Ok, so the flat earth thing wasn't the best analogy. What I was trying to point out is that science has a habit of kicking itself in the butt. What is scientific fact one day can quickly be dismissed as incorrect and replaced by yet another scientific theory the next. That's not a bad thing at all. It's progress, which is what keeps us from slipping into another dark age. I'm all for it.
Currently, there is no evidence to support religious and spiritual beliefs...but one day, there may be. That's all I'm trying to point out. Scientifically speaking, it is not impossible to theorize the existence of things that cannot currently be measured by the human senses or any other technology our species has created.
The FSM wouldn't be upset with me because I live my life as a pirate, thereby reducing global warming. Thus, I am exempt from his wrath and blessed by His noodly appendage. LOL.
Dean, I'm sure you're not going to burn in hell...and I'm sure you've been the target of nastiness. I've seen my fair share as well. It's difficult to do, but I think it's important to view these types of discussions from both sides. Atheists become defensive because of attacks by believers and then in turn, the atheist attacks the believer. Then, the believer attacks again, and on and on. My philosophy is: Let them believe. Don't believe in god? Great! I could care less. Do believe in god? Great, I could care less. LOL
Oh and Mr.AJ, there's nothing paranormal about lucid dreams. Lucid dreaming simply means that you can consciously control a dream, which is typically considered a subconscious function. It really requires nothing more than knowing how to trigger this function in your brain and quite a bit of practice...although some folks are able to lucid dream without ever even knowing how or why it's happening. It has nothing to do with gods, ghosts, spirits, psychic ability, etc...
Out of body experiences...now that's a little tougher. People have definitely had them, but what is the cause? Is it something neural? Presently, we don't have any way to observe this phenomenon unless it is you who is having the experience. I know there are several substances (mostly entheogens) that can spark an out of body type of experience. So it is likely that we are simply dealing with a function of the brain that we do not yet understand.