Hi begbert2 and Darren,
I would be willing to move the post to a new thread. I don’t much like the sound of the Barbeque Pit, but I can take a look.
But in the meantime, taking some license in response to your comment, begbert2, if I tell you Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity are bogus because they are clearly ridiculous based on what we can all clearly perceive, and the mathematics that supports them clearly are bogus (I took algebra and geometry and I know better than to believe that malarkey) and do not describe the real world of mechanical forces we all know, you would be right to tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about. I should study physics and mathematics and maybe then I’d understand the theory and the math. That’s not a terrible argument. It’s not even really an argument. You simply would be telling me I don’t know what I’m talking about, and that would be true. And that’s what I would say to someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about when they speak of astrology and judge it nonetheless. Making unfounded false statements on matters of importance to human beings and life is a terrible thing in my view.
A belief in a material universe is a metaphysical belief. How do you support it?
You put the cart before the horse when you believe in a material universe, and then will only investigate what your beliefs say can possibly be true. You will only look at possible materialist worlds. But those aren’t the only possible worlds.
Beliefs can get us very confused. I prefer to stick with sound techniques, arts and practices that, properly practiced and consciously engaged, reveal the real world.
And the truth is, if you studied it correctly, and were willing to see what is in front of your face, you would know that you would need to change your mind. The proviso “if you studied it correctly” is somewhat difficult to comply with because the degradation of the discipline has rendered the field confused in some significant ways.
I know astrology seems impossible to you. But that’s because you’re in no better position to evaluate and judge astrology than I am to evaluate and judge special and general relativity theory and the mathematics that supports the theories.
With regard,
psjt