From the Toledo Blade, Ohio, USA, news of an interesting free seminar on supernatural data from an acknowledged expert:

“The Rev. Bob Larson, a nationally known expert on cults, the occult, and supernatural phenemona, will host a free “Spiritual Freedom Seminar” at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Clarion Westgate Hotel, 3036 Secor Rd., toledo, Ohio.

“Mr. Larson, who has written 30 books and spoken in 90 countries, draws upon his more than 20 years of experience investigating the occult to discuss the influence of evil on people’s lives.

“The seminar includes a personal prayer from Mr. Larson and biblical training on deliverance. For more information, call the Rev. Louis Roy of Oasis Ministries in Toledo, 419-787-3772, or Mr. Larson’s headquarters in Denver, Colo., 303-980-1511.”

Now there’s a question that can only be answered on a number of levels.

The Boston Globe has a piece on the fanatical “Darwinist” Daniel Dennett, whom it describes as: “A Tufts philosopher and famed Darwinist [who] wants us to study religion like any other human behavior — as a ‘natural phenomenon.’ ”

Dennett, the article says, “has a prophet’s beard, one corner of which he will sometimes fold into his mouth for a ruminative chew, and he is one of Darwinian theory’s foremost promoters.”

He sees it not just as an explanation for the origin of species, but for the fundamental whys and hows of human habits, beliefs, thinking, and desires. The logic of evolution, Dennett wrote in his 1995 book, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, is a ”universal acid,” it ”eats through just about every traditional concept, and leaves in its wake a revolutionized worldview.”

When federal Judge John E. Jones III ruled that intelligent design (I.D.) could not be taught in a Pennsylvania school district, scientists and “humanists” saw the decision as a victory not only for the separation of church and state, but for science.

Daniel Dennett is no great believer in respectful noninterference, and in his new book, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (Viking), he argues vehemently against it.

Religion, Dennett says, is human behavior, and there are branches of science to study human behavior. ”Whether or not [Gould] was right,” Dennett told me in his office at Tufts University, where he is director of the Center for Cognitive Studies, ”and I don’t think he was, I’m not making a claim that he would disagree with. I’m not saying that science should do what religion does. I’m saying science should study what religion does.”

Check out the best price of “Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon”.

Some of the cast of Supernatural.

The hit American TV show, Supernatural, has been assigned a new slot to ensure that it’s recommissioned for a new series.

According to DigitalSpy, “The future of the show is currently uncertain as the network prepares to merge with UPN later this year. The new network, working title ‘The CW’, will be headed up by Dawn Ostroff, president of UPN. Supernatural is moving from its current Tuesday, 9pm slot to Thursdays at 9 from March 16. The switch makes it a lead-out to Smallville, which is currently enjoying its best-rated season ever.”

I wrote a post on “the library angel” on our blog, Spiritual Nirvana a little while ago and it seems appropriate to bring this up here.

Have you ever walked into a library (or bookstore) and found your gaze being drawn to a book which contains exactly the information you’re looking for? Many people do, including your truly. Most recently I went to my local library to dig out a particular book. Out of all the volumes on display, my eyes alighted like magic on another book I had been looking forward to reading, but thought it hadn’t yet been published.

The book just leapt out at me (not literally, of course). This phenomenon has been called “The Library Angel”. Strangely, you only have to mention it to other people for them to say: “That always happens to me!”, or, “Oh, is that what you call it? Is it a real Angel?”

It seems to be a real “supernatural” force, though purely anecdotal, so not really scientifically assessible. Here’s another example:

Some years ago I bought a book which turned out to be full of academic footnotes and terms I didn’t fully understand. I put the book in the bookshelf and assumed I’d never read it.

Recently, I was glancing along the shelves looking for something to read, when this book seemed to light up (again, not literally). My attention was riveted to it. When I took it down and started to read, it had information I wanted at that time, and the technical terms were completely understandable. I read it through in a day and gained much from it.

If anyone has any anecdotes on the library angel, Please feel free to send them to me, or put them in the comments section.