Tony Blair's sister-in-law converts to Islam

[Salander]

Source: Yahoo news

LONDON (AFP) – The sister-in-law of former prime minister Tony Blair has converted to Islam following a visit to Iran, saying she is a "proud member" of the Muslim community.

Lauren Booth has given up alcohol and pork, prays five times a day and has not ruled out wearing a burqa in the future, she told The Mail on Sunday.

The 43-year-old journalist and reality television contestant underwent the religious conversion following a visit to the holy Iranian city of Qom six weeks ago.

She said that when she was in Iran, "I sat down and felt this shot of spiritual morphine, just absolute bliss and joy."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101025/wl_uk_afp/britainpoliticsreligionpeopleblair

---

This is a minor figure, but I'm expecting the conversion of a major Western figure to Islam within the next couple of years.

[marmar]

1. Ironic, considering how many Muslims were killed by Bush/Cheney/Blair.

nt

[Deep13]

2. "I sat down and felt this shot of spiritual morphine, ..."

Pretty reminiscent of a well know quotation of Marx.

What I can't figure out is not so much that people have that experience, but why they attribute it to a divine presence and, moreover, that of the specific divinity they are contemplating. The fact that others have had the exact same experience contemplating Jesus or Dionysis or some other god ought to tell them something.

[riderinthestorm]

3. And have literally gotten that high from actual chemical "shots" as well

Meditative people can replicate that endorphic rush with their own mind.

It has always struck me as well how people so desperately want it to be divine

[trud]

4. one God, many paths n/t

[L.Torsalo]

5. No gods, many paths.

[DavidDvorkin]

6. No gods, many delusions.

[Jim Sagle]

8. No knowledge, many opinions.

[Deep13]

10. One set of facts, either discover them or not.

As far as the sensation the subject of the OP's post describes, it is a well-known neurological phenomenon as is caused by endorphines and not by anything supernatural.

[Jim Sagle]

11. As far as the existence of God (or gods), there are no facts either way.

[Deep13]

12. Either gods exist or they don't.

One point of view must be wrong. God cannot both exist and not exist. So a fact exists, it is just a question of discovering it. Anyway, simply declaring that there are no facts is itself a purported statement of fact that must be demonstrated as true to be accepted.

The question is what evidence exists to demonstrate existence? Well, none really and that is enough by itself to end the argument. Contrary to the claims of SETI entusiasts, absence of evidence is evidence of absence, though it may not be conclusive evidence. It all come does to probability. Using the example of SETI again, the absence of confirmed alien signals makes ETs less likely than if some had been discovered. The absence of genuine examples of divine intervention makes god's existence less likely than if some had been reliably observed. The gods described by most believers are such that if they were real, their fingerprints would be everywhere. As it is, theologians are reduced to playing word games with logical arguments based on false assumptions.

On the other hand, everything we know about the natural world is explicable without resorting to divine explanations. (I'm using "natural" in the sense of ordinary and physical rather than supernatural.) The most lucid example of this is the origin and development of life. Most believers put life at the center of divine purpose. Yet, we have known for some time that the mechanics of natural selection rule out any sort of planning or directing influence. The sheer inefficiency of the process alone strongly argues against a directing god. And we have a pretty good idea of how life got started even if we don't know the exact time or place. Plus, "god did it" as an explanation for any natural occurance begs the question of what made god? That turns out to be a harder question than anything he supposedly created since a god capable of creating those things has to be far more complex than the things he created. "One god" is not a simple explanation anymore than "one space shuttle" is a simple machine.

I know you posted your response before I edited my post.

[Jim Sagle]

15. Either gods exist or they don't, but we're not in position to really prove it either way.

[Deep13]

18. No explanation. No offer of proof. Just a bald claim.

I don't believe you.

[Jim Sagle]

22. Which was my point: When it comes to God/gods, it boils down to belief.

[originalpckelly]

16. Most accurate of all responses.

:P

[Deep13]

19. What makes you think so?

:shrug:

[harmonicon]

7. +1 nt

[Deep13]

9. Not really. Most of those paths claim to be exclusive.

Also, the various gods are not the same. The god of the Old Testament is very different from the gods of the New Testament. The god of Jainism is very different from the blood-soaked gods of the Mayans. Either the Koran is the final, perfect revelation of god or its isn't. Either is is necessary to accept Jesus as ones personal savior to gain salvation or else it isn't. They can't all be right. And your remark is rather prejudiced toward monotheism. Is Hinuism a path to one God? What about the extinct religions of ancient times?

Getting back to my original point, which god is the endorphines that actually cause that feeling? Feelings are caused by electric impulses and chemicals in the brain, not by gods.

[BolivarianHero]

23. They claim to be exclusive, but...

If you poll most of their adherents, at least ones living in secular and pluralistic society, they'll tell you that theirs is not the only path to God. That Joey the Rat says that Catholicism is the only path God doesn't mean that my devout grandmother believes that Muslims or Protestants are going to Hell. The most notable example of this is found in Quebec, where almost the entire population identifies as Catholic and fewer people than in any other Canadian province identify as atheists., and yet religious attendance is the lowest in Canada.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. I thought the same thing when I read that line. nt

[UTUSN]

14. Well, Toni converted to Shrubbism *and* Cathalotocity" n/t

[nyy1998]

17. Good for her.

[closeupready]

20. I'm happy for her that she feels that she has found fulfillment.

It's not for me or anyone else to second-guess her. K&R

[Codeine]

21. Shouldn't modern, civilized people be moving AWAY from fairytales and hokum?

Self-delusion is not a laudable trait.