Christian Doctrines and the
Near-Death Experience
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Someone once asked
me the following question:
"You
mentioned how you learned from near-death
testimony that we don't go
to heaven by believing in Jesus;
but rather, we grow to
heaven through emulating Jesus by
loving everyone unconditionally.
How has your knowledge of NDEs changed
your belief in Christian doctrines
such as the trinity, resurrection,
the work of Jesus, and others."
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The answer is that
NDE testimony has expanded my understanding
of practically all Christian doctrines.
Where
controversial doctrines were once in
question, NDE testimony gave me the answers.
So the following are my answers to questions
relating to Christian doctrines in light
of my understanding of NDEs.
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Table
of Contents |
The
Bible teaches how God is life (1
John 5:20), God is
love (1
John 4:16), and God
is light (1
John 1:5). These Bible
verses agree with NDE testimonies. They reveal God is not
a divine man. God is everything - the "Whole Enchilada."
God is the light of love shining within Jesus, Buddha, and
everyone from one degree to another. One near-death experiencer
gave a good analogy of their experience with God in heaven.
The analogy is this: What air is to this physical world;
God is to the spiritual world. In the higher realms of light,
it has been said that the presence of God is obvious to
all. Read more about the near-death experience and
my research conclusions concerning
God.
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Evolution versus
Creationism
The
scientific, metaphysical and religious evidence suggests
that both evolution and creationism are true. The universe
was created by God through the process of evolution. Although
a literal interpretation of Genesis suggests the universe
is not older than 10,000 years old, the scientific evidence
shows the universe to be over 15 billion years old. The
light from the stars that we see in the night sky took millions
and millions of years to reach our eyeballs. If this was
not true, you would not be able to see them in the sky.
This fact alone proves that the universe is much older than
10,000 years. But a spiritual interpretation of Genesis
can incorporate the scientific evidence because
the universe is a greater revelation
of God than Genesis.
The universe is a greater declaration of God's handiwork
than the entire Bible. And there is
a mountain of scientific evidence
supporting the theory of evolution.
You can read more about
human origins based upon a famous
near-death experiencers.
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Humanity
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Our bodies evolved
from the Earth. Our minds evolved from the stars.
Our spirits evolved from God. Humans evolved
into the image of God: body, mind, spirit. Jesus
said, "ye are gods" (John
10:30-36)
declaring the divinity of himself and humanity.
Read more about the near-death experience and
my research conclusions
concerning humanity.
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Top |
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Garden of Eden
A
literal interpretation of the story of the Garden of Eden
tells a bizarre tale of how sin entered the world and humanity
fell from God:
A talking snake
tricked a woman, who was created from a man's rib, into
eating magical fruit.
The Bible states that this ridiculous
event unleashed the horrible satanic legions of apocalyptic
abomination of desecration and damnation from the dark abyss
and into the hearts of all humanity bringing unspeakable
evil, death, oblivion, holocaust, and Armageddon.
However, if we give this strange
story a
spiritual interpretation,
as one would do with a parable or dream, then we might be
able to see that this is an archetypal account of humanity's
fall from the spiritual universe. The "Garden of Eden" represents
our heavenly origin. The "snake" represents wisdom. The
"apple" possibly represents our free will. Our "banishment
from Eden" represents how souls left the divine origins
of heaven to explore our free will and the physical universe.
A large group of early Christians
believed this was the case.
Read more about my research conclusions concerning
the fallibility of a literal interpretation
of the Bible.
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Adam and Eve
A
literal interpretation of Genesis suggests that Adam was
the first human on Earth. Eve, who was created from the
rib of Adam, was the first woman on Earth. However, this
does not take into account of the millions of years of human
evolution that science has discovered.
Edgar Cayce,
who had near-death experiences for over forty years, was
given the complete account of Adam and Eve. Here it is:
Humans evolved from
homo erectus to homo sapiens. But homo sapiens did not actually
become humans until the souls that left their divine origins
began to possess the bodies of the homo sapiens. Thus, is
the Biblical story of the "sons of God" joining
with the "daughters of men."
The story of Adam and Eve is the
story of how the ape-man became human. They came out of
the trees, developed communities, learned to cultivate,
created religion, and thus, man was born. The first man,
Adam, was the first homo sapien to become the first "son
of God" and the first to receive the divine consciousness.
Edgar Cayce revealed that this man was the first incarnation
of the "Christ" soul. The "Christ" soul
was a higher spiritual being who chose to supervise the
evolution of humanity. Cayce revealed that Jesus was not
the Christ soul, but that Jesus was the final incarnation
of the Christ soul. Thus the Christ soul was the first "Adam".
The last "Adam" was the man named Jesus. Read
more about
Edgar Cayce's near-death testimony
concerning the past lives of Jesus.
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Original Sin
The
doctrine of original sin came from a literal interpretation
of the story of Adam and Eve. It suggests that the sin of
Adam led to spiritual and physical death to all humanity.
Only a divine Savior can reverse it.
The notion that God punishes children
for the sins of their fathers is incredibly unjust and Christians
need to face up to this. Suppose your friend committed a
murder. It would be an incredible travesty of justice if
your friend's son was executed because of his father's sin
- especially if your friend gets off scott-free. Read more
about the near-death experience and
my research conclusions concerning
religion.
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Evil
It
is clear that the Bible states that evil and sin are the
"plague" of humanity. Christians believe there is a universal
force that is opposed to God and is the source of all evil.
But near-death testimonies reveal what Christians have traditionally
known to be
"evil" is best described as being "ignorance."
What Christians have traditionally known to be "sin"
is best described as being "mistakes."
It must be admitted by Christians
that "evil" and "sin" are permitted
to exist only because of the sovereignty of God. Otherwise,
God would have destroyed "evil" the moment it
was created. People having near-death experiences learn
that God permits us to make mistakes for the purpose of
instruction and enlightenment. For example, Hitler was very "evil"
man in that he was a very ignorant man. There was no universal
force than made Hitler "evil," Hitler made himself
into a very very ignorant person. Read more about the near-death
experience and
my research conclusions concerning
Hitler.
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Satan
The
Bible refers to a being that is the originator of "evil".
According to the Bible, this being was one of the greatest
creations of God but fell from grace. Now, this being called "Satan"
leads a universal force of rebellion against God. Christians
believe this being tempts people to sin and is responsible
for the fall of humanity from grace. But many near-death
experiencers have been shown that such a being does not
exist. What people think of as "Satan", is really
their own personal trait of
self-centeredness, self-gratification,
self-glorification, self-consciousness, self-righteousness,
self-interest, SELF.
Read more about the near-death experience and
my research conclusions concerning
Satan.
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Angels and Demons
The
Bible describes angels as a hierarchy of higher spirit beings
that aid humanity in fulfilling the work of God. Demons
are a hierarchy of lower spirit beings that war against
God and man.
There is much evidence from near-death
experiences, after-death
visitations, deathbed visions, out-of-body experiences,
dreams, etc.. that higher and lower beings do exist. Some
of these higher beings are the spirits of human beings.
This agrees with the Biblical notion that people entertain
angels without knowing it. Other beings appear with great
authority, tremendous light and even wings. Read more about
the near-death experience and
my research conclusions concerning
angelic guides.
The Bible and near-death
experiences describe beings that can only be described as
horrible. Near-death experiences also describe beings with
grotesque bodies having such features as rotting flesh,
melting faces, dark countenance and very unpleasant personalities. It
is generally assumed by the people who see them that they
are human. Such beings can be found in the hell realms.
Earthbound human souls that haunt the living have been mistaken
for "demons". Ultimately, all these beings will eventually
see the light and progress higher, but it may take "eons"
of "time".
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Heaven and Hell
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Traditional Christianity
believes in only three realms:
hell,
the
physical realm,
and
heaven.
Near-death testimonies agree with this except
that there are
many hell realms and
many heaven realms.
Even the Bible describes a "third
heaven"
(2
Cor. 12:2-4).
I have read enough near-death testimonies to
conclude that the universe is a realm somewhere
in the middle of the hierarchy of afterlife
realms. Supposedly, we are moving up the "ladder
of success" to become permanent citizens once
again in the highest heaven. This is the eventual
destiny of everyone.
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God's Law
The
so-called "law of God" in the Bible, is based on the
concept of "an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth", the natural
law of cause and effect, what goes up must come down, do
unto others and the same will be done to you, live by the
sword and die by the sword, reap what you sow, every action
has an equal and opposite reaction, the law of karma, etc...
This is the law of nature and
the law of the physical realm.
While this law can be seen everywhere, there is an even
greater law which has been revealed from higher sources.
It is the law of forgiveness. When someone strikes you,
instead of striking back, turn the other cheek. This will
stop the vicious cycle of hurt. It means loving your enemies.
It means unconditional love.
The best way to undo bad karma is through forgiveness. Forgiveness
is divine because God forgives everyone. God is love (1
John 4:16) and love
keeps no record of wrongs (1
Cor.13:4-5). In fact,
love removes a multitude of sins (1
Peter 4:8). Therefore,
the law of God is love (Rom.
13:10). The commandment
of the Lord is love (John
15:12). Even the very
gospel is love (John
3:16). And Jesus affirmed
that the way to eternal life is love (Luke
10:25-28). Everyone
who loves is born of God and knows God (1
John 4:7). We know
we are saved if we love (1
John 3:14). Love is
the sign of a disciple of Christ (John
13:35). Without love
we are nothing (1
Cor. 13:2). Without
love we gain nothing (1
Cor. 13:3). So faith
alone without works of love is dead (James
2:17). We must follow
God's law of love to attain the Kingdom of heaven (Luke
10:25-28). The Kingdom
of heaven can be found within ourselves (Luke
17:20).
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Virgin Birth
I
think it matters very little whether or not a person believes
in the virgin birth of Jesus or not. However, Bible scholars
have stated that the verse in Isaiah describing a "virgin"
is actually better translated as "young woman".
Personally, I don't believe it matters in the scheme of
things whether Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to
Jesus. If she was a virgin, then her pregnancy was a miracle.
If not, then it wasn't a miracle. Either way, I don't believe
it matters much. Jesus was human either way. Read more about
a near-death experiencer's interpretation
of the Christian doctrine of the virgin birth.
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Jesus
The
Bible describes some very special people who exhibited super-human
abilities and Jesus is one of them. The influence of the
life of Jesus on the world cannot be overstated.
Jesus is also person who frequently
appears in
near-death experiences.
The Bible describes Adam as being the first "son of God"
for which the Apostle Paul compares Jesus to be the "last
Adam" who undoes the error of Adam.
In the Hebrew Bible, a character
named
Melchezidek
is described as a being who was never born and who has never
died. Paul describes Jesus as being a priest in the order
of Melchezidek. Enoch was another special man because God
took him to heaven. The story of Joseph is about a man who
rose from an Egyptian slave to an Egyptian prince. He was
blessed with the power of dream interpretation and prophecy.
It is clear from the Bible these were some very special
people. If the gospels are true, then Jesus certainly had
powers that no one else in the world ever had. This would
make the life and death of Jesus certainly unique. Read
more about the near-death experience and
my research conclusions concerning
Jesus.
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Christ
The
word "Christ" means "anointed one" and is a reference
to the Hebrew Messiah. The New Testament states that Jesus
was the Hebrew Messiah. The origin of the concept of the
Messiah can be found in Genesis where God informs Satan
that a descendant of Eve will destroy him. God also informs
Satan that he will harm this descendant of Eve in the process
of Satan's destruction (Gen.
3:15). This descendant
of Eve was to be the Messiah.
The Bible describes several people
who are able to fulfill this prophecy of a Messiah. As previously
mentioned, several special people in the Bible includes
Adam,
Enoch,
Melchezidek,
Joseph
and
Jesus.
These special people in the Bible have many personality
characteristics that are similar to each other.
The Bible declares the fact that
reincarnation was widely believed in Biblical days. There
is strong evidence that
reincarnation was taught by Jesus.
Those Christians who believe in reincarnation, such as myself,
might see how these personalities in the Bible having similar
personality characteristics, that the personalities of Adam,
Enoch, Melchezidek, Joseph and Jesus could be the reincarnation
of the same soul. Several Christian sects around the time
of Christ believed this as well. Also, the man who had more
documented near-death experiences in history -
Edgar Cayce - affirmed that this
is the case as well.
In essence, the
Bible is the story of this very special soul and his ministry
throughout the recorded history of the world. From this
information, one can say that Jesus was a man, flesh and
blood, whose soul attained "Christhood" (i.e.,
at-one-ment with God), the "anointed one" who
reincarnated as the some of the most important figures in
the Bible.
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Trinity
According
to the Bible, humans were created in the image of God. According
to many religious traditions and near-death experiences,
a human consists of a physical body, a mental body and a
spirit body. The human body is actually a trinity of bodies:
mind, body and spirit.
The Bible describes God as a trinity of forces: life, light,
and love. Jesus described his relationship with God as:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Using this information, we can
now understand the relationship between God, Jesus and humanity.
The Bible refers to the
Body
of Christ (1
Cor. 12:27), the
Mind
of Christ (1
Cor. 2:16), and the
Spirit
of Christ (Rom.
8:9). Interesting enough,
these Bible verses also refer to human beings. We are sons
of God like Jesus and we are a part of the Body of Christ
(the Son). We are like Jesus in that we have the Mind of
Christ (the Father). We are also like Jesus in that we have
the Spirit of Christ (the Holy Spirit). From this we can
conclude that, as "sons" of God, we have the Mind, Body
and Spirit of Christ (God). This would also explain why
Jesus defended his divinity by making a "blasphemous"
remark to the religious leaders. In
John 10:30-36,
he quoted
Psalm 82:6.
It states, "You are gods; you are sons of the Most High."
Jesus was almost killed for quoting this verse. It clearly
states the divinity within all human beings.
This concept of the trinity I
have described
is another revelation from Edgar
Cayce who described
this trinity in terms of the body (conscious mind), the
soul (subconscious mind), and the spirit (superconscious
mind). According to Cayce, each aspect of our being corresponds
to various afterlife realms. The body belongs to the physical
realm; the soul belongs to the astral realm (the realm of
dreams and near-death experiences), and the spirit belongs
to the spirit realm (the higher realms of pure consciousness).
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Bible Miracles
The
miracles in the Bible that are most intriguing are the miracles
of Jesus. According to several separate testimonials, Jesus
turned water into wine, raised people from the dead, walked
on water, healed many people of incurable diseases, transfigured
into a Being of Light, feed a multitude of people, quieted
a storm, foretold his own death, and rose from the dead.
Because so many near-death experiencers identify Jesus to
be a Being of Light, this is strong circumstantial evidence
that Jesus is person and not a myth. Also, near-death experiencers
have received information of the truthfulness of the Bible
if interpreted spiritually. Because of this, I see no reason
to disbelieve these miraculous claims - especially in light
of the miracles that have been reported in modern times
such as psychic phenomenon, healings, near-death experiences,
etc.. Read more about my research conclusions concerning
the fallibility of the Bible.
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Resurrection
The
consensus among Christians is that "resurrection"
is the miraculous power of God in raising corpses out of
their graves and transforming corpses into immortal bodies.
The gospels describe Jesus resurrecting Lazarus from the
dead and it describes Jesus himself being resurrected from
the dead.
The concept of "resurrection"
originated with the Persian religion of
Zoroastrianism
which is also the source for apocalyptic end of days and
the concept of Satan and demons. During the Babylonian exile
of the Jews, these concepts from Zoroastrianism were incorporated
into the Hebrew religion. In the days of Jesus, the religious
sect called the
Sadducees
rejected all Persian concepts because they believed them
to be "foreign" doctrines. For this reason, the Sadducees
rejected the concept of resurrection and maintained the
traditional Hebrew doctrine of Sh'eol, the place where all
the dead go.
The Pharisees, according
to Flavius Josephus, believed that "resurrection"
meant reincarnation. However, it is clear that the traditional
Zoroastrian concept of resurrection was also believed. Paul
was a Pharisee who embraced the Zoroastrian concept of resurrection.
In the 1940's, two of the greatest
archeological discoveries were discovered - the Dead Sea
Scrolls and the
Nag Hammadi library
of
Gnostic
Christian writings. According to some scholars, the controversy
of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the
Essenes,
and the religious cover-up that followed, centered around
the concept of resurrection. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the
Nag Hammadi writings affirm that the concept of resurrection
actually meant reincarnation in those days.
In the Bible, Jesus
describes two different kinds of "resurrection". One was
a physical "resurrection" which was identical to reincarnation.
The other kind of "resurrection" refers to spiritual regeneration
or becoming "born again." The Bible describes Lazarus
being "resurrected" physically from the dead and it is believed
that Jesus also "resurrected" from the dead. Although there
is no reason to doubt these events, there is also no reason
to discredit reincarnation because of this either. It is
also possible that Jesus may have appeared to his disciples
after his death in the same way people have after-death
visitations today. This means that a physical "resurrection"
of Jesus does not need to be believed. In other words, it
was his spirit that rose, not his body.
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Gospel
Jesus
came to bring the "gospel" which literally means "good news".
Jesus gave the meaning of this when a scribe asked Jesus
what it took to attain eternal life.
Jesus affirmed that the key to
eternal life was loving your neighbor and loving God with
all your heart (Luke
10:25-28). Eternal
life simply means never having to die anymore. Reading the
Sermon on the Mount and the other teachings of Jesus, it
is clear that Jesus emphasized unconditional love. Because
God is love, it is easy to believe that the gospel is love
as well. Jesus did not teach a new religion. Jesus taught
unconditional love and this was the "heart" of his message.
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Salvation
Many
Christians believe that only those who believe in Jesus
are saved from hell. I believe this is based on a misinterpretation
of the teachings of Jesus. After all, even demons believe
in Jesus.
The Bible describes
two different types of salvation.
One type of salvation is defined by Paul. It is salvation
by faith alone. The other type of salvation was defined
by James. It is salvation by good works. If one reads the
teachings of Jesus in the gospels, it is clear that Jesus
emphasized good works - especially the good works of loving
others. When Nicodemus asked Jesus what he meant by "born
again", Jesus replied that "whosoever believes in him will
have eternal life." What does Jesus mean by "believes in
him?" Does it mean that those who believe in his name have
eternal life? Or does it mean that those who believe Jesus
is their savior have eternal life? Or does it mean that
those who know certain things about Jesus have eternal life?
In
Luke 10:25-28,
Jesus describes what it takes to have eternal life - loving
others and God. So, we see that it is by good works - not
faith alone. Everyone who loves has been born again knows
God (1
John 4:7-8).
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Last Judgment
Throughout
the Bible, references to the "judgment" of God
is given. Although God may be called the "Great Judge",
this does not necessarily mean that the Great Judge does,
in fact, judge people instead of setting them free. Even
the Bible states that God does not judge people (John
5:22). Nor does Jesus
judge anyone (John
8:15 and
John 12:47-48).
The Bible even suggests that people are "self-judged"
(John
12:47-48). Much of
the doctrine of a "Judge of Wrath" comes from the symbolism
of the parables of Jesus and the
Book of Revelation
- both of which are not to be taken literally. Near-death
testimonies support the idea that people judge themselves
- God does not. Read more about the near-death experience
and my research conclusions concerning the
life review.
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Damnation
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The image on the left
is a depiction of the fundamentalist's view of damnation.
In this case, it is a depiction of Jesus casting
a Hindu teenager into hell for never having made
a pledge of allegiance to His Lordship. This concept
of "eternal damnation" comes mostly from
the symbolism of the parables of Jesus and the Book
of Revelation which were never meant to be understood
literally. Near-death experiences affirm that
hell is a place for purification
and instruction,
not eternal damnation. Common sense should tell
people that a God of infinite love and mercy would
never allow even one soul to be eternally tortured
in hell. Read more about the near-death experience
and
my research conclusions
concerning hell.
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Bible
Several
near-death experiencers were told by Jesus that
the Bible is true
but it has to be read spiritually, not literally. A literal
interpretation of the Bible yields
a multitude of errors and contradictions.
It is also a mistake to limit all revelations of God to
just the Bible as many Christians do.
The Bible, as it exists today,
is the product of the Orthodox Church when
a relatively few bishops and clergymen
decided what would be in the Bible and what would not.
The
Book of Enoch
was a book considered to be holy scripture by the Jews during
the days of Jesus. In fact, a quote from the Book of Enoch
can be found in the Bible - Jude 1:1415 to be exact:
"Enoch, the seventh
from Adam, prophesied about these men: 'See,
the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands
of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict
all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they
have done in the ungodly way, and of all the
harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against
him.'" (Jude
1:14-15)
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However, the orthodox
Church rejected the Book of Enoch as heresy. But even the
Book of John was suspected of being heretical and almost
received the same fate as the Book of Enoch.
During the early
Church age, there were many gospels and many writings floating
around. The few clergymen of the Church had to decide what
is inspired and what is not. It was completely a bureaucratic
process.
The Dead Sea Scrolls
and the Nag Hammadi scriptures revealed many books that
was considered to be scripture in the days of Jesus. This
suggests that the modern Bible is not the complete work
of God.
Many
near-death testimonies describe a direct experience in heaven
before the light of God. This cannot be said of all the
experiences in the Bible. This begs the question: "Are
near-death experiences a greater revelation of God than
the Bible?" This is a question people have to
answer for themselves. Read more about the near-death experience
and
my research conclusions concerning
religion.
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Church
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Many Christians make
the mistake of defining the "church" to be a
building where people go to worship God. However,
Jesus' definition of the "church" is that it
is the people who are members of God's kingdom.
Since Christians generally believe that Jesus
is the Savior of the whole world, then this
suggests that the whole world makes up the members
of God's kingdom. This agrees with near-death
testimonies that
affirm universal salvation.
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Prayer
During
her near-death experience,
Betty Eadie
was actually shown how the prayers of people on Earth create
spiritual "beams of light" that shoot out from
the Earth and into outer space toward heaven. She saw how
group prayer creates a large and strong beam of light to
God. She saw how a mother's prayer for her children also
produces a much stronger beam of light. She also saw how
insincere prayers - or prayers of repetition - create very
weak beams of light that fall short of the boundaries of
Earth and never reach heaven.
Kahlil Gibran,
the famous Christian mystic and poet, had an interesting
thing to say about prayer. He said: "God listens not to
your words save when he utters them through your lips."
I believe the poet is referring to how God is within us
and when we pray to God, we must go within.
One controversy for some Christians
today is the fact that children are not allowed to pray
in public school. Although it is clear that kids need to
pray - especially when there is an epidemic of drugs, gangs,
and venereal diseases in our public schools - I believe
it might be dangerous to allow prayers in public schools.
Which kind of religious prayer do we have kids in school
say? Some religions teach that prayers should be performed
in a kneeling position facing East. Some religions teach
people pray to more than one God. Some religions don't even
involve prayer. Who is to decide what kind of prayer to
give? What if the majority of kids in a class wanted to
say a Buddhist prayer with Christians in the same room?
Because of this, I think it is best to keep religious rituals
and public prayers in church where they belong. Besides,
Jesus taught against public prayer.
He taught that prayers should be done in the quiet of your
own room where nobody but God can see.
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Once Saved Always Saved
 |
Orthodox Protestant
Christianity, as founded by
John Calvin
and Martin Luther, traditionally held to the
belief that once a person is saved by Jesus,
they are forever saved by Jesus. On the other
hand, modern Christianity in general holds
to the belief that once you are saved by Jesus,
you can still fall from God through sin and
become eternally lost. One near-death experiencer,
Mellen-Thomas Benedict,
was given the revelation from God that all humanity
is already "saved". This is because
near-death experiences affirm that
there is no eternal
damnation
and God gives everyone as many opportunities
it takes to grow toward the light.
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Predestination or Free Will
Orthodox
Protestant Christianity, as founded by John Calvin and
Martin Luther,
traditionally held to a doctrine of "election"
which is a Biblical term used to describe how God is absolutely
sovereign in deciding who to save and who to damn. This
is based upon Biblical references which describe how God
chose, before the universe was created, an "elect"
group of people from fallen humanity whom God would save
from eternal damnation. On the other hand, modern Christianity
in general holds to the belief that God gives everyone the
opportunity to be saved because all humans have a will that
is not enslaved to Satan but is free and autonomous. Calvinists
deny free will except for the freedom which is given to
us by Jesus. However, I have discovered that near-death
experiences affirm
both predestination and free will
to be correct. God
chose everyone to be saved and everyone has the free will
to come to God. The key is that all paths lead to God. In
other words, we choose our destiny. Our free will is predestined
to bring us closer to God.
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Second Coming of Christ
I
believe the evidence shows that
Jesus had many incarnations in
this world. The idea
of a "second" coming is really a misnomer. It would be better
to say that Jesus will return as he already has a number
of times throughout history. This also means that Jesus
will enter the world the same way he did the last time -
through birth (or more correctly "rebirth"). It is my personal
opinion,
based on a number of prophecies,
that Jesus has already been born again into this world.
This corresponds to the time when Jesus will become an adult
and help lead humanity once again to become more spiritual.
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Abortion
The
controversy of abortion centers around the question: When
is a human
zygote
or
fetus
an actual human being? Some people believe in "zygotic
personhood" which
is the belief that life begins at conception. Some people
believe life begins at birth. I prefer to believe the psychic
revelation from
Edgar Cayce
on this subject. The soul/spirit enters the body during
a time period from six months before birth and up to an
hour after birth. Even the Bible describes God giving man
the "breath of life" which made him a living being. Also,
one particular woman
had a near-death experience from having an abortion and
God had absolutely no condemnation against her. In essence,
God didn't care about it and didn't even mention it.
As long as babies are not aborted
around the time of birth, I see no reason to prevent a woman
from aborting a fetus. In fact, even the Bible describes
how the prophet Hosea prayed to God to abort the fetuses
of his enemies (Hosea
9:14-16). Hosea's prayers
were answered. From this, one can conclude that abortion
is Biblical and legal. What is not Biblical or legal is
bombing abortion clinics. And if life begins at conception,
then what about all natural abortions that millions of women
menstruate every year? Is such menstruation murder?
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Death Penalty
Suppose
a murder/rapist tortured, raped and murdered your daughter
(God forbid). The anger and desire for retribution would
be incredible for many people. Near-death experiences describe
how
the souls of murderers and rapists
create their own in hell after death.
And many near-death experiences reveal how people in hell
are allowed to reincarnate when they finally repent of their
actions.
But which is better: Having the
murder killed immediately and sent to hell? Or having the
murderer rot in prison for the rest of his life and then
face a possible hell. For some murderers,
death certainly seems too good
for them. But having
murderers rot in prison is a good way to have them to think
about their actions while facing a lifetime of prison justice
by prisoners. Also, since we really should have compassion
for such unfortunate and ignorant people, rotting in prison
may actually be a more humane way of justice by giving them
the opportunity to repent in this lifetime.
I believe many Christians
are for the death penalty because the Bible suggests that
God is for it. The argument is that if God did not believe
in the death penalty, Jesus would have been given 10 to
20 years in prison with time of for good behavior. However,
my opinion is that giving Jesus the death penalty is cruel
and unusual punishment.
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Homosexuality
The
Bible was written thousands of years ago when people had
slaves, women were slightly higher in status than cattle,
homosexuals were stoned to death, pagans were put to death,
and prostitutes and adulterers where stoned to death. It
is in this context that the Bible was written.
In the Bible, Paul
certainly declares his pro-slavery, anti-feminist,
homophobic, religiously intolerant, anti-Semitic, anti-marriage
and sexually repressed opinions. Such attitudes are certainly
against the principles and teachings of Jesus who said God
is our only master, that women are equal to men, that so-called
"sexual deviants" are loved by God, and that religion does
not matter to God - only love.
Those
Christians who throw stones at gay people should examine
their own sexuality. Do you masturbate? Why shouldn't people
throw stones at you? Have you ever really thought about
what homosexuals do in bed? If so, you have committed a
homosexual act according to Jesus. This is because Jesus
said that having a lustful thought is equivalent to committing
the lustful act. For this reason, why throw stones at people
at all? Especially when near-death experiencers affirm
that
gay and lesbian people do go to
heaven too.
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War
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It should be obvious
to everyone that declaring war against Hitler
saved the world from fascism. This alone suggests
that war can be an honorable, moral and even
divine cause. The Bible describes a war in heaven.
One near-death experiencer was shown how some
wars are justifiable in the same way that antibodies
attack viruses in the human body. It is a natural
process. Defeating the fascism of Hitler certainly
was an honorable, moral and divine cause. Read
more about the near-death experience and
my research conclusions
concerning war.
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"The guides taught
us that doctrine and creed and race meant
nothing. No matter what we believed we were
all children joined under one God, and that
the only rule was God's true law - do unto
others as you would have them do unto you."
- May Eulitt, near-death experiencer
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