<snip>

>the confusing of the customs of the tribe with the Laws of Nature :-)
>
>The unfortunate thing is that in the case of someone like Rick who I do not doubt had a very profound experience on the date he has mentioned that objectively changed the way he lived his life, both the proselytizing and the discussion is about the details of cultural context instead of focusing on the experience itself.
>
>If one does not buy the package, one must insist there is nothing inside.
>
>Something happened, but we cannot clearly discuss what it was because those who have had the experience either are locked into their own cultural blinders ... or realize they lack the need or the language to talk about the ineffable in a way that doesn't block it by predefining it.

This is precisely what I think has happened. However some do manage to find a way to convey perhaps not the exact nature of the experience but the essence of it.

>And so the finger points at the moon.

And science tries to comprehend the finger while (true) religion tries to apprehend the moon.