Eckankar

Dodie Bellamy, a former “Eckankar” devotee, interviewed Dr. Lane for his article, “A Former Member Revisits the Movement.” Mr. Bellamy was genuinely surprised to find out that this legendary myth buster was an unassuming surfer dude who will go to any length to find the truth. Eckankar didn’t have a chance. Dr. Lane’s investigation of this religious movement revealed its leader had been plagiarizing copious quantities of old religious texts and pushing them off as new material.

Dr. Lane, in Bellamy’s article, points out that our society uses more brains to pick out a new car then we do to pick out a new religion or spiritual path. On “Eckankar’s” website (www.eckankar.org) they state “The purpose of Eckankar is to make God an everyday reality in your life. As Soul, you have the God-knowledge within you. The teachings of ECK will awaken the knowledge and love for the divine things that are already in your heart.” The road to God is the adventure of a lifetime.” Wow! Who wouldn’t want that? But the point is how many times are we going to be duped until we become critical thinkers? It is a question I have often asked myself.

Edgar Cayce and the Skeptic

Dr. Lane's review of K. Paul Johnson's Edgar Cayce in
Context, is a thorough acknowledgment of how Mr. Johnson sought to
investigate Cayce. Whether or not Mr. Johnson is a believer or skeptic,
he approached Cayce's writing with investigative compassion. Mr.
Johnson used what Lane calls "occams's razor" to slice away
Cayce's religious and paranormal claims with scientific
investigation.

Mr. Johnson's healthy case of skepticism was very well
balanced, according to Lane, by understanding the impact Mr. Cayce has
had on thousands of people (and still continues to today). Years ago,
when I first discovered Cayce's reading's I really wanted to
believe that this man had somehow been touched by God and had real
psychic ability. Though I understand many of his readings/predictions
have turned out to be false I want to keep an open mind. Which, I
believe, is what Dr. Lane would want us to have – an open mind but
ready to question and test facts and claims.

Schafersman's "Intro. To Critical Thinking" was been the best "how
to" guide so far on functional critical thinking. Schafersman draws a
clear correlation between science and math skills with one's ability to
think critically. This would explain why so many students graduate from
high school with low grades in math and science and virtually no
critical thinking skills.
I can personally see how my own lack of math and science in my
education has affected my ability to be a critical thinker.
Schafersman's statement that we "teach students what to think not
how to think" is completely accurate. High school students are test
takers and test takers only. All emphasis is on test scores.
Schafersman provides outstanding guidelines to provide critical thinking
skills in to the classroom.

Dr. Lane v. Ken Wilber

Dr Lane's criticism of Mr. Wilber primarily lays in his tendency for "exaggerations." Wilber, in the past, has given "false impressions of what evolutionary biologists think." Clearly Dr. Lance respects Mr. Wilber as a person and as a scholar. Wilber's way of thinking, however, and his objections to natural selection "have similarity with creationists."

Checking Online Sources


One way would be to use Lett's acronym "FiLCHeRS." I enjoy the ease of using Wikipedia. But there are a lot of limitations. First of all, anyone can add to it's content. While the additions are reviewed and evaluated by Wiki, some crap could still be there. Journalists (worth their salt) use three (3) sources. That is how I approach online information. OnFriday when Indymac Bank closed their doors I ran to my laptop (I have (had) a savings account there). I first "googled" "Indymac Bank," I read a short synopsis then went to the "Yahoo" and did the same thing. Lastly, I went to the "FDIC" government page and read what they had posted about Indy. I did not go to any source or information released byIndyMac bank itself. At this point I wouldn't believe what they had to say.

U.F.O. Encounter?

A transformative U.F.O. encounter is when one believes he has experienced an event that cannot be explained (whether it is a little green man or a flying saucer). Are these experiences a natural occurrence or are they apparitions of the mind? The author, Dr. lane, uses what he calls the "Chandian Effect" to explain why smart, honest, sane people really believe that they have had an "encounter." Yogi Chand has had himself visions that have no scientific origin. Chand explains that "the nature of our consciousness (or unconsciousness) is based on our beliefs and faith in those beliefs.
Our brain, I believe, is primarily composed of chemicals that act and react to our environment, senses, and experiences (our context). In times of great stress our brain is in survival mode. We can perceive and visualize anything we want (or do not want) to see. Dr. Lane, with the assistance of Yogi Chand, explains why these "transformative" U.F.O. encounters can and do occur.
As a teenager my favorite show was "Star trek." Captain Kirk took us where no one had been before. But it wasn't the alien planets he discovered that filled us with awe. It was the beliefs and perceptions that that show changed that was transformational. The first African American had a leading role on the show. Each episode introduced up to a new and more enlightened way to think. We witnessed the first person in a drama that was in a wheelchair. There is an old adage that goes like "change your perception, change your world." Our brain is very powerful. I can only imagine what scientists with discover in the next century.

Kurtz v. Religious Skepticism

Kurtz believes skepticism should be applied to religion just as it is with science or any other issue. He argues, rightly so I believe, that religion should be able to stand up to the same "inquiry" as anything else. His correlation with inquiry and science highlights a very valid argument. Empirical evidence has shown us that science, after years of research and inquiry, has evolved and grown to disprove many theory's and facts that we have in the past believed to be true. At one time no one believed in the atom much less that we would be able to study it. The Hubble telescope has shown us the outermost edges of the universe that we could never have believe possible. A relatively recent development in M.R.I.'s (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) has allowed physicians to actually map the brain and watch (real time) brain function during surgery ( http://www.fmri.org ).
Another valid point as to why religion must stand up to inquiry and doubt is the fact, like science, it is constantly changing. For example, lets take the Pope (I was a catholic for a short time). We were taught his word(s) were the words of God. Females were required to wear head coverings (yes, I remember that) because of a verse in the bible and because the Pope said so. A couple of Pope's ago decided it was no longer necessary. Does that mean that God changes his mind as to what is and isn't right. Their recent announcement that cremation was OK would have thought to have been blasphemy 20 years ago.

Jim Lett

Jim Lett’s “Guide to Critical Thinking” is an invaluable tool in our crazy, sensationalistic, and “faith based” society. The core of his critical analysis is coined in an acronym – “FiLCHeRS.” When evaluating an issue we need to take into account the falsifiability, logic comprehension, honesty and its reproducibility. It is an easy way to evaluate almost anything from a book or newspaper article to a statement made by crazy Uncle Harry.

A good critical thinker must have the ability to stand back (uninvolved) and evaluate an issue. We can think of it as slowly pealing away the skin of an apple and then cutting it into sections. I wish I had read his guide at the beginning of my collage education which, by the way, began a mere 19 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of heartache and money (Tarot Cards, psychics and palm readers are not cheap!)

One of Mr. Lett’s pet peeves is our thirst for sensational mass media – 24 hours a day. The more bizarre the story the more air time it seems to get –“French toast with picture of Jesus being auctioned on EBay!” The most disturbing trend, I believe, is the media to go live during a police pursuit.

Mr. Lett is most of all concerned with our public school system. As he should be. The primary emphasis at the school district I work for is test scores – period. I have high school senior students who test well but are clueless in so many ways:

• Unable to compose a simple story
• Drive a car
• Believe every rumor on the internet
• Lack honestry and steel money from their parents
• Think “Myspace” is the true source of information

Mr. Lett’s guide should be required reading for all high school students, newly naturalized citizens, ELL students, teachers, professors, and parents.

Pretext, text and context

Pretext, text, and context can be viewed as three kind of lenses we look through. For example, I have a female friend who is a deputy sheriff. She is of Hispanic origin (but looks Asian). When she is working out in the field, it is not uncommon for Asians to run up to her and start speaking mandarin, Vietnamese or another Asian dialect. The poor girl doesn't even know how to speak Spanish much less an Asian dialect. Her pretext would be her outside shell that can appear Asian. Her text is she is an English speaking deputy who must assist the non-English speaking citizen who needs her help. She would call for a translator and handle the situation. The context of this paradigm is that while she is on duty, she IS the Sheriff's Department. She is no longer a female Hispanic deputy sheriff. What every she does or says reflects back to all of law enforcement.