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Making connections where there are none is called 'apophenia'. Examples are the faces of religious icons people see in cookies or pancakes. Is God capable of placing a picture of Jesus in your coffee using the cream swirls? Absolutely. Is it likely for him to do so when we really don't know what Jesus looked like? | Making connections where there are none is called 'apophenia'. Examples are the faces of religious icons people see in cookies or pancakes. Is God capable of placing a picture of Jesus in your coffee using the cream swirls? Absolutely. Is it likely for him to do so when we really don't know what Jesus looked like? | ||
How do we avoid apophenia when we look for prophetic pattern? We follow the rules. <ref> | How do we avoid apophenia when we look for prophetic pattern? We follow the rules. <ref>[[Rules_for_interpretation]]</ref> One rule is particularly useful when avoiding apophenia; every symbol must be the same thing everywhere. This removes those observations where we impose meaning upon something rather than derive meaning from it. | ||
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