Apparitions from heaven???

[abaris]

If I was apathetic to religion in general, I would still at the very least think a conspiracy theory that panned out like that would be equal to or more unlikely than an actual supernatural occurrence having happened.

No, you just had to go with eyewitness accounts in general. Which aren't reliable at all as numerous studies have proven. We were over this on another topic, far as I remember. You also have to go with someone crying wolf and a crowd suddenly getting all hyped up. Even more so, since they probably all wanted to believe in a sign from god. I don't buy into the skeptic tale, for reasons I gave above.

You also have to go with human nature, willing to please and willing to be in on the action.

Even if you put all of that aside and we gave you the apparition to be an extraordinary event - why is it a sign from god? Your god to be precise? A catholic miracle so to speak. Why not a UFO as crowds in Nevada claim whenever they see something in the sky and get hyped to believe in a UFO? Why not Apollo or Ra, both sun gods?

You see, even if the tale was anything but a tale and an instance of mass psychosis - like so many in our history - you have to have some bias to pull it into the desired direction.