11 posts tagged “matthewcepican”

Matthew Cepican Vesuvius Records Book Club (XV)

Sep 14, 2007

"Prelude To Foundation" by Isaac Asimov

Hari Seldon is a scholar in the year 12,020. The future is a place where there are over 25 million inhabited worlds in the Universe. Seldon is developing a new field of study called "psychohistory" and the prospects are good that this new field of study will enable Seldon to predict the future. The story follows Seldon eluding capture by the Imperial Emperor while he is researching his new and exciting field of psychohistory. Seldon has become a highly valuable person to the Emperor and others who wish to use his ability to accurately predict the future. The chase around the world of Trantor, teaches Seldon alot about the human species and he discovers that finding adequate sources of historical literature is harder than it seems. There are no reliable historical sources dating back to the dawn of humankind and this poses a real problem for Seldon in developing psychohistory. Seldon can't seem to find any information about the dawn of humankind and the folklore about an ancient planet called "Earth" truly captivates Seldon. Did this mythological place called Earth actually exist? If so, how can he find out about it? There are lots of intellectual twists and turns in this fun story, especially the twists at the end! I highly recommend reading Isaac Asimov. If you received the Vesuvius Records Book Club copy of this novel, be sure to sign and date the inside back cover when you are done reading it and pass it on to someone you love :)

Matthew Cepican "Spiritualism" a sociological view

Sep 11, 2007

"...Spiritualism has several different meanings, but it usually refers to a religious movement originating in the mid-nineteenth century. This movement has always stressed survival after death and communication with the dead by means of psychic mediumship. Claiming to embody a 'scientific' spirituality, Spiritualists reject many doctrines of traditional religions, such as eternal damnation.

Most known societies have believed in the possiblity of communication with the spirit world. One of the key notions of mainstream Spiritualism is the idea of spirit guides--disembodied helper spirits who are often deceased relatives. These guides resemble traditional guardian angels, a specific category of angelic beings said to be assigned to watch over each person. Despite functional similarities, these two categories of beings (ghosts and angels) have traditionally been regarded as entirely distinct. Today, however, because many people who have undergone near-death experiences have reported seeing deceased loved ones on 'the other side,' the distinction between disembodied helper spirits and guardian angels has blurred for many." (Angels A-Z pp. 373-374 by James R. Lewis and Evelyn Dorothy Oliver)

Indeed, many people believe in life after death and it is a sociological phenomenon across cultures and throughout historical time periods. Modern notions of guardian angels have no doubt adapted throughout history and across cultures. Paranormal psychology, in a sociological adaptation, can help explain why people believe in angels. Believing despite scientific or empirical evidence is truly remarkable, but very commons across cultures. I am going to think on this a little bit and try and formulate a meaningful thesis as to why people believe in angels.