In the book, An Atheist in Heaven, Paul Davids writes about interviewing “arch skeptic” Dr. Michael Shermer, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine. Dr. Gary Schwartz, in the same book, characterized Dr. Shermer as a “Type II skeptic.” He writes, “Sadly, there are individuals who claim to be ‘skeptics’ who are not open minded. They do not engage in careful questioning. They are not discerning in their evaluation of evidence. Though they may claim – often insistently – that they are undecided and seek the truth, in practice they are disbelievers or ‘unbelievers.’ They hold strong beliefs about what must be impossible. Furthermore, they often engage in irresponsible and unjustified evaluation of theories, methods, findings, and conclusions which challenge their convictions about what is possible in nature and the cosmos. This is pseudo-skepticism. I call this ‘Type II Skepticism.'” During his interview with Paul Davids, Dr. Michael Shermer certainly came off as a “Type II Skeptic.” However, later in the book, and just before it was published, Dr. Shermer ended up having his own very “mysterious” experience that he confessed “shook his skepticism.” He was getting married and his bride had an old transistor radio that belonged to her deceased grandfather that hadn’t worked in decades. New batteries didn’t help – the radio was dead. On their wedding day, his bride said she wanted to say something to him alone, so they went to the back of the house where they heard music playing in the bedroom. They opened a drawer and found her grandfather’s radio playing a romantic love song. Other family members reported the music started playing just as the wedding was to begin. The next day, the radio went silent and never worked again. Dr. Shermer’s bride was reportedly a skeptic as well, so how could this happen within the rules of engagement, especially since we know the divine realm will go to great lengths to protect the beliefs of skeptics? So much so that just the presence of James Randi, for example, could literally temporarily disable the intuitive abilities of those around him? What can Creator tell us about this radio at the wedding event and how it all fits within the rules of engagement? Was the bride’s grandfather still in limbo?

This is a true story and reported accurately, at least with respect to the phenomena of the working radio inexplicably coming to life on a signal occasion to provide a remembrance of a loved one. The grandfather was, indeed, in the light and the divine realm worked with a number of beings in concert to arrange this demonstration which was in keeping with the rules of engagement, to not have his voice come forth with a direct message to people in the living saying who he was, where he was, why he wanted to speak with them, which would be a tremendous shock, especially to Michael Shermer. As it was, to have this family heirloom come to life in the way it did, and the timing, shook him and was rightfully seen by others to be a sign from heaven. The fact that Shermer was still unable to be persuaded actually shows the effectiveness of the rules of engagement, to preserve the rights of skeptics even while rewarding the believer through a blessed gift of an act of love from the beyond. So this depiction of Shermer's skepticism, as being resolute and unmovable, is actually the most common form because most important matters are anchored by beliefs deeply held. This is how people interpret their existence and gain stability and stay grounded, in effect, having come to terms with the strenuousness of life and what people must contend with in terms of hazards and uncertainty, and all too often adversity in some form that can be quite challenging, even life-threatening. Everyone learns this at a young age and will feel challenged by life, inevitably, so everything that is learned contributes to a series of beliefs about what is possible, what cannot be, and what might be possible in extreme circumstances, if unlikely. These beliefs will have levels of intensity and certitude, in a relative sense, depending on their importance to the individual and the life experiences that happened to create them. The more direct experiences of seeming to be in a Godless world, that experiencing of disconnection will be a continual reinforcement of denial by atheists. It is those lucky to be in a family of believers where good things happen, who see the hand of the divine at work, who gain some reinforcement for a growing belief within that God is real and God can touch them and their world. That was not the case for Michael Shermer who did not develop a provisional belief, let alone a quite strong faith, but rather the opposite. What is little appreciated is that atheism is every much as powerful a fundamentalist belief as religious bigots who exaggerate God's influence on things and the righteousness of their faith making them not only special but far above others. So the disbelieving überskeptic is the opposite side of that coin. The zealous atheist is just like a religious zealot blinded by their dogmatic belief and impervious to logic, reason, and even presentation of physical evidence. There will always be a way to explain it away. In effect, they build a fence around themselves that is unassailable because God can't go there, due to the rules of engagement, to convince them. The simple truth of things is belief in the existence of God is up to you because God cannot make that happen.