Images

[bibblebub]

Are religious people more gullible than the non-religious? Or is it just American religious people?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWsED3rIx-I

[mikey4444]

Yes, of course they are. Otherwise why would they have such an irrational belief in illogical circumstances ?

But what we see here is the willingness of American TV stations to give airtime to such nonsense. Its doubtful whether the BBC would give even a tiny proportion of its airtime to publicise drivel like this.

Its times like these that I am glad I live on this side of the pond.

[naomi24]

I didn’t watch that right through (my eyes began to glaze over after 2 minutes) but our media often reports such things too, and like some of that, it’s usually pretty much tongue in cheek. People who think they’re seeing some sort of miraculous image in a slice of toast will believe it whatever their nationality.

[Octavius]

I'm not sure people actually believe its Jesus - maybe they do, but who cares. Do you say the same of people who snigger and declare the life of their rude vegetables?

http://www.rudevegetables.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/wwc2.jpg

[naomi24]

I'd question the rationality of anyone who thought their peculiarly shaped vegetables were the real thing.

[bibblebub]

just like baldrick, i've got a thingy shaped like a vegetable

[mikey4444]

So have I but its more of a pea pod than a marrow !

[Octavius]

Hah! If its a turnip I would go see your GP!

[mikey4444]

I would be happy if it was a small carrot, as long as it wasn't orange !

[Octavius]

Like carroteenies ?

[ck1]

I can remember a number of articles where a piece of toast, or a crisp etc have had the face of jesus on them, same as cloud watching really - oooohhh there's a dragon with an elephant on its back!

[jim360]

It's just pattern recognition, happens all the time. Since no-one really knows what Jesus looked like, it's recognising just a breaded man's face -- and humans are very good at seeing faces even in things that don't have faces. Something that looks vaguely like eyes, mouth, nose perhaps, and we make a face out of it. It's not the only time and place where people who know what something looks like sees things that aren't there, and the phenomenon is similar to such effects as the "Electric Voice Phenomenon", hearing voices in White Noise, or more generally apophenia, "seeing connections in the unconnected". Such phenomena probably also explain a whole host of other stories of the paranormal. The "face of Jesus" is yet another manifestation of how bad humans are at recognising their own flaws.

[gness]

Many years ago I spotted the most amazing face of Jesus on our big bin at school.....
The children were thrilled and delighted.....because playtime accidentally ran over by ten minutes while staff who could see it argued with staff who couldn't.
I do have an over active imagination though....which had gone into overdrive imagining Jim's breaded man....☻...x

[mikey4444]

Jim. The "face of Jesus" is yet another manifestation of how stupid some Americans are. The American media is full of this sort of thing. In Britain, its pretty well confined to the Daily Express banging on about Diana and The Secret Plot to Kill Her. But in the States they have a much more gullible public and the media companies know that and make money thereof.

It is estimated that over a third of American adults believe in the literal truth of the Bible. That's millions of people ! About the same amount as think that there really have been alien abductions up into outer space.

I came across this on the 'net early this morning :::

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g39743-d619562-Reviews-Creation_Museum-Petersburg_Kentucky.html

These millions of people actually believe that the planet is only 6000 years old and that ancient man chased dinosaurs for his breakfast ! Some of them may be teachers and other people in authority. Idiot beliefs like this are growing in the UK as well, so we should be wary of the future.

If its wasn't so serious, it would be tragic.

[jim360]

I really don't think you can make it a nationality thing -- it's the same as the man in the Moon really, and I can't help but see him every time I look at it.

[Ellipsis]

Pareidolia and apophenia are part of the human condition ...

[naomi24]

^^ As is wishful thinking.

[Octavius]

jim , I'm not convinced on your nationality thing!

The Chinese look at the moon and see a rabbit.

[jim360]

Well perhaps different nationalities see different specific things, but that they see anything at all that isn't there is the main point. The Americans may have their face of Jesus, we have our own nonsense, the French theirs, and so on. But the origins are the same: human pattern recognition, even when it's just coincidence. And as a result, all sorts of ideas get far more air time than they deserve...

[Octavius]

Oh I can remember when Thats Life with Esther Rantzen spent ages parading rude vegetables every week! Airing news about a comical/strange event or apparition has and will always be a feature of the light hearted section of the news, usually starting with 'And finally.....'

[jomifl]

What is so very silly is that the 'face of jesus' is a stereotypical image that has no basis in history or even the bible.