(September 16, 2019 at 10:07 pm)mordant Wrote: Super = above. Supernatural is above or outside nature. Nature in the sense of "the natural world", not in the sense of "a thing's nature". Besides, it's a disordered concept even that way, because if a cat sings opera, it's not a cat and we shouldn't be discussing it in those terms. It's an opera singer with a cat's body, and there's a reason we don't expect to ever see such a thing. It would violate our systems of categorization.
I don't know what "old fashioned" concept you're referring to here. The only definition I can find for "supernatural" is more or less "attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature". Whatever it meant to the ancients, it's not what it means to us now, and so it's not the framing of the discussion here.
Don't worry. With enough time, Bel will figure a way to spin his way out of this. He's good at spin. Just keep an eye on it.
If you're frightened of dying, and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the Earth.
