Kate O’Rourke
8-4
February 25, 2009
THE SUPERNATURAL
Aim: What is the Supernatural?
Learning objective: To use critical thinking in explaining the concept of the
supernatural
Many people talk about the supernatural world or supernatural events. We have prepared
a chart with some situations. Read each story and decide whether this event is natural or
supernatural, based on your experience. Use the right column of the chart to write the
reasons that support your opinion
Situation
Natural or
Why?
supernatural?
1. Your best friend was absent from
school yesterday. Today she came
back with a cast leg. She said she had Natural
a car accident, but she can't
remember anything.
This kind of thing
happens all the time. It is
simply an act of nature,
and the friend could have
suffered a brain injury.
2. This little kid is followed by a
gang of classmates determined this
time to catch him and beat him up
well. The kid jumps some trash cans
in the school yard. The others corner
Supernatural
him. There's no escape. He jumps
again and all of a sudden he realizes
that he is on the rooftop. He later gets
reprimanded by the principal for
walking on the school roof.
I really don’t see any
explanation for this,
unless the kid was
imagining the big scary
kids and was on the roof
the whole time after all.
3. In my dream grandmother told me
that 2,6, and 7 are my lucky numbers.
Natural
I played the lottery the next day and I
won 5,000 dollars!
God can work in many
ways, and I believe he
helped this person out.
Maybe they
unconsciously had those
numbers chosen all the
while, but the dream
made the choice clearer.
4. The leader saw the enemy
approaching. His own people were
weary and discouraged. They
wouldn't last a minute the emperor's
disciplined and well-armed troops.
Just in front of him the sea was calm,
deep, and endless. It prevented any
Natural
escape from death and captivity. But
he knew what to do. He stroke the
land with his cane and all of a sudden
the waters departed. There was now a
path in the middle of the sea where
his people could walk away from
danger.
This sounds a lot like a
bible story. That means
God was working his
wonders again. Like
many situations, God is
in control.
5. His great-great-grandfather at the
beginning of time was the prairie
buffalo, the one that gives his tribe
strength and courage to battle
enemies and storms. Every Indian
knows this fundamental fact and
respects the buffalo and all living
animals.
I don’t quite understand
what this is portraying,
but I do know that all
cultures have their own
beliefs, and this one
happens to believe in the
buffalo and the story. It
is all a viewpoint.
Natural
Give examples of a natural event and another example of a supernatural event. What
about an event you are not sure of? Use your own life and experience. Write at least an
event and be prepared to motivate why you placed that event in one of these three
categories.
Natural event
Supernatural event
You are not sure?
Short description:
Short description:
Short description:
My great-grandma is
on hospice, and about
a month ago, she was
only supposed to live
another week at the
most. She is still here,
but she doesn’t eat
anything how can that
be?
Right after my
grandpa’s death, a
phenomenon occurred
to my mom. She was
feeling guilty about not
being there for him in
his last few days. She
was so worked up and
she couldn’t sleep, so
she went out into our
Right around Christmas
time, when my mom was
pregnant for me, she was
driving on the highway and
blew a tire. She had
absolutely no idea how to
change a tire and she was
just a mess. She didn’t
living room. It was
completely dark and
silent, so she asked
God and her father (my
grandpa) for some kind
of sign that is was ok.
Suddenly, our
computer completely
blew out. It sparked,
and never turned on
again.
Rationale:
For some reason
unknown to me, God
feels that her job on
Earth isn’t finished yet.
He has a purpose for
her survival.
have a cell phone, so she
went to a gas station. She
had to jump a fence, and
she was cut. She couldn’t
get a hold of anyone, so
she returned to her car. It
was raining. She was wet,
stranded, bleeding,
pregnant, and devastated.
Just then, a man
resembling Santa Clause
turned around on the exit
and came to help her
change her tire. He then
followed her home to
make sure she was safe.
My mom tried to offer
money, but he wouldn’t
accept. He was on his
way. Later that night, my
parents were watching the
news and he was being
interviewed for helping so
many desperate people.
He wouldn’t give any other
personal information
except for his
name…Nick!
Rationale:
Rationale:
This strange
occurrence has got to
This was such a weird
be supernatural. It just
incidence that I am
is so unusual that I am
dumbfounded. I am
dumbfounded.
thankful the Nick, but was
he just a citizen, or
something more?
Aim: How Do Some People Explain the Supernatural?
There are numerous ways of explaining the supernatural. Let us present one of them.
There are two different worlds that stay separated most of the time. Sometimes, not quite
often, these two worlds come into contact. This is when supernatural creatures visit the
natural world for a short time.
Natural World
Supernatural World
In the world of fairy tales and ancient myths, there is also the possibility that the most
powerful heroes find a way to the supernatural world: they slay dragons, they battle
monsters and witches, and they even visit the world of the dead. Gilgamesh, Hercules,
and Orpheus went there to prove their power or to search for answers.
Some of you saw Harry Potter, the movie, or you read the book. Remember Fluffy, the
three-headed dog that guards the Sorcerer's Stone? Fluffy is in fact Cerberus, the monster
whose only weakness is the sound of music. This is how Orpheus convinced him to let
him into the Underworld to look for his dead wife, Eurydice.
Written Assignment:
1. Do you know of any other way of explaining the supernatural? Suggestion: Use this
quote to draft another possible answer:
"The supernatural is the natural not yet understood"
The supernatural is the natural not yet understood. I believe that it is when God
doesn’t seem to be a factor. I strongly believe that God controls everything, but
the best I have to offer is magic. Magic like waving wands, or ghost and ghouls
are my supernatural. They are above mankind.
Supernatural occurrences seem too physically powerful, fast, and amazing to be
the work of a regular human being. In my opinion, vampires such as those in
Twilight and Dracula are supernatural because there is no logical explanation in
my eyes. I also believe black magic-related religions involve superstitions and
the supernatural. Most of the time, it just depends on my mood when I am
considering whether it is natural or not. Though I am not a sturdy believer in the
supernatural, there still might be some in the world, some world.
Copied from Internet January 4, 2009: http://www.teachnetlab.org/fklane/dracula/dracula/I.%20The%20supernatural.htm