Paul Davids > Quotes

“This led to the simple yet profound conclusion that “sometimes we need to go into the dark in order to see the light.” That’s the sound bite, the take home message – and this would include the light (i.e., photonic energy and information) theoretically associated with spirit. I wondered, was this why people went into dimly lit rooms, or even caves, to better connect with spirit? Was this why people learned to meditate, to quiet their minds and bodies, in order to better register the subtle energies of spirit?”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“FACT: The Five Additive Criteria Test for Adopting Justified and Responsible Beliefs”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“In Chapter 22, I mentioned people who fit the Seven S’s criteria, whose opinions have informed my own and provide me with further reasons to take the life-after death hypothesis seriously. They included: 1.A CEO of a major corporation 2.A former publisher who is the editor-in-chief of an award-winning newspaper 3.A former chairman of the department of surgery at a major university 4.A former chairman of the department of material sciences at a major university 5.An award winning composer for movies and television 6.A former high ranking staff member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 7.The director of a major foundation, educated at Harvard University, and 8.A distinguished anthropologist who was the director of an internationally known research institute. In the spirit of Criterion 5, I have reviewed this list and attempted to determine whether there were any responsible and justified reasons for challenging my evaluations of these people. Try as I might I cannot in good conscience dismiss any of these people as being untrustworthy. In sum, I cannot find valid reasons for concluding that these individuals no longer deserve my admiration and respect. Yes, I can point out a given person’s limitations (at least the ones I am aware of), but these do not impact the logic of my concluding that they meet each of the 7 S’s criteria for being credible and trustworthy. Hence, Criterion 3 passes the test posed by Criterion 5.”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“IF 1.Both logic and scientific theory support a given belief (Criterion 1), AND IF 2.Extensive scientific evidence confirms a given belief (Criterion 2), AND IF 3.There exists a community of highly credible and trustworthy people who hold the belief to be true (Criterion 3), AND IF 4.You have had direct personal experience which supports the belief (Criterion 4), AND IF 5.There are no good, reasonable, and responsible reasons for rejecting (i.e., no good reasons to be skeptical about) Criterion 1-4 (Criterion 5), THEN 6.It is wise and responsible to adopt this new belief and to do so with integrity.”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“Catherine also wanted to know if my late friend’s hair had ever been singed by fire. That made no sense to me. However, later we recalled that Michael Jackson’s hair had been singed by fire, and that Forrest J Ackerman had appeared in Michael Jackson’s music video, Thriller, directed by Forry’s close friend John Landis. So the “singed by fire” observation ties together Forry and Michael Jackson and Thriller, which was about vampires and the “undead,” a favorite topic for Forry in fiction.”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“I did a Google search of the words “Sci-Fi” and “Taken” and on the first page of results, up popped entries about Forrest J Ackerman’s ruminations on death.”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“Criterion 2: Scientific Evidence”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“Criterion 1: Reason and Theory”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“The odds that I could have done all that without being consciously aware of at least part of the sequence of actions must be astronomical.”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“Criterion 5: Responsible Skeptical Re-Evaluation of Criteria 1-4”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“5. It is semi-true that my research team “failed to independently check on facts the sitters endorsed as true.” I say semi-true because in our early research we requested that subjects (1) justify every one of their ratings, (2) provide explanations for how they made each rating, and (3) indicate in each instance whether the information could be independently verified.”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“Craig Weiler called Psi Wars: TED, Wikipedia and the Battle for the Internet, which I whole-heartedly recommend.”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“What is novel about the FACT framework are its ramifications for the process of our coming to believe something – especially something new and challenging – in those particular instances when all five criteria have been met simultaneously.”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“The five essential – and additive – criteria which comprise FACT: Criterion 1: Reason and Theory Criterion 2: Scientific Evidence Criterion 3: Community of Credible/Trustworthy Believers Criterion 4: Direct Personal Experience, and Criterion 5: Responsible Skeptical Re-Evaluation of Criteria 1-4”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“Criterion 4: Direct Personal Experience, and”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“visited the Magic Castle on Orange Drive in Hollywood, and I noticed a black town car with an Oregon license plate beginning FJA, Forry’s initials”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“Some skeptical and debunking critics who have seen my documentary, The Life After Death Project, have misstated the basic facts of this incident. First, they like to refer to the ink obliteration as a “smudge.” I’ll cry foul at that. The word “smudge” implies something accidental, as if some moist ink had just smeared somehow. It was not a “smudge.” It was a deliberate targeting of four words, which is the only reasonable conclusion. There were also two levels of darkness, or opacity, also very precise.”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

“Criterion 3: Community of Credible/Trustworthy Believers”
― Paul Davids, An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?