcement agencies, judges, the official science community, the medical community, etc. And they will usually trust and accept what they hear from those people, specially when they are young.

I had great faith in those authorities when I was young (age 1-18 or 20). Accordingly, I was very conventional, I followed all the rules without question, I was very scientific and logical in my beliefs, respected authority, and I didn't believe in ANYTHING that had not been sanctioned by those authorities. I was a secular agnostic, also...which may or may not go with such a mindset. I did not believe in alien vehicles or anything like that.

I think that Wolfgang may have a form of faith rather similar to what I had at age 17. (this is just an assumption, I may be wrong)

Then I actually saw what I think were alien vehicles, around age 19. That changed my attitude somewhat. I was also beginning to become rebellious against my parents and the other authority structures, and I was listening to music (Dylan) which opened my mind to alternate possibilities. I also began to investigate spiritual matters, and studied a variety of religions and viewpoints.

I ended up in a few years as a person who deeply questioned all forms of authority and regarded them with great scepticism (having seen their fallibility in no uncertain terms), and I have remained sceptical to this day. In fact, the more I find out about our great social authority systems, the more sceptical I become. They have feet of clay, and they lie...usually because money is at stake.

I am equally sceptical of most religious authority systems, by the way. My move into spirituality did not move me into organized religion. I think for myself.

To put it simply, Wolfgang appears to have more faith in the altruism and openness of the scientific community on this planet than I do! :-) I think that there could be very strong pressures emanating from very powerful quarters which restrict the flow of scientific information to the public, censor it, and ensure that science remains silent on certain other issues which it might well be advised not to remain silent on.

And I think there's a coverup regarding alien visitors to this planet...for various political and "security" reasons. The scientific community cannot properly do its work without major funding. If that funding is withheld unless scientists do what they are told (or asked) to do...then they will do what they are told (or asked) to do, won't they? And if the media is controlled by a few very wealthy and powerful interests, then those few interests can control the flow of information to the public...and they do, for the most part.

Thus info about UFO's which is not sanctioned by those wealthy controllers remains marginalized (or ridiculed), and is not noticed or thought of by most people most of the time.

Thus conformity of thought is maintained in the general population.

And yet, many of us have personally seen those vehicles.

I do not trust "Daddy" anymore. I trust my own powers of observation and my own personal experience.

"If you want somebody you can trust, trust yourself" - Bob Dylan

- LH