Bob Gebelein begins by stating “This book needs to be written.” “The story needs to be told.” You will discover why he makes this statement as you read this book.
I’m only going to mention a few subjects in this book because I don’t want to give too much away for the readers.
The author begins many of the chapters with a question. “Have you been ridiculed by members of the scientific establishment because of your psychic beliefs?” So, just think about this statement. Many of us have experienced spiritual believes and psychic experiences. What happens when you express these beliefs and experiences to other people? Do they look at you like you are some kind of quack? It doesn’t even have to be someone with a scientific background. These beliefs are ground into our minds because, as the author states, “science has tapped into a human psychological need for authorities who are people who know all the answers”. These scientists believe there is no reality beyond the physical. Therefore, people who express an interest in subjects like clairvoyance, the power of prayer, reincarnation, etc. are dismissed as mentally incompetent. We all know that there is much more to clairvoyance, reincarnation, etc. The author states that he had a dream about his grandmother’s death one hour before he received the telegram. I, also, had an experience similar to this when my father was very ill. I came to the hospital to visit him and he told me that he had a lot of visitors that day. When I asked him who came to visit, every person he named was dead. I knew right then and there that he was getting closer to death. I’m sure many of us have had experiences like this whether it pertained to death, a miracle that happened because of prayer, or how about the times we have gone to a certain place and felt like we have been there before? How about the times when we first met a person and could swear we knew this person before? Could this possibly be anything to do with reincarnation?
What is science? The author states that in order to have science, there must be three essential ingredients; observation, replication, and valid logic. He considers observation the most important of the three. Now take a moment and think about the word “status”. There are many types of status in the world. We have the status of a teacher, the status of our parents, etc. We look up to and believe what anyone with a so- called “status” tells us. If our teacher told us something, we would believe it. The author is pointing out that this very same thing is true of scientists. They have an authority status and just because they are a scientist, people will believe what they say. The author states that religion is a rigid belief system and an explanation of the unknown. Once again, we are reverting back to the authority figure. When we were young, we looked at our parents as someone who knew all the answers. Many things were “unknown” to us and we learned from a very young age that our parents had the answers because this was engraved in our mind. It is also the way we feel about our priest. They are also an authority figure and we believe they know all the answers. Now if a scientist indicates “that doesn’t exist” is this the same as saying “I don’t know the answer”. Bob calls this an ego-defense. Think about it – it does make sense. Could this be an example of dirty science?
Bob Gebelein believes that many subjects have been “ignored, dismissed and/or suppressed because of the domination of physicalism.” He had some suggestions; all subjects should be debatable, scientists should be the best qualified to operate in that particular field and lawyers who use illegal methods are disbarred. The author lists several ways that people who have money can use their wealth to help the academic community gain self-awareness.
Bob Gebelein’s style of writing is clear and to the point. However, this book is not to be considered light reading. The author will bring up many subjects that he is very passionate about and you will be left with many things to think about. You will have to do some very deep thinking and will have to try to put your own views aside for a moment while pondering the author’s statements. After you read Dirty Science, it will be up to you to decide whether or not you agree with the author. Even if you do not agree with him, you will find this book unique and compelling. I have read another of Bob Gebelein’s other books, The Mental Environment. This book is also very interesting and he speaks on the subject of “mind pollution”. If you find Dirty Science an interesting and challenging read, you might want to add The Mental Environment to your list.