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This action might not be possible to undo. Are you sure you want to continue?
I'm now going to try to toner a response to you (since I can't say "pen..."), finally responding to one of your e-mails re: our discussion of the Bible. I first want to apologize for the length of this letter. However, it's shorter than it would have been had I not discarded pages that basically added only quantity to the present content. Since it's a personal letter that's taken a long time to compose, I've feared that you might choose to not read all of it, and numerous hours would thus have been wasted - (indeed, it's not necessary to read all of it of you realize that my two main points, which I'll soon identify, are true); so, I want to plead with you to just read this letter (ignoring all else I've ever sent you). I've struggled with how to word this letter, trying to ensure that you'd trust me enough to believe that it's important (and I'll say more shortly about the reasons I believe it is important), and find it palatable enough to read it and see for yourself what I'm saying. Judge it to your heart's content after you've read it, but take the time to read it all (if you don't quickly accept what I'm saying, as I mentioned) to see if I'm speaking the truth. I'd like you to know something. In a recent e-mail, after you received the birthday flowers we sent, you said, "I think of you guys every time I look at them and feel loved. I love you guys and am privileged to have you as family." I don't think you can accept this right now, but after reading this letter, I think you'll understand that sending you flowers is nothing compared to compiling this information for you. This information does not tear down faith; it enhances faith by refining and maturing spiritual understanding (including, especially, Christianity). Most of this material is from my own research over decades, and not from Steve Allen's books (Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion, and Morality, and More ...). I have found that a number of sections in his books are not clear-cut. In these, he's used Bible passages that can be interpreted more than one way. So, perhaps it's best that you did not read his material, but instead are exposed to what I'm presenting here after my own criteria of fairness are applied. Also, this time I will begin by telling you what I DO believe, rather than what I do not (and I'm suspecting it'll surprise you). And, I'll add that what I do believe (which means, what I strongly suspect to be true), is the result of having seen strong evidence to support it; further, since faith can cause belief in any concept, I consider it to be the ultimate in untrustworthiness as a means of finding reality. (This is the logical reason, I expect, that God would never require faith in any particular religion, although I think one kind of faith is important, and that is faith in the purposefulness of life; without that, motivation to live ethically and have vitality is more difficult to sustain. Another kind of faith, the one that speaks of "being sure" without evidence, is touted as admirable within many religious communities, but in reality, such faith is necessarily an act of dishonesty. To say that one is "sure" when one cannot be sure can be more damaging than fingering the wrong suspect in a police lineup.) With your background in journalism, you know how tenuous is that which is taken as the truth. For example, less than sixty years after the Holocaust, thousands of American right-wing radicals believe the event never happened and that a Jewish conspiracy is responsible for news about it. Similarly, powerful church zealots persecuted Copernicus, Galileo, and many others for independent thinking and
research. Should it surprise us that strict beliefs might continue to exist as impediments to a better understanding of God? One main thrust of this letter, then, is to "get at" the truth by drawing from The Book (i.e., The Bible) passages that indisputably reveal that it contains errors, leaving the only possible conclusion that strict reliance on it for literal truth can be dangerous (and that, essentially, is the first point I'm trying to make). Then, after several clear examples of these, and after the hurtle of accepting Bible error has been leaped, Bible quotes are presented that relate events that can be rationally accepted as only myths or folklore, similar to some ancient American Indian beliefs. Following this, it's an act of responsibility to look at interpretations of the Bible that may cause, or may have caused injustices. Finally, what seems to be "the truth" about our "reality" is discussed, based on what seems to be the best evidence available to us (which is evidence from the statistically significant consistency of the accounts of Near Death Experiences, which is the second point I'm trying to make), and how closely it resembles aspects of religion as we have known them. So, please stay with me as I get a bit "wordy" in telling you "what I do believe". But before I quote from the Bible, I'd like to give you one single example of "evidence" for the "real reality" and how I try to use it (and other evidence) to draw the deepest meanings possible. When Howard Storm, the Near Death Experiencer I know second best in the entire world, was being "saved" from his desperate condition during the "negative" portion of his NDE, he called out specifically to Jesus. His exact words were, as I recall them, "Jesus, please save me!". By his account, the "light" that came to him and caused him to quickly feel "whole" and "loved" was none other than Jesus Christ, although for quite a long time, out of reluctance to state this publicly in his talks for fear it would "seem weird" or cause portions of his audiences to disbelieve him, he referred to Jesus as his "friend". Because of his account of the experience in which Jesus personally transported him to the realm of other loving "lights", and to the withinapprehending-distance vicinity of the enormous light he presumed to be God, and what he reported about his interaction with Jesus, and, slightly because other NDEers seem to be as specific about Jesus greeting them personally, I suspect strongly (which is almost like others saying "I believe...") that Jesus is: (1) vital (i.e., "alive"), or Jesus "exists" as a spirit-dimension being; (2) accessible by thought (or prayer) at least sometimes by some people, under some conditions (as some people surmise from sections of the Bible); (3) capable of, at least, [a] causing the kind of rehabilitation that made Howard feel "whole", [b] transporting a non-physical being or consciousness, as Howard was, away from something that was negative, or evil, in some effective way (perhaps spatially, although we can't be sure of that because of the numerous reports that space and time seem to have no meaning in that realm, or "dimension") (might this make Jesus a mediator, or perhaps a "savior"?), and, [c] knowing the person he's dealing with very intimately; (4) seemingly "loving" to a degree beyond our comprehension, including having characteristics such as being totally accepting, non-punishing, caring, and providing of understanding and solace even to persons with histories of selfishness (or, shall we say, "sin"), without purgatory preceding such solace - - providing same without even a prerequisite belief in His existence;
(5) capable of communicating telepathically and spending what we think of as "time" with individuals while, certainly, other individuals, (i.e. individuals other than Howard), at the same "time" as we experience time, are in need. With these "beliefs" about Jesus Christ, I suppose that I am unavoidably categorized as a "Christian", although I cannot go past the evidence I've seen and embrace affirmations like the Apostle's Creed. A bit of thought about any kind of evidence (like Howard's experience) that seems to deserve inspection, raises hundreds of questions. A very small example of these might be: what would have happened if he hadn't called to Jesus for help?; What if he'd instead called for God, or been non-specific and asked for supernatural help from the "good" of any kind?; If it hadn't occurred to him to call for help at all, would he still be "there", in that condition, with his earthly body presumably eventually dying?; Would he have been pulled back from that place automatically if his body had received the needed operation, and been stabilized?; Would he possibly have existed in a dual state (an absolutely non-obvious question, but one which is suggested by two incidents, one of which was a (tape-recorded) hypnosis session with a person exhibiting multiple personalities in which the subject's consciousness was apparently split between the one with me, a young girl in Puerto Rico, and a spiritual "higher-self" personality, all at the same time) - - the point being that no matter how much of "reality" seems to be indicated by one experience, it's very difficult to define the operating mechanism, or the reality behind the events, that is at play. So, from anecdotes such as this, and from many other things I've witnessed, experienced, heard, or found from purposely not-limited research, I piece together some of what seems most likely to be "reality" (and some of what seems to be almost certainly not part of that reality). Remember that I've personally witnessed psychic phenomena (and have researched its history, even visiting Dr. J. B. Rhine at the FRNM, the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man at Duke University in the Seventies), had dozens (and probably more than one hundred) hypnosis sessions with people over a thirty-some-year period from which I've witnessed evidence of past lives and between-life existence (alternatively thoroughly researched by Dr. Ian Stevenson who wrote Twenty Cases Suggestive Of Reincarnation, and Dr. Joel Whitten who wrote Life Between Life), been impressed by an almost certain communication through a medium by our brother Dave a few years after his death, interviewed people who've seen and interacted with ghosts, collected and devoured professional papers on psi phenomena and NDEs (like articles that appeared in the IEEE Spectrum magazine, Journals of the APA and the Int'l. Assoc. for Near Death Studies, etc.), read portions of "holy" books of several religions (including the "Bible"), read numerous books on related topics and have many of them in my "library", studied the work of Joseph Campbell who specialized in mythology and the similar stories that exist in many religions and cultures, and many other avenues that would fill at least another half page. [I've also found less professional witnesses, or "flakes" that draw specific conclusions too easily and become misguided, and frauds that capitalize on man's tendency to believe in the "supernatural"; after so many years, these people are fairly easy to identify and dismiss, and I lose very little time to them.] In short, I'm not, as Werner Erhard would use the phrase, just "a guy in a diner". But, I'd like to go on describing a few things that I think are true. I "believe" that a single creator (God) is behind the whole plan of the universe, and that includes all the other likely lives on the perhaps one hundred million million planets calculated to be habitable. (You may know that this is a subset of the Drake equation that derives the probability of this cosmology from known astronomical data*, and even 3
Dad was convinced that there was life elsewhere in the universe. If that is the case, why is such an important truth not mentioned in the Bible, and what does that imply about how the tenets of Christianity would be applied to such life? Did Christ die for the sins in those person's lives too? Surely, someone among other populations of life in the universe would have sinned and "come short of the glory of God". Why would God create the heavens and the Earth and describe such creation without mentioning a purpose for the remainder of the universe which we only recently learned exists? Could one hundred billion galaxies, each having about fifty billion stars [give or take a dozen] have no purpose but to remain invisible without the most powerful telescopes, to the inhabitants of the only planet in the universe to have life? Did God go crazy and not know when to stop creating? Have you seen any of the riveting Hubble telescope pictures?) I further "believe" (again, from strong evidence) that existing spirit life is more than simply aware of us humans; rather, it surrounds us, with some of it assisting and protecting some of us, sometimes (as so many of the published "angel" stories indicate). It seems (from my own experience and what I derive from the accounts of others) that the assistance and life-direction that we receive is at least in part a function of how we think, our level of "enlightenment", and whether, and perhaps how we ask for assistance (through what is clearly in the category of prayer), and/or how we express thankfulness for assistance and opportunity. (I apologize for the generalness of this, but I think your own beliefs would leave you describing the operation of "reality" just as generally; we don't know enough to be more explicit.) I believe in: the importance of love actively shown others; integrity in relationships relative to how we treat all other humans, animals (which is a tough one for me because I'd pay money to not have any pets in this house), and perhaps even the earth; honesty, fairness, and perhaps above all, contributing to life (or "giving back" what we take and are given). I believe one of the greatest of "badnesses" (sins?) is negatively impacting others' lives in any way this can be done (i.e. physically, emotionally, financially, and even "happiness-ly"). Again, I think regular spiritual communication is important, even if it's one-sided (and it obviously almost always is). This helps one live for such positive purpose while, essentially, "walking with God", or at least walking through life with the selfreminded consciousness of the plan of God that we all think we've sincerely found. [This isn't always so innocuous, since some think their walk with God includes killing Christians or Jews or Arabs. The "pursuit of God" is important, but for a large percentage of the earth's population, the wrong road is certainly being traveled (to which I'm sure you concur), despite its sincerity.] And, I believe in creation! I expect that the evolution that we know exists (in viruses, fruit flies, and what is evident from zoology) may extend to man to some extent, but not to the popular extreme of the one-celled organism generating all earthly life. For example, I don't think a half-formed organ, like a not-yet functional eye, could be useful and benefit from evolutionary pressures to eventually become an operational eye after once being a light-sensitive spot. Even the Big Bang theory supports the concept of creation, in my opinion (despite the recent quandary among astrophysicists who have found that the universe is not only expanding, but is apparently expanding at an ever-faster rate!). Bucky Fuller said, (here in Cincinnati), that the theory was ridiculous, saying something like, "Where do you get the energy to 'Bang'?" Since the theory is so well supported, suggesting that the universe's origin was from a minute spot at some once-center point, it seems to me that the only way the existing matter in the universe could have been formed is by the action of a creator who can create 4
it seems that a great deal of what exists in the Bible is accurate. They negatively impact peoples' lives. was also created. that carbon dating is at least not 99. and a plethora of other planet processes. behaviors and perceptions that are counterproductive to God's purposes.matter from enormous energy from a pinpoint. a reaction. I suspect.t. which was essentially. It also has promoted.) Such thinking is very nearly as archaic as thinking the earth is flat. is a creator. does this tell you something about my "beliefs"? And. (I'm not saying that they're "stupid" or in any way mentally incapable. white superiority over blacks. the KKK has used the Bible for decades to support segregation. as two of its most strongly held beliefs. could be now or later felt by Billy and/or Katie. in creation (generally). the existence of evil apart from the existence of good. having some developed maturity. and neither of them derived the typical fundamentalist interpretation of the earth's age from the Bible. after careful consideration. and the reason that this fact is important is that in the absence of such careful consideration. Now I want to tell you the other half of the reason this matter is important to me. plate tectonics. I am convinced. ranging from innocuous to horrible. Such judgments throughout history. If Billy rejects that part of your religious belief. the existence and importance of Jesus. As an example. I think that Billy has interests and desires w. even our Dad. that quite a bit of the remainder of the Bible is not accurate. that the earth is billions of years old. If Billy and/or Katie ever have/will think for 5 . in prayer. based. And again. from a mountain of evidence. It's my awareness of my own adolescent reaction to what I considered to be a religion filled with error being "shoved down my throat" (which ultimately caused a good deal of alienation within our family). do they surprise you? I believe in God. females that could easily be demonstrated by full engagement in sex. the evidence that a land bridge once connected Australia with the Americas. and that at one time dinosaurs did exist in such numerous types that they alone could not have fit. The evidence for an earth that is billions of years old exists in such amounts that the surprisingly large percentage of Christians I've interviewed who think that the earth is only about six thousand years old (including Marty's sister and brother-in-law) are almost inconceivably ignorant to think such a thing. but it also seems. the Bible reader can be misled to commit. recognizing that physics doesn't allow for such an energy density (neutron stars and black holes notwithstanding). So. and survived a lengthy voyage. a Bible reader can be misled to judgments. such as homosexuals. 'Where could such energy have come from?' The only reasonable answer.999 % inaccurate (which it would have to be if the earth were very young). and slavery. and I'm pretty sure this is true for even Mother. In other words. have been numerous and severe. that I think. Scientists seem to never ask the question that Bucky asked. including people that simply "believe" differently. Therefore. to say the least. sin. on the "Bible". on an "ark". clearly against what your belief holds as an edict of God. and I very strongly suspect that life. they're just ignorant of what geology has found about erosion. leading to torture and (premature) death. just as I rejected the beliefs of Mother (and even other aspects of her being) some 35 years ago. that the Grand Canyon was eroded slowly over at least millions of years. even in this relatively enlightened age. I think the universe was created. and probably numerous other things that you believe. The results of such confusions. So. are significant problems (which is half of the reason I think this matter is important). however unintended. the reading of the Bible in schools and the suppression of the theory of evolution.r. For example. and people that are different from the norm. he might also reject the more fundamental aspects and feel more justified in his own behavior out of a feeling of disrespect for your beliefs. realized that the earth is indeed billions of years old. and ultimately unfair to others.
• We can honestly question whether snakes and Asses talk. finally to the question that parrots the title of an old. lightning. when one makes decisions in a voting booth that might affect teachings in schools or laws that govern punishment of citizens. Anyone who places so much trust in a particular belief is prone to affect major decisions in their personal lives that could be disadvantageous. it means the Bible is wrong on these matters. and allow the stick to be examined to see that it is made of wood. based on the fact that when a certain part of its head is pressed and rubbed. might remain in an abusive marriage. A Catholic. the temporarily paralyzed snake is switched with the stick and the snake is thrown to the ground. and that these things are not the punishments from God believed by those of Biblical times. there's a lot that we do know. I'd consider this to be a good third reason that logical consideration of one's religion is important. but quite excellent book. It would seem to me to be very unfortunate and very unnecessary because I fully believe your honest look at just the material in this letter. (There are actually other reasons it could be important to you to consider this material.) • "We" know that the moon is not a "light". have sadly engaged with each other for several years: it seems that any time we even get close to a discussion involving philosophy. enough to think more like the majority of Christians. "lesser" or otherwise. Fakirs who employ this illusion have walking sticks that resemble the snakes in this condition. you seem to be feeling anger. What Can A Man Believe? by a Christian minister named Bruce Barton. for about one hour. of which these examples are a very small subset. A fourth reason is that it may be important to society. one's responsibility to society is unavoidably colored by ignorance. by this time in our collective history. (• "We" know that angels with any mass greater than a few pounds wouldn't be able to fly in our atmosphere with wings.) We honestly can believe only that which is not inconsistent with what we know. and disease. But. And. I believe. (In fact. rain. it's known that a particular Egyptian snake is used by magicians of that area to do a "trick". I think you get the point. and that Aaron's walking stick turned into a snake. and after appropriate distraction. you will very possibly suffer a certain amount of alienation since you will feel some discomfort and inability to talk with each other (the way we. homosexuals might feel that desires over which they have no control are going to condemn them to Hell. and described so often in Bible stories. the snake straightens and becomes very rigid. (Incidentally. and that which we do "know" which does not fit with Bible stories means that one or the other is wrong.) • We know that if the sun were to stand still (which we now know would mean that the earth would have to stop its rotation for a while) there would have been enormous forces within the earth that would have caused huge earthquakes. and everything on the earth's surface (near the equator) to be decelerated from 6 . tornadoes.) Here are some examples of what we do know. It seems likely that the Bible story was fairly accurately recounting such an event. and place your beliefs in the boxes of cults or extremists. enough of that. a person who'd had premarital sex may feel guilt throughout their whole life. for example. a situation probably more common in history than uncommon. but that it was written from the standpoint of someone who didn't know the "trick". even in this modern day.) So. • We know the real causes of natural events such as earthquakes. an action which causes reversion to normality and the audience is fooled. would be enough to convince you that such strict interpretation of the Bible is wrong.themselves about these issues. a dominated woman may feel that the Bible demands submission. and you seem to become quite defensive). (I suspect I once sent a photocopy of this out-of-print book to you. For many such situations.
not just centuries).the usual speed of just over 1000 miles per hour to zero. or are derivatives of each other. I'm trying to show you that there are such reasons to question the texts. killed a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. with what we know about people and building construction.) . it's difficult to accept that a man set fire to 300 foxes. (That story's not a myth?) • (We even know that chimpanzees have 99. because the requisite desire to act as a homosexual. And. yet they are not mentioned. all of whom died when he moved only two of what would have had to have been a great number of columns supporting so large a building. (which would be millennia.000 more original) existing languages have common roots. • And. outside the confining walls of prison for extended periods of time (during which time sexual compulsions often drive the behaviors of inmates). • We know that slavery is inherently not fair and would not have been a practice guided by God with rules about how slaves should be properly punished (crazily. • We are rather sure there never were any "fiery serpents" which God supposedly caused to bite people for criticizing the food they were provided.a large enough structure to have had three thousand men and women on its roof (or upper floor). many would have become sick and died. simply because in much of the remainder there are both contradictions and absurdities. (I've never heard this mentioned by anyone. which. beyond its contents not agreeing with what mankind has learned.4 % of the same genetic material that we humans have. instructing the driving of an awl through their ears!) for specific transgressions against a master.(think about this. incidentally. and eastern seashores at its re-starting {unless the sun were to suddenly change its speed and direction enormously to appear stationary to earthlings [which would have altered the orbits of the other planets and created enormous forces within the sun that I'd need an astronomer to comment on as to such being noticed as large changes in light level on the earth]}. The point of this is that mankind's languages would probably not be linked in this way if he had really been sentenced to speaking different tongues the way the Bible describes. in fact. • We know that the acids and lack of atmosphere in the belly of any "great fish" would kill a man very quickly. • We seem to have rather strong evidence for civilizations outside of the Middle East that existed during and prior to those indicated in the Bible. upon such reading. They are. and I'm asking only that you read these to see if you come to the same 7 . or perhaps most of the estimated 6500 (of the estimated 15. • We know that if people don't eat for thirty days. seemingly so inconsistent with reality that they should give us pause and motivate us to read the Bible carefully to see if. had strength that was dependent on the length of his hair and which was sufficient to move the main supporting girders of a building of more than 2000 years ago . now. not sensible accounts of deeply important spiritual truths that relate to our reality. and an apparently true sense of self. having variations that would have naturally formed when cultures lost contact with each other for long periods of time. as Moses commanded his people (and supposedly was similarly deprived for forty days when the ten commandments were written). Could this really be meaningless?) • We know that many. even if accomplished slowly would still have caused oceanic flooding of western seashores at this stopping. would not exist. • We know that homosexuality is generally not a delectable perversion upon which the average person would ever decide. there are other reasons to question what is there. (Would you ever prefer that I not tell you about them?) I've taken the time to identify several of them.) The point is that many Bible stories can be likened to Greek mythology and American Indian lore.
I think. and sendeth her out of his house. which took her 8 . (and some of these get boring.) However. and brought them unto Adam. We'll probably all know the truth someday... In Genesis 2:18-20. and you retain your belief that the Bible is without error and totally trustworthy for guidance. to keep them alive with thee. unless what they believe takes them away from spiritual progress. I will make him an help meet for him.9: Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens. or what anyone else believes. because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement..and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul. At least you will have had the chance to profit from my work. 10:6: And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died. the male and his female . she may go and be another man's wife... but that would make no difference in my love and high respect for you.. and the entire matter will.. and give it in her hand. 33:39: And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor. or if the latter husband die. after considering how the Bible jibes with what we know (and finding it wanting). whom she brought up for Adriel. and of fowl . • In Matthew 3 we're told that the Devil took Jesus to a high mountain from which the two could see all the kingdoms of the world. • Num. makes no difference to their "souls" anyway. or even as convincing of error as are the absurdities in the Bible stories that are repeated. they shall be male and female. So.conclusion.): • In Genesis 1:25-26. As far as you're concerned. and giveth it in her hand. the male and his female: and of beasts that are clean by two. • Gen. I think that what you believe.. Since from the earth's highest mountain it's not possible to see more than about one hundred miles. and there he was buried. I'm sorry. and married her. If you continue to think that each point has to be "answered" with detailed research into the Bible (as you began to do) rather than considered in a quick reading of the lot using only common sense. There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark. 3 And if the latter husband hate her.. Was man made before or after the beasts? It can't be both. • In Deuteronomy 24 we're told that "1 When a man hath taken a wife. after our likeness. and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes. and send her out of his house. the next step is to consider its contents for believability. especially since they're not as interesting. if you do read all of this. be moot.. the male and the female.. and every fowl of the air. I would likely never understand how you could possibly not agree with the dozens of straightforward examples of Biblical error. (as I'm sure it does for someone in the KKK). 7:2. starting at the bottom of page 10 of this letter . we can find the words: And the Lord God said.. two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark." And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field. it wouldn't have even allowed the two to see all of the then-known kingdoms of the world. 6:19: And of every living thing of all flesh. 8. 2 Samual 21:8: . 2 And when she is departed out of his house. Of clean beasts and of beasts that are not clean. • 2 Samual 6:23: Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children unto the day of her death. and those things that "creepeth". it will seem that you distrust your own sense of judgment and rationality.".. (Fear of examination and of listening to opposition is the nature of cult followers. "Let us make man in our image. Deut. "It is not good that the man should be alone. and my effort will have been made. from a personal consequence standpoint. then so be it. Gen. as God had commanded Noah. Consider first some rather apparent contradictions that anyone can verify easily. the cattle. God is said to have made the beasts of the earth. and write her a bill of divorcement. after which God said.
if many of these worlds have life. And there was evening. but in more detail. and don't affect the earth by their light. (And again. God called the light 'day'. for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin. in verse nine. may not take her again to be his wife. although this is apparently literal as the implication of Romans 14:5 indicates) and according to Matthew's list of sixty-three generations between Adam and Jesus.to be his wife. Since geologists have found ample evidence that the earth is billions of years old.the land??) Anyway. 'Let there be light. Peter's thousand-years-to-one-day-in-God's-time is reckoned. she can't return to the first husband. and in billions of galaxies (as already mentioned) are said to have been set in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth. God is said to have created light and called it "day". This is compounded by recent evidence that some stage of mankind inhabited the earth with the dinosaurs since fossilized footprints of both dinosaurs and man have been found on the same slabs of rock.. it's hard to imagine that the varieties of dinosaurs would have had enough room to fit on the ark. repeating his earthly experience? But. and the darkness he called 'night'. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth. So.the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night... as some believe. to govern the day and the night. would all of those individuals not be children of God? But if so. What's known today is that the vast majority of the stars are not even visible to our eyes. and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth. And God saw that it was good. there is no "lesser light". as I already mentioned. On the first day.the fourth day." And it was so. And there was evening.' and there was light. Doesn't that cause one to wonder how the Catholic Church can support its divorce laws?) • In the first verses of Genesis. 'That whosoever shall put away his wife.the first day. what of the flood?) 9 .) And finally. reading Matthew 5:32. saving for the cause of fornication. but the light which produces daylight. and to separate light from darkness. is sunlight reflecting from our moon.).' (There are numerous conflicting "rules" like that one. this is a considerable discrepancy. (Even if the time element problem is neglected. Adam was supposedly created in the first days (or first seven thousand years if St. the sun. and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years. "And God said. so to speak. we read "But I say unto you. The light that governs the night. presumably because she had relations with the second husband. which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. has Jesus descended into these worlds also to die. and there was morning . what is the purpose of these stars so far distant that only recently have we made them visible with powerful telescopes.000 years. • Time is another disturbing factor. we read. The first problem between these texts is the identifications of the two lights. God saw that the light was good and he separated light from the darkness. their stated purpose could not be true. or the "greater light". known to have existed for about fifty million years. BUT. the text reads: And God said. we're getting ahead of ourselves. Shortly after that. "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night." (. 4 Her former husband. if animals were to have been saved by Noah during a flood. (That's God's law that the first husband can send her away. even if each generation had lasted a thousand years (considering fathering of children taking place at even the end of the lives of men who lived nearly one thousand years per Genesis 5) the age of the earth at Jesus' birth would have been well under 100. God made two great lights .) The stars. which sent her away. An even more puzzling aspect of the earth's age arises when one considers the existing evidence of dinosaurs. unless they also contain intelligent life? And again. by the billions. and there was morning . He also made the stars. after that she is defiled. causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.. wasn't created until the fourth day. (That's one of the biggest "no-brainers" of them all. And. In the "beginning". and thought to have been extinct for over sixty million years.
. The heavens will disappear with a roar. 6:15) presumably with tools that had been invented during the first ten generations of man. I wouldn't be so picky about this if the Bible hadn't implied "facts" like the wind being sent to dry the earth. conveniently. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this. 75 feet wide and 45 feet. It states that it ". until ".was taken from this life. or. per Gen." while II Peter 3:10 states "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. Paul claims that Enoch (the father of Methuselah) by faith. and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. even over those who did not sin by breaking a command.. "Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died" (including mosquitoes. water began accumulating for forty days (or about 960 hours). who took money to betray Jesus. Judas bought a field.." (Aficionados of aliens tend to like this verse because to them it indicates rocket-powered craft were seen. so 10 . on the 17th day of the second month during the 600th year of Noah's life. there he fell headlong. One can wonder where the water or the water vapor went since the atmosphere could not have contained all of it." The following verses relate that the chief priests would not use the money because it was "blood money". If the highest mountain were one mile high. Jesus is reported to have said. Matthew 27:5 states." (Apparently death didn't reign for everyone in that time period. fruit flies.) • In John 3:13." Contradicting that is what we find in II Kings 2:11 where it states that ". the elements will be destroyed by fire. the maximum water vapor that the atmosphere could hold would require about 1600 miles of atmosphere at standard temperature and pressure (instead of our actual thirty-or-so miles of significant atmosphere) since (at "STP") water vapor occupies about 1600 times the volume of water which produced it. high. all of which were to survive because Noah was to house sufficient progenitors to again populate the earth with them).. termites. God is said to have commanded Noah to build a boat longer than a football field (450 feet long.. tarantula spiders. so that he did not experience death. and even if it could have.• Many questions come to mind when considering the story of "the great flood". that would have required the water to evaporate from the "wind" at a rate of one foot per hour (over the surface of the entire earth). incidentally). so instead they (the priests) bought a potter's field to be a burial place for foreigners.the water had dried up from the earth" completely by the 27th day of the second month of Noah's 601st. In this story. or 5280 feet high.. suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them. "So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. During this period and the next 150 days before which the Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. ".. scorpion flies.. rats. That in itself would be too much to ask of a wind of any conceivable speed at standard temperature and pressure [the conditions at sea level] and even if it were possible. and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. However. year. 5280 hours. • Ecclesiastes 1:4 states "Generations come and generations go. "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven ." • Romans 5:14 states that "Nevertheless death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses. Per Genesis chapters 6 and 7.the Son of Man.) • There is a difference between two reports of the fate of Judas. or three decks. presumably by evaporation from the wind. The period of time between the end of the 150 days and the completely dry date is 220 days." while in Hebrews 11:5. one wonders how so much could have evaporated between the 17th day of the seventh month (which ended the 150 days) and the 27th day of the second month of the next year when "the earth was completely dry" (and why babies would have had to die in the flood since they couldn't have been evil by that time). but the earth remains forever. God is said to have sent a wind over the earth to make the waters recede. Acts 1:18 states that "With the reward he got for his wickedness." (which suggests that the book of Matthew was written at a date quite a bit later than the event. Then he went away and hanged himself.has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
" encouraging married people to avoid sexual contact (how short was the time he 11 . for God's wrath remains on him. Missionary work and evangelism have the goal of "saving souls". in which Jesus is quoted as saying. but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. or are mentally incapable of understanding the choice. one reads about Paul. incomplete. Mt 27:5 reports that Judas hanged himself. In the meager eight pages devoted to contradictions in Josh McDowell's A Ready Defense. the first verse states "And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless.) • The requirements for salvation are also contradictory. This also raises the question of what happens to persons who are too young to make a real decision. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life." This discrepancy seems to be minor until we look at a more original text. however. they heard the sound but did not see anyone. It appears to me that to go this far to excuse the differences in actual scripture means that true believers will simply not entertain the possibility that something might not make sense. traveling to Damascus where it's reported that "The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless.) The stories here are quite different. It appears that when the body finally fell.they called that field in their language Akeldama. Now." In Acts 22:9 it is reported that "My companions saw the light. (where he doesn't comment on any of the apparent contradictions I'm referencing). "If I had not come and spoken to them. or equally available (i. Another possibility is that 'hanged' in Mt 27:5 means 'impaled'.. and I'm sure you've heard this discussed as well. but if those who haven't heard the gospel are not responsible for accepting or rejecting the story. we are reminded of John 15:22. then all evangelists run the risk of being responsible for the hearers who reject the message. and were afraid." (emphasis mine in all references). McDowell refers.) An interesting implication of the former verse is the fate of people who've never heard the gospel. he comments on this particular event. fell headlong. but they did not hear the voice of him who was speaking to me. since it doesn't cover all of the above issues of this case. Apologists attempt to explain this and in the NIV Bible." (This quote is from the NIV Bible I got from Mother. or Catholic Bible with its text translated from the Latin Vulgate (or literally the "vulgar" language) translates this latter verse as "And my companions saw indeed the light. one reads "And they that were with me saw indeed the light.e. The Confraternity version." The collection of statements about salvation form a hodgepodge of confusing requirements. • In 1 Cor. it was in a decomposed condition and so broke open in the middle. in one form implies "understanding". where." In the other referenced verse. Paul says. Field of Blood." However James 2:26 states in opposition to this. the time is short: it remaineth.. "As the body without the spirit is dead. for the same number of years and opportunities and environments) to all people. state. that both they that have wives be as though they had none. hearing a voice. Salvation arranged by a just God would not likely depend upon belief in the factuality of a single sacrifice. and his explanation is both a bit of a stretch. when he was known as Saul. but seeing no man. not modified to be a "study Bible". brethren. so it lacks the usual singsong old English sound. In John 3:36 the Bible states. so faith without deeds is dead."." (I've heard the "faithful" argue this point for hours. they would not be guilty of sin. Again. In Acts 9:7. as in the following example to which Mr. in the King James version distributed by The Gideons (who claim that their version was "Translated out of the Original Tongues"). either because of decay or because someone cut it down. and. (• One example of where an apparent inaccuracy may be explained is where the original language may have had a different meaning. "But this I say. they have no excuse for their sin. but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. consequently "deserving hell". The money he returned to the priests (Mt 27:3) was used to purchase the potter's field (Mt 27:7). can account for the apparent difference. the hearing of which is not freely available. "Judas bought the field indirectly. 7:29." Perhaps the reference to the Greek word "to hear" which. but whoever rejects the Son will not see life. that is.
" This theme is repeated in Ezekial 18:20: "The soul who sins is the one who will die. that hath not received usury or increase. the contradictions come from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. he shall surely live. there's a profound segment relating to the issue of "original sin" applying to all mankind. and they "did in like manner with their enchantments. even he shall die in his iniquity. and hath kept all my statutes. "14 Now. lo. This contradicts verse 3 wherein Paul says. and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. and considereth. am a jealous God. but hath given his bread to the hungry. neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel. spoiled his brother by violence. As for his father.if all the water in Egypt were already turned to blood. This leads to my next point: many of the Bible stories are downright ridiculous." Then Aaron's rod swallowed up the other rods . if he beget a son. a bible that really were the total "word of God" would have no contradictions. indicating that they should give to each other sexually. he shall not die for the iniquity of his father. 17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor. and hath covered the naked with a garment. hath not withholden the pledge. like astronomy and geology. such that it would be the pinnacle of justice and fairness.. but wait . punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.e. 15 That hath not eaten upon the mountains." (Why would there be more frogs. and would be perfect in what it communicates about nature and what we know of the hard sciences. because he cruelly oppressed. and with the same rod being used. how did the magicians do the same thing? Then to attempt to soften Pharaoh's heart. it shall die. • In Exodus 7:10 through the end of chapter 11: Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants and it became a serpent (referencing the trick I alluded to above).) • In Ezekial 18. that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done. He will smite the borders with frogs. "You shall not bow down to them or worship them. hath executed my judgments. In addition.thought people had? I think there are verses that suggest that even Christ was quoted as saying "the judgment" or the "second coming" would occur while the listeners were still alive). although I suspect there's a great deal more truth in the New than the Old.. The son will not share the guilt of the father. In verses 14 through 20 we read. Here are some examples of nonsensical stories. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father. morality. and doeth not such like. and how would it be possible to know that this latter 12 . "Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. In vs. he shall surely live.". 20 The soul that sinneth. 20) all the rivers and holdings of water were turned to blood. for I the Lord your God. hath walked in my statutes. (This isn't a strong contradiction but in light of the "short time" quote. nor will the father share the guilt of the son.. it may be noteworthy.. and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. the magicians of Egypt. it would not have stories about commandments and miracles of God that have the attributes of myths. neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him. opposed to things like slavery and war. Frogs ultimately covered the land of Egypt. The point is. Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right. 16 Neither hath oppressed any. and the "softer" disciplines like philosophy." In direct contrast to that in Exodus 20:7 we find the words. 19 Yet say ye. "the Lord spake unto Moses" and told him to tell Pharaoh that if he refuses to let the people go. Then the magicians "did so with their enchantments. and hath done them. Then Pharaoh called his wise men and sorcerers. hath not defiled his neighbour's wife. lo. and did that which is not good among his people. 22 it's reported that the magicians of Egypt "did so" (i. (in vs.. neither hath spoiled by violence. likewise) with their enchantments and Pharaoh's heart was (again) hardened." So. and ethics.
..).. which took away the locusts.above that part of the round earth?) (Have you ever heard of American Indian story tellers and their stories about the great bear and the great spirit. here's the Passover. all the firstborn had died.. and that the Lord is righteous. etc.) Then.the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind.. 12-31 states. 30.." (the "children of Israel") ". and say unto them.. but then the Lord slays all the cattle of Egypt (isn't this a great children's Sunday school Bible story?) leaving the cattle of Israel untouched. There was pitch black darkness for three days.is there not a similarity here?) Next there's a pestilence of "grievous hail" when (vs.the hosts of the Lord.) Again Pharaoh. after stated contrition... after first agreeing to let the people go because of the frog infestation. 10.. the Lord supposedly is instructing Moses on how to deal with an unfaithful wife and a jealous husband. the Lord says he'll go out into the midst of Egypt (isn't He already omnipresent?). and the people of Egypt ".. about midnight. after 430 years of being in bondage (a long lineage there. then. and she be defiled.saw not one another.. and he be jealous of his wife.. but Pharaoh was unmoved and the Lord had to infest the country with flies as the next miracle. go to the toilet (requiring them to rise from his place during the three days. "11 And the Lord spake unto Moses. 5) "cover the face of the earth. Then the locusts came which were to (vs. we read that ".. and the fire ran along upon the ground. etc. (ch. in vs. so that the land was darkened . and carefully deposited blood on door jambs (and a bunch of other rules and regulations that people have to follow) and by vs. 15) "For they covered the face of the whole earth. (and I'm making this smaller text to suggest that you skim it) 12 Speak unto the children of Israel.. where's heaven to someone who doesn't know the earth isn't flat?) and the Lord sent thunder and hail. and he and his people were wicked). 5. this must be the finger of God this time. and it be hid from the eyes of her husband. saying. and to accept every word of the Bible as literal. and cast them into the Red Sea. and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die (which is another example of the barbarous killing of innocents). by His own admissions causes this kind of rebellion to be waged against Himself. and there be no witness against her. .. and commit a trespass against him... Then the Lord caused boils to break out on everyone in Egypt when Moses and Aaron sprinkled furnace ashes "toward the heaven" (which way is heaven . (Only a storyteller would state so specifically that "not one" would remain. and fire mingled with the hail (in the midst of all that rain?) but even that wasn't enough(!) (even after Pharaoh said he'd sinned this time. there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. Hey Pharaoh. 13 And a man lie with her carnally. who supposedly doesn't interfere. It takes a heap of faith and a great deal of decision to not question with logic.. that one cannot be able to see the earth" (right. The magicians this time could not produce the same result when they tried to bring forth lice. 24) So there was hail. another set of contradictions." (man. 4. would they still have been culturally the same?) "..onslaught was a new group of frogs?) Then in verse 17. and be kept close.the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart." (the fire?) (vs. Num. neither she be taken with the manner. 14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him. And of course." Can anyone reading that story take it as the literal truth? One has to be conscious of the potential for gullibility.. "(again." and (vs. (which I guess means that she doesn't have a period?) . If any man's wife go aside.) Then in Chapter 11... (Were there no candles? Did they not eat. 27. there'd be no way to tell if there was a new infestation since there were lice already "throughout the land of Egypt") but the magicians said. what an intelligent specific-purposed wind!) ".. and he be jealous of his wife.. vs. Finally.went out from the land of Egypt. after Pharaoh hardened his heart again." Why on earth would "the Lord" harden his heart? (There are many other examples I've read in the Old Testament where God. 23) ".Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven (again. but then hardens his heart again. vs. Pharaoh begs Moses who gets the Lord to remove every last fly. • In Numbers. says 'I still won't concede'. 19) ". and he would not let them go. and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him.. surely. neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. and she 13 .. the Lord told Aaron to smite the dust of the land and turn it into lice throughout the land of Egypt.
23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book. and thy belly to swell. which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse: 19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath." Now. The Lord make thee a curse and an oath among thy people.". to separate themselves unto the Lord. that if she be defiled. and is defiled. wherein again.. but be clean. and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take. 25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand. "then she shall be free.When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite. 16 And the priest shall bring her near. an offering of memorial. when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband. to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 11 And the priest shall offer the one for a sinoffering. for that he sinned by the dead. nor put frankincense thereon." he must drink no wine or strong drink. I'm not positive she'd be pregnant. and make an atonement for him. if she's pregnant. and shall conceive seed. and he be jealous over his wife. and set her before the Lord: 17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel. which would be divinely sanctioned abortion. and her belly shall swell. and uncover the woman's head. and say unto the woman. 28 And if the woman be not defiled. or two young pigeons. and if thou has not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband. for it is an offering of jealousy. even the memorial thereof. he must not shave any part of his head. Amen. she's guilty. or even with such detail?) Is this not just as sensible as having someone drink poison and judge innocence by how ill he (or she) becomes. and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass-offering: but the days that were before shall be lost... on the seventh day shall he shave it. and shall hallow his head that same day 12 And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation. and he shall bring her offering for her. verbatim. and shall wave the offering before the Lord. that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her. the bitter curse will cause her to abort. and indeed the condition of pregnancy seems to be what the husband is judging. 27 And when he hath made her to drink the water. 31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity.. as is implied? (And finally. then she shall be free. and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say.. be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse: (Why not just have her bitten with a poisonous snake? If she dies. and have done trespass against her husband. to the priest." Then there is a bunch of other rules that he must abide by to fulfill the requirements that I don't feel like typing. 30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him. and shall conceive seed. because the "consecration of his God is upon his head"). he must "come at" no dead body. and write them later. and become bitter. then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. and the priest shall say unto the woman. would a man somehow be guilty of iniquity if such a rule were not carried out. but since it mentions that if she be "clean". the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal.) 20 But if thou has gone aside to another instead of thy husband. when the Lord doth make thy thigh to rot. as the text seems to indicate. and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband: 21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing. did "the Lord" really communicate such a crazy ruling to the people through Moses? (Did Moses have such a good memory that he could remember all of that. and if she lives. and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: 24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her. and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water. and burn it upon the alter. as was reportedly common among some of the ancient Indians? Is this not likely as sensible as the cultural habits of ignorant and barbaric people that you'd judge to be unspeakably primitive? And. and if thou be defiled. but you can find it in a hurry and laugh 14 . and put it into the water: (UGHH!!) 18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord. 10 And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles. she's innocent. along with all the other stories. bringing iniquity to remembrance.) • An even more absurd story is in the next chapter (which I don't feel like typing. it seems that it's describing her condition as being pregnant. but which you could read). and this woman shall bear her iniquity. 22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels to make thy belly to swell. and offer it upon the alter: 26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering. and put the offering of memorial in her hands.be not defiled: 15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest. and the priest shall execute upon her all this law. If no man have lain with thee. amen. 29 This is the law of jealousies. and shall set the woman before the Lord. and become bitter. the Lord says to Moses. because his separation was defiled. he shall pour no oil upon it. but if someone does die suddenly and he "hath defiled the head of his consecration. ". and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people. then it shall come to pass. including his family members because it would make him unclean (or.
when the sun did arise." Even orthodox Jews of today would not consider such a penalty for something. we read.. 33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron. It's total absurdity. even if it were considered some kind of "trespass". it would suggest an idiocy where God is concerned.." There's the big rub .. God supposedly says. 36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp.. that's not very believable. both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. and stoned him with stones. 8 And it came to pass. 7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day. that God prepared a vehement east wind. "32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness.. just as other stories suggest barbarity where God is concerned. For some reason. and if it were actually the word of God.you and I privately know of one who fought 15 . After that. Reading it with an ounce of thought is sufficient to produce tons of skepticism (as it were). by the way] and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah. so Jonah made a "booth" to give himself shade at the edge of the city so that he could watch and witness the city's fate. 34 And they put him in ward because it was not declared what should be done to him.. and wished in himself to die. • One of the far right's intentions is to have "God's word" be the source of our laws. His anger was questioned by God. their blood shall be upon them. [God surely is busy taking care of important things. his blood shall be upon him. to deliver him from his grief. and he died. as the Lord commanded Moses. and said. an act which he finally did after protest. is another extremely intriguing story that I'd say is certainly a fable (as I implied earlier) which goes on and on for whole chapters. and how did it remove his grief? Was it some kind of drug-plant that exuded a hallucinatory vapor?] "So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.at it as I do.13 If a man also lie with mankind as he lieth with a woman. for the very reason that it would be barbaric and "cruel and unusual punishment". . In Numbers 15:32-36. ." [He already had shadow from the booth he'd made. the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. Was God audible? Visible? Wouldn't the wind have kept Jonah cool? What was the wind for? Who would know that God sent a worm to wither a gourd? This is a story in a book of God's instructions to his creatures? • The story of Samson. "For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother. Would it be possible that such a wrong would be ordered by the same personage who created the earth and the entire universe (and the probable other life-bearing planets having intelligent life)? Would He busy Himself with such inanity and with personal communication with one human intercessor of one of numerous groups of human beings on one planet? God Himself told one human to instruct a congregation of humans to stone to death a man for this? • How about Jonah Chapter 4? Jonah was to preach to Nineveh to save the people of the city. [what happened to the booth that did this job?] that he fainted. they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. 35 And the Lord said unto Moses.. The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. In Lev.. (How many stories are necessary to demonstrate the impossibility of these parts of the Bible being God's word?) • Here's another good one. [etc. and his mission was successful enough that God supposedly spared the city from being "overthrown" after forty days. "6 . 10 and the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife.. so why was the gourd necessary. as usual] and it smote the gourd that it withered. this outcome made Jonah angry and he asked God to kill him. that it might be a shadow over his head. That doesn't seem particularly edifying. God personally has a dialog with Jonah.].the Lord God prepared a gourd. 20:9. [whatever that was] and made it to come up over Jonah. and worth pages that I won't take time or space to consider here since this letter is already so long. [all these quotes are from Dad's Schofield Bible. and unto all the congregation.
who destroyed people with famine. the choice food they burned should have been given to the poor. "A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit. caused the firstborn of all people and animals in 16 ." (Did the beast do wrong? Is the beast sinful? Does the beast deserve to be punished?) etc. children. etc. and if the offer is accepted. he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.." These are almost certainly justifications invented by warring leaders to generate allegiance.it's from my own reading and. As a single example of the "Show no pity" (Deut. who promises spoils of conquest to predatory tribes. sentenced a man to be stoned because he picked up sticks on the Sabbath (as already mentioned). rather.. and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people" (man-oh-man. as if the clay. so he poured out on them his burning anger and violence of war. can be compared to a human being. and not because of any choice on his part." those he chooses to make antagonistic to him (Romans 9:13-18) and to justify that kind of thinking. provide positive expectancy. God supposedly even ". and unified force. by the way .. Deut. and if the offer is not accepted. vs. Finding tenets of specific religious doctrines to be questionable permits growth and expanded understanding. he hath discovered her fountain. general disgust at things like the Bible's stances on many issues like war and the spoils of war. and shall uncover her nakedness. livestock and everything else. allay guilt.. we read "Who handed Jacob over to become loot. and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord . etc. is one which has qualities that are too human and barbaric to be either believable or worthy of worship. is really absurd and an outgrowth of the great superstition and ignorance of early man.) • I would not expect God to require burnt offerings. that is accepted as justice. which is devoid of consciousness and feeling. or that there's reason to "throw out the baby with the bath water". of course. shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them" (you and I both know of people who have had psychic awareness. 27. the inhabitants shall be subject to forced labor. God surely is said to be worried about important stuff!). if a man lie with a woman "having her sickness. it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire. burned or otherwise. 19:21) kind of justice that makes a bad case for God being "love". or that is a wizard.against urges of homosexuality. for they would not follow his ways and did not obey his law.hardeneth. plagues and pestilence. for a woman with a beast. Romans 9:21 speaks of the potter having the right to do as he desires with a lump of clay. I hope that you realize that the intent of this letter to you is to refine and better identify the truth. In Isaiah 42: 24. 20:10-14 instructs the Jews to make an offer of peace when attacking a city. Any question of the righteousness of God is dismissed by true believers simply because God is assumed to show mercy when he feels like it and by definition. and finally in vs. that there be no wickedness among you. beyond their choices. for humans. I think the whole idea that the inconceivably magnificent God ever required or would desire any kind of sacrifice.. etc.. 15 And if a man lie with a beast. shades of the Salem witch hunts!) (None of this recent stuff is from Steve Allen's book. God supposedly struck dead people who dared to look at the Ark of the Covenant. sacrifices. which would do Him no good. and additionally when applicable. or demeaning to God. do you think that the Bible's exhortations for such punishment should be brought to bear to put him to death? Then. they are instructed to lay siege to that city and kill all of the men. 14. both he and they.. Honest investigation can never be a threat to the truth! The Judeo-Christian God who demanded sacrifices to be appeased. the true nature of God. "And if a man take a wife and her mother. frankly. divine justice.. treatment of women. exposing aspects of things believed to be true about God that would be very likely not true and typically diminishing of. and take as plunder all the women. or the reality. and does not imply that other aspects of the religion(s) are necessarily false.
and directed barbarous pain and suffering that can be found described all through the old testament. as yet. I'm nearly as qualified to become fairly "expert" in the field (with my decade of study) as any NDE-literate theology major would be. The second reason is the body of evidence for the reality of NDEs. then. And. but who has little exposure to NDEs and the strong evidence for their reality. to interpret these and reach "the truth". now. NDEs are not about religion. Muslim radicals. You already know about a lot of these. as a physicist needs no expertise in alchemy to study nuclear fusion. and even modern (and therefore rather broad) theological background. and other subjects usually addressed by religion. compared to a typical theology major (of any religion) who has a detailed. so skimming much of the next several pages is very much in order. I am more "qualified" to comment on what is evidently (i. It's interesting that of all the information that's found from studying near death experiences. Further. but which seems to be better supported. you might expect that an NDE researcher would necessarily be a scientist. Such a god seems clearly to be unfair.Egypt to be killed. spiritual realities. which I haven't. Therefore. I'm simply characterizing the levels of ignorance regarding the available evidence for these truths. religion. To begin with. a body of evidence that still leaves much unanswered. and on what it may contain that relates to the "truth" than he could possibly have regarding matters of "the spirit" and what might be thought of as "the true religion". prejudice of one group of people over another.I include the Palestinian Hamas. of most students of religion.invest their full reliance on the perfection of the Bible (or the "holy" books of the non-Christians) and their own ability. I'm not being arrogant or demeaning of the diligent study of seminary graduates.e. all spiritual beings referred to by NDErs are unconditionally loving. for example. So. sacrifice required for appeasement. and metaphysics. theology. having said (written) that. or simplistic analogies which supposedly explain the reasons for actions of the senior deity. an NDE researcher needs no exhaustive schooling in traditional beliefs.) I've already alluded to the first half of why my understanding would be superior. or scholar well versed in comparative religion and philosophy. NDE research. But. but to the confining stand he must take presuming that that source is without error. here are a few facts about Near Death Experiences that make them seem so compelling. In contrast to this. Leon and other fundamentalist preachers (and I don't mean just Christian fundamentalist preachers . it's time to have a critical look at the information supporting the reality of the Near Death Experience. hatred. for these reasons. However. this leaves the lot of them closed to other available literature and evidence for anything that would disagree with their presumptions. (I'm sure he would disagree strongly with my assertion that I'm closer to having the real truth than he. the meaning of life. NDEs deal with issues such as life after death. supported by evidence) the plan of the creator for humanity. delves into areas of science. And. I have a far greater handle on the subject of the NDE. I naturally have to give reason for such an opinion. and since the early part of this letter shows strong evidence of how the Bible (since this is directed to you) errs. after years of studying. forced labor or plunder. and the nature of reality for mankind. unloving and inconstant. but then he is basically not only limited to one source of knowledge. and militant Buddhists in Sri Lanka) . although you probably already do think they're 17 . using it. there seems to never be anything to support such vengeance. compared to our pastor cousin Leon. I include its detail only in an effort to be "complete". in the sense that their effects generally enhance spirituality and not one's intensity of being religious. Perhaps. Hindu nationalists. specifically addressed in this letter. by necessity.
and should be thought provoking for the most orthodox believer. That's why I give it so much importance! I'll say quite a bit more about this at the end of this letter. but have been largely unsuccessful in presenting them as more than a superficial curiosity. Some of the following comes from my manuscript (Implications And Applications of the Near Death Experience which I believe you've never taken the time to read). They have informed the public that NDEs exist. producers have tried to present "both sides" of the issue by including a skeptic who argues for reductionist interpretations of the experience. and it could be the strongest unifying force for mankind in all of history. One example of this occurred during a national TV appearance by Howard Storm. from my vantage point and the evidence I'll mention shortly. the public sees the experts disagree over authenticity. let's look at the evidence for and against NDEs. all experienced by sane and respectable people. This doesn't mean that NDEers or NDE researchers understand characteristics such as the mechanisms by which the blind "see" under these conditions. As you'll probably agree a bit later in this letter. and what the average person knows about them. These sources include hundreds of national and local television and radio programs. but it saves me a lot of time generating the basic thrust.real. and popular books authored by a handful of experiencers. magazine articles. and sense the thoughts of others. So. ignoring or "writing off" the lot of them is naive. tabloid newspapers. but probably misinformation sourced by Satan to deceive people (as is implied by radio and TV evangelists like John Ankerberg and guests like Douglas Groothius). knowledge of near death experiences has been acquired only from the readily available sources of NDE information. to me the evidence indicates that with nearly absolute certainty. so it will be more wordy than it otherwise would be to make the following points. we needn't comprehend the means by which these things happen to acknowledge and learn from them. One reason for this is that portions of many NDEs have been validated by comparing experiencers' observations with events that could not have been witnessed from the vantage points of the experiencers' bodies. When exposed to such phenomena. I think you'll see why I assert that if the reality of many NDEs were put on trial. However. or consciously apprehend hours of information within seconds or minutes of seeming unconsciousness. it's clear that for most people. So. The Great Spirit. outside of having a personal experience. As a result. the common perception is that all aspects of NDEs can probably be attributed to biological processes. the evidence for their being the truth would be overwhelming. Questioning their meanings would be rational. the evidence for the reality of NDEs is sufficiently complete to be challenging to the most rigid skeptic. and others I know personally. if not absurd. hear. Allah. He related details of his profound NDE and was badgered by a skeptic who 18 . To begin with. NDE information is likely the most authoritative source of spiritual knowledge (although certainly not the only) that has ever been available. After I list some of this evidence. and even with the "higher power" (or God. Particularly for television talk shows. Like a confused jury in a technical court trial. as Sir William Crookes didn't comprehend the existence X-rays. the near death experience is a real and valid phenomenon that reveals mankind's true relationships with other human beings. as was the case with my exceptionally honest wife Marty. or by which the typical NDEer can see. or Yahweh). but denial of their existence would be arrogant.
and even (surprisingly!) baptism that involves long periods of immersion. Their collective agreement about this. the person sees his or her body (remarkably even if the person is blind when in the physical body) yet not necessarily immediately knowing that the body is his or hers. they are not only fearless of death. detailed experiences requiring hours to recount just their general aspects. a person having an NDE begins to feel a sense of peace and well being which remains or increases in intensity during the experience. which produce the initial stages of drowning. they are available to those who practice disciplines that evoke similar conscious experiences such as kundalini yoga. sees and senses the physical environment including people's actions. along with awareness of the nearly always experienced peace. A synthesis of common aspects of detailed NDEs could produce a catalog of events that might read like this (and you probably want to skim this rather quickly): Usually. the person will encounter beings at some distance who will seem fearsome. love and peace. and that willingly or unwillingly. conversations. I want to review the main aspects of NDEs. although many offering evidence for their reality come from experiences throughout this range. added knowledge and heightened sensing abilities. and usually will seem like a peaceful environment. Soon after feeling this peace. the "positive" experiencers who claim to have gone through the first stages of dying relate the experiences as painless and accompanied by indescribable beauty. Noteworthy also is the fact that these aspects are not peculiar to just NDEs. great comfort can obviously be derived from such findings. there is something drawing him or her into it. or may realize a detachment and that it's connected with a physical dying process. that he didn't really hold such strongly negative opinions. or as in the case of some negative near death experiences. beings who will be physically and violently confrontive. but was invited to appear for the purpose of presenting counter arguments. As a group. yet whichever is the case. and often even thoughts. As you know. no matter how horrible their deaths may have been observed to be. one dominant aspect builds public interest within those willing to consider NDEs seriously. Occasionally. but rather look forward to it with longing and anticipation. With more acute sensing capability. they range in complexity from brief out-of-body views of operating rooms or accident scenes. But whatever impressions people retain from these sources. the person is ultimately aware that what's being observed is very real and not a dream or hallucination. Although you probably don't need to. 19 . although at times. If strong evidence can be compiled for these experiences. That aspect is the fact that NDEs convey a view of death that is different from more common perspectives. At some point. sufficient reason by itself to search for validation. experiencers have related these events as being hellish. Rather than "returning" grim and devastated. either along with the physical reality or replacing it entirely. the person may perceive a dual awareness in that another reality may be seen.admitted to Howard. to lengthy. It also powerfully suggests that deceased loved ones had similar fates. and the fact that this confidence doesn't diminish with time. The person may be confused. are powerful indications that non-experiencers can expect a comparable destiny. the person hears. after the show. In this latter category. meditation. Those in the latter category contain information most suggestive of the deep meanings and implications of NDEs. but not always following a traumatic stimulus. This other reality will usually have the character of a tunnel or a void.
in the works of Homer. it's best for our purposes to concentrate on those which contain these attributes. which communicates telepathically. or even prayerfully. including pain if the body has suffered trauma. After re-entering the body. and entering the light. Mesopotamian and Greek mythology. The person is told that it's not yet time for permanent passage into the other reality. time and space have no meaning. or sometimes simply unexpectedly (like with Marty who began to think about her husband and how she wouldn't grow old with him if she didn't return). in Shamanism. 1-4) in Jewish literature. and in Gnosticism. and therefore akin to a dream or hallucination created by one or more of several bodily or brain functions. Rather than being scientifically documented. "Sorry. ending only when desperately. and a review of that life is often shown in detail. some of whom may be deceased loved ones. NDEs which include the major and more detailed characteristics of this description are often referred to as core experiences. The person may interact with other presences or beings. xi To gauge the implications of the near death experience. allowing a new sense of self-forgiveness and acceptance. which will be done later. the person is abruptly returned to the body. as inexplicable to us as this may seem. requesting help. The person's interaction with at least some of these beings often includes ecstatic feelings of being totally loved. it becomes clear to the person that in this other reality. body separation. thinking of one's loved ones. One researcher defines these characteristics. Following entrance into the other reality. seeing the light. The person is often asked questions about his or her life. Before the scientific investigation of such experiences. it was clear that something interesting was happening. entering the darkness. The person finds it difficult to convey his experience to others. 20 . The other is the group which acknowledges that NDEs are real. This presence is often described as a light. in religious writings such as the Christian Bible (in 2nd Corinthians 12. A clear and explicit telepathic dialog takes place leaving the person with complete understanding. but their reality and nature were more uncertain than they are today. Although the occurrence of near death experiences in earlier centuries is a matter of historical record. Plato and Virgil. the person often understands the sources of problems in his or her life. Especially during this period of communication. or a being of light. not only from that person's perspective but also from the perspectives of those with whom the person interacted.absolutely real and sometimes excruciatingly painful. accepted and understood. Bodily sensations associated with that body return. in more basic terms. and often finds that the poor description offered is not believed and even taken as evidence of mental instability. but concludes that they are probably evil and intended to misguide "believers" among various religions. or is sometimes given a choice to either stay or return to the physical life. Often. at some point the person senses or sees a presence. it's difficult to determine their specific characteristics from reports made before the middle of the twentieth century. From this interaction. but the NDE is Real!" The "apology" is aimed at the first of two groups of skeptics which has attempted to explain the NDE as strictly a physiological event. I'll begin the next section by using the introductory phrase. in Dante's The Divine Comedy. the person makes the decision to return. as peace. these reports appear as definite or probable otherworld journey stories in Oriental. Upon making this decision. the person immediately loses all awareness of the other reality.
a great deal of material has been accumulated and studied. from all appearances. Dr. very likely including people you've known other than Marty. or "clinically dead" at the time. eliminating in the process subjects who were anesthetized or possibly emotionally or mentally disturbed.In recent decades. Numerous other examples appear in the writings of several NDE researchers. Although she had been blind since her teens. Elizabeth Kubler Ross. In this latter category. after the NDE had ended. Raymond Moody's book Life After Life began to educate the public about this phenomenon. Sabom concentrated on thirty-two patients who claimed to have watched their resuscitations from an out-of-body perspective. one built on the rigors of the scientific method. Of the seventy-eight subjects who were victims of cardiac arrest. This persuaded him to study the phenomenon for five years in two Florida hospitals. These observations included physical environments that were not visible from the locations of the experiencers' bodies. xii In another study. In an attempt to perform a "clean" study. Moody speaks of a seventy-year-old Long Island woman who was resuscitated after a heart attack. Michael Sabom. xiii The statistical significance of this result should escape no one. Both of these strongly support the theory that near death experiences are objectively real and not the sole products of psychology or physiology. Since then. prohibiting the normal senses from being useful. and it translated at that time to over eight million people. resuscitation techniques have improved and the percentage of people in the United States that has had a near death experience had risen to about five percent by 1982. coma or accident. thirty-four reported mystical or autoscopic (or out-of-body) experiences. and the debate about the reality of the NDE. Dr. although quite strong in its implications. Of additional interest is the fact that these reports were made during normal medical questioning during which the subjects were simply asked whether they could recall any experiences while unconscious. Some of the best of many validated experiences come from the documented cases of Dr. he and a colleague limited their investigation to subjects found through medical records alone. and the other which examines specific facts from these experiences and considers the possible explanations for them. told others about observations made while supposedly separated from the physical body (as Marty did). Let's consider this one first. a formerly skeptical cardiologist who interviewed a number of his own resuscitated patients for the purpose of finding evidence that they had not experienced an NDE. is not as irrefutable as the more mundane and simplistic evidence. ("Autoscopy" means "self-seeing"). the woman was 21 . the research that involves the more rigorous and scientific treatment. which had been known to exist from the writings of Dr. began in earnest. Ironically. He carefully compared their reports with twenty-five "medically smart" resuscitated patients and found that 92% of those in this latter category had made major mistakes in describing their resuscitations while none of the patients reporting near death experiences made mistakes in describing theirs. He was greatly surprised to quickly learn that two of his patients recalled experiences similar to those described by Moody. recounted by Moody in the source I used here. That's not an insignificant percentage. and often took place while the person was. George Ritchie and others. unconscious. Two levels of research can be examined. there is a plethora of documented cases in which the experiencer.
Some were blinded by the event that caused their NDEs. she was suddenly aware of being near the ceiling and seeing a body. and five had limited perception and were "legally" blind. an NDE. the blind person furnished by Kimberly. and Vicki. It was begun in February 1994 with the assistance of a Lesley College graduate student named Sharon Cooper and involved contact with twelve affiliates of the American Association For The Blind. She was aware of city lights.able to describe the instruments that had been used on her. and if they do. or may have believed that they'd had. Kimberly was asked to locate the shoe to validate the patient's experience. She was even able to describe the colors of her surroundings down to the blue suit worn by the doctor who had attended her. as well as various national. fourteen had been blind from birth. held at West Hartford. thirty-one of whom met the criteria for the study. and had a degree of unpleasantness. can the NDEs be corroborated on the basis of independent evidence? Of the original sample. at first being unsure that it was hers. xiv Kimberly Clark-Sharp. 22-week-term infant who had suffered total blindness in her air lock incubator. regional. The remaining eleven had had one or more out-of-body experiences. the International Association For Near Death Studies. Ring. floated through the ceiling and finally to the roof. She indicated that seeing was overwhelming and even disorienting to her. 14 oz. Vicki's NDE was perhaps the most interesting since she had begun outside-utero life in 1950 as a 1 lb. and the street below. a Seattle nurse and NDEer met a woman who had suffered a cardiac arrest while in her hospital. other buildings. or even an out-of-body experience. During her post-crash surgery. One member of the blind person group was found through Kimberly Clark-Sharp and was included in the sample. The study was centered upon three questions. the first due to illness and the second due to a car crash. University of Connecticut psychology professor and one-time IANDS president Kenneth Ring. 1) Do blind people have NDEs. recounting that "objects were like nothing". and the shoe was found exactly as had been described. She recognized the waist-length hair and her distinctive wedding ring. forty-three blind people responded. The woman had had an autoscopic experience during which she had "floated" to a third floor outside ledge and noted there a tennis shoe with specific wear damage. related the nearly complete results of an inquiry into the nature of NDEs among the blind. state and local organizations. xv At the fifth annual North American Conference of IANDS. Vicki had had two NDEs. It's useful to repeat some of the components of this experience as they were related by Dr. She tried to scream at them with "every ounce of strength" saying "I'm right here! I'm fine! Can't you hear me?" She had a sense of upward motion. This single study offers some of the most compelling evidence for the reality of NDEs that has ever been conducted. and that "It's like the roof just melted". even though they hadn't existed when she was sighted. was one of these. with the usual case being multiple OOB experiences. The NDEs were the only times in her life that she'd been able to relate to vision. After requesting responses from blind persons who may have had. CT in 1995. twelve had lost sight before age five. She was aware of 22 . are they the same as for sighted people? 2) Can blind people see during these experiences? 3) If they do see. She heard a male doctor say that if she returned to consciousness she would likely be in a vegetative state. Of most importance was the fact that twenty of the blind people had had an NDE.
The comment was to the effect that at least one team of researchers is attempting to replicate these findings (in Italy) and that confirmation will provide further. and that at least in some cases. He stated that these are language-mediated events. yet would be able to discriminate objects or persons through familiarity with tactile stimulation or verbal construction. but even those who have no history or concept of vision can. they reported these experiences even before Moody's book was published. in that the blind use verbs more generously. Ten of the fourteen who had been blind from birth or near birth reported being able to see during these experiences. broadly. Only one case offered strong confirmation. they can see.. He added that he thought that this shows that not only the blind. and very provocative and powerful evidence to support the authenticity of the NDE. I've never seen.In what sense can it be said that the blind see during these experiences. since obviously. so I don't know what it's like to see. Other accounts within the study offered similar evidence for the capability of sight among the blind. by which he meant that we'd have more data that would make it difficult for people of skeptical persuasion simply to write off these experiences as hallucinations or some sort of complex fantasy. one was not sure. He added that there's no reason to doubt that these reports are sincere and truthful. seeing things from both this world and "the other world". the blind can apparently see. and cautions. and their generalized answers were as follows: 1) "Can we accept these self reports at face value?" Ring commented that since the overwhelming majority of respondents gave similar reports.the reports do show that they are virtually identical to those reported by sighted people. 2) Do the blind see during this experience? Overwhelmingly. and one had reported being unable to see at that time. the results of the inquiry that were available were generally as follows: 1) Do blind people have NDEs? Yes ."different shades of brightness" and afterwards wondered if that was what people experienced as color. and that some of what they refer to is instead a knowing. it's not as certain that their descriptions are a mere analog of physical sight. "Is it seeing?" Ring commented that this requires close attention. Ring concluded his lecture with a comment and four questions. and that these dovetail so well with the accounts that many sighted persons have given of their NDEs and OOBs over many years. their vision isn't mediated physically?" Or. despite the seeming paradoxical implications that under some conditions. 3) Corroboration was difficult and only questionably possible in a few cases. the fact that there's such concordance is very strong evidence for the veracity of the narratives. Also of interest is the fact that of the eleven people who'd had spontaneous OOBs. Fifteen of the twenty NDEers said that they unequivocally could see during some aspect of their experiences. Ring commented that the statements about her quality of seeing lend a sort of plausible authenticity in that someone not accustomed to sight would be confused by the initial rush of new information. Without reproduction of their details. and that particularly for those blind from birth. and four were not sure and would respond by saying something like "Well. The four questions. but I seem to know these things. 2. and with greater latitude than sighted people. or awareness." One person of the twenty denied being able to see. and do have classic NDEs of the form that Raymond Moody reported in 1975. nine had claimed that they'd been able to see during these experiences.) ".. 23 .
since descriptions include such things as instrument readings and positions of equipment and people that seem to usually involve a perspective and location. in several parts of her house. despite the strong suggestions inherent in them regarding life after death and the seeming universality of the experiences. and her then husband. what can be derived from these second category NDEs? We have to be careful to not draw conclusions that go beyond what the facts indicate. While undergoing and observing from the ceiling his post-injury operation. similarly. it seems difficult to "top" the findings of this study. than a "knowledge about" details. many of which she was able to verify after her experience. inviting us to think in fresh ways of the apparently unlimited potentials of human consciousness and understanding once we are finally free of the human body. a statement supported by the opinions of blind people that they will see after death. and the second suggests that some kind of psychic capability reliably 24 . on a hospital ship he had never seen. life squad members. and into a storeroom. details and perspective suggest that sight during NDEs is more like physical perception. including his gun. out of that room. and since thoughts of people. It is a challenging phenomenon that is presently left to science to explain. There are similar accounts with which I'm personally familiar. At the least. As I've indicated. including even the long-studied skin-based sensitivity.Throwing aside a bit of caution. "hearing" seems to be more like physical hearing than "knowing what is said" since conversations seem to be explicit to the words spoken. also perceived. but that we need to look at alternative explanations. not only the senses. whatever the means by which information was planted within the consciousness and became part of awareness. but the limitations of the senses are completely transcended. down a few corridors. after reviewing the large number of cases which verify that NDEer's observations were of real events. we can draw two very specific and definite conclusions. Firstly. with conditions such as handicaps and added weight removed when "there". not the least of which is that of Marty who. however. but little would be gained if these are understood to be typical. witnessed many minutes of detailed activities involving actions and conversations. of police. are understood and distinguishable from spoken words. The first of these suggests that consciousness and even sensate awareness existed separately from their physical bodies. Another is the experience of an acquaintance who teaches employees at GE Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati who suffered severe injuries during an explosion while in Viet Nam. to which he was able to lead others after his ordeal. a woman friend. Many more cases could be cited to add to this list. In addition. 4) "If these findings are valid. I tend to think that from the descriptions of many NDEers. although this possible awareness cannot possibly explain all of the findings. (I say "usually" because perception seems to sometimes involve several locations at once). then what do they imply about life after death?" Ring stated that at death. people seem to become perfected. he observed and then followed an orderly carrying his belongings. or normal "seeing". So. it is possible to say with certainty that these people were either (a) out of their bodies and observing objective phenomena with operational senses of at least sight and hearing. or (b) they were psychically aware of objective phenomena as if they were in the observation positions they claim to have occupied. both blind and sighted. 3) "Is it possible that any conventional theory can explain our findings?" Ring admitted that it's tempting to resort to some kind of esoteric or paranormal perspective to understand them. There is a sense in these data that death restores us to our perfected selves. after she was shot.
This evidence. hypercarbia. a strong case is made for the validity of the near death experience. 25 . as well as a broad range of medical conditions. like these verifiable portions of their NDEs. or the spiritual aspects of NDEs are real. As both Ring and Sabom report. the remainder of their experiences are also not dreams or hallucinations. semiconscious perception. If they can. attempted rape and murder. they say that important spiritual truths are about treating other human beings with love and respect. and are not at all about doctrine and denominations. etc. already mentioned. hangings. Now. suicide attempts. in the first. India. the lack of influence on these important aspects by circumstances in people's lives remains valid for people of various occupations. it's not difficult to think it likely that since their observations are so accurate. after interviewing many NDEers and witnessing their collective sincerity. The proposed theories include the memory of birth. along with the following indications of what the NDE is not makes these experiences compelling in the extreme. perhaps also is their testimony that. Most surprising is the fact. Instead. fear. and coincidence. Continental Europe and Japan. If they can't. or other category of research. the chance that the entire group of reported results would agree on these items of spiritual importance would be vanishingly small. These experiencers say that they do believe in God and have an appreciation for "the spiritual". physiology and neurology are lacking. that this holds true for religious orientation as well. Let's look at the evidence against each of these explanations. NDEs have been studied to determine if their characteristics can be explained by one or more physiological or psychological phenomena. incomes. no matter whether they entered their NDE incidents as atheists or highly religious people of any faith. autoscopic hallucination. prior beliefs. education levels. Each of the theories has been addressed in an attempt to correlate the symptoms of each condition with characteristics peculiar to the near death experience. England. the temporal lobe seizure. hypoxia/ischemia. neardrownings.conveys detailed observational information during such an event. hallucinogens. the significance of these facts should be clear. then either the present understandings of psychology. prior knowledge concerning NDEs. but in a way that is different from the more narrowly defined spiritual practices and doctrines that are characteristic of most religions. based on this second category of research. or regions of residence. To take this further. and some of them may actually be operative during NDEs. A simple example of this is the fact that NDEers who experience spiritual events tend to adopt very similar philosophies after their experiences. Sex and race also show no relationship to these aspects of a person's NDE. prior expectations. and their information has at least some validity. Secondly. several important aspects of NDEs seem to be not influenced by situations present in the experiencer's life. the importance of the NDE is greatly reduced. subconscious fabrication. Either one of these speaks volumes about the incompleteness of normal physics in explaining our reality. dreams. So. and neurochemical imbalances. personalities. If NDEs were the result of dreams and/or hallucinations. mental or emotional conditions.xvi Again. a concept strongly supported by the very consistency of these other more mystical aspects of their experiences. and note that studies have been made on NDEs occurring in South America. The question of significance is whether or not they individually or in concert can account for all of the validated aspects of the NDE. electrocution. A certain amount of overlap exists among these phenomena. social backgrounds. stress. Documented cases of NDEs cover circumstances of combat.
There is only one common experience that matches this description. nevertheless. ". stress. visual. Additionally. who asserts that pediatric research shows that a baby doesn't remember being born and doesn't have the faculties to retain the experience in its undeveloped brain. is a proposed explanation of the NDE by astronomer Carl Sagan. so.. the researchers made a presumption that limited their model. to form hypotheses that would explain near death experiences.. Possibly of most significance is the fact that.the abnormal functioning of . He and another assistant professor developed a hypothesis based on research that was. A 1988 project undertaken by an assistant professor in the Department of Neurological Sciences at the University of Chili was devoted to finding correlations between the NDE and several brain dysfunctions. You might want to skim or skip the evidence against the skeptics' theories and move onto the commentary about NDEs as important influences in the advancement of our civilization.. it can be useful to investigate these possibilities because they may reveal processes that begin and/or direct aspects of NDEs. not directed outward to lighted objects and people. and that in addition to that. as one aspect of the limbic activity (usually associated with memory.Again.. there is "normal retrieval of stored information. mood and emotion) becomes involved. an infant's perception is insufficient to see what is happening at birth. the individual always see(s) himself or herself from a 'bird's-eye view' and does not have the actual somesthetic.every human being . They claimed that the NDE is derived from ".. They hypothesize that in the kind of imagery of past events that they presume to be operative.. ignoring metaphysical and psychodynamic possibilities. at least sometimes. can be considered as being complex visual hallucinations ". in this case to neurobiology. and vision would be blurred by tears in any event... and that.. It is called birth. the sensation of flight." Their bibliography is long and their coverage of recent discoveries in neurophysiology is impressive... during birth. has already shared . They speak of "epileptiform activity . their elaborate theories about how brain problems could cause the "main experiential components" is limited to the presumption that near death experiencers' views of the physical world and encounters with deceased and living acquaintances. for understandable purposes. as with many other medically based research efforts. portions of the central nervous system" xviii and from this they developed a starting-point model for explaining the NDE neurophysiologically. which appear frequently in TLE . This study focused on five identified brain processes or conditions including Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE). a child's face is pressed against the wall of the birth canal. they adopted the position that all thoughts and perceptions that accompany NDEs are hallucinations or dreams. an experience in which. hypoxia/ischemia. and two neurochemical imbalances." and that "Out-of-body experiences (OBEs).." Their conclusion is that "The life review in the NDE can be understood as an abnormal retrieval of episodic memory contents by the dysfunctional limbic areas .. The first of these. the birth memory. bathed in radiance and glory. we're at a point where there's a lot of detail in which you may not have specific interest. He writes." xvii One respondent to this explanation is Carl Becker. ".. a heroic figure can be dimly perceived. along with current understanding of the language system of the brain. Notwithstanding this restricted domain. philosophy professor at the University of Hawaii. many of which provide the 26 ... in particular. and auditory perception as in the actual episode.. the emergence from darkness into light.. infant's eye movements are rapid and disorganized. purposely restricted in scope. producing a life review and complex visual hallucinations".
dendrites. "accumulatable" in multiple sequential time periods. The most sensible-seeming perspective of such a study is that it may indicate possible brain activity during an NDE that could be either causative or associative. his findings indicated that the senses of taste and smell are not stimulated during an NDE. the patient would sometimes report vividly experiencing an incident from an earlier time. as suggestive as it is. This occurrence has led a number of neurologists to speculate that this phenomenon is responsible for feelings of reality that an NDEer experiences. a now common practice that helps the surgeon avoid damaging the brain during surgery. While mapping the cortex areas of his patient's brains. As has been recently mentioned. Another example is an aspect common to a seizure termed forced thinking. it takes only one incident where at least part of an NDE observation is validated to show that it's not all hallucinatory. including CDs.corroborative evidence that validates their experiences. and synapses. and do so in a fraction of a second. from these alone. he found that when certain regions of the exposed cortex of conscious patients were stimulated with a lightly charged electrode. However. stimulated memory cannot be the operative mechanism of the NDE. This aspect is characterized by "the crowding of random thoughts and ideas into the mind of the patient in an automatic and obtrusive way". Of course. In the mid 1960s. some of these mechanisms may be operative during the NDE and may offer medical insights about what our brains are doing during these experiences. We may not recall detail from a twenty-year-old incident. could lay down digital or analog memory sufficient to enable recollection of large quantities of information. It seemed questionable that brain physiology exclusively. these theories which find bases of support from known and demonstrable brain phenomena cannot account for the extraordinary and paranormal (or not yet scientifically explainable) aspects of the NDE. as mentioned. but if brain probing can stimulate such a smorgasbord of detail. like the proverbial white crow hypothesis where it only takes one to disprove the thesis that all crows are black. cannot approach this density. about which I am unqualified to comment. with its billions of cells and its interconnecting arrays of neurons. as is the case with Sabom's study in which the autoscopic descriptions by cardiac patients of their resuscitation procedures were accurate. From the standpoint of the breadth of NDE characteristics. The detail of the stimulated memory was so complete that the patient experienced the sounds and other stimuli as if they were happening at that time. Similar thinking has arisen from the work of an early Canadian neurosurgeon. Does the brain grow new synapses as information is collected? Are new brain cells modified 27 . Wilder Penfield who made surprising discoveries about brain functioning while treating his epileptic patients. this possibility was studied by Sabom who concluded that such a generalization doesn't conform to the facts. the logical conclusion is that much of this information is still stored. So. Their neurophysiology research is apparently respectable and probably employs the latest discoveries in brain functioning. I was intrigued by Penfield's work from the standpoint of memory data compression. there are many such cases where there is clear evidence that what was seen was real and previously outside the experiencer's knowledge. and where at least some of these patients could not have "physically" seen what they described from the vantage points of their bodies. but are stimulated during an epileptic seizure. while doing assigned reading in neurophysiology. are completely invalid. For example. Because modern computer storage media. Forced thinking is not present in NDEs. Thus. a storage mechanism with such capacity is difficult to imagine. their study cannot be "the whole story" although.
For example. Similar reports of brain-probe-induced autoscopy are being reported by William Southerling. What's more. just above the right ear. One aspect of Penfield's work is even more interesting and is spoken about in a 1992 book by Calvert Roszell titled The Near Death Experience. consciousness. Arrogance tends to deny the possibility of an operational intelligence that cannot be visually identified or proven in the lab. It is an exciting and provocative clue to associative processes that may provide insight and hard information to our understanding of the NDE. as mentioned earlier. and even Indian Yoga practices. leaves too much unexplained to satisfy the theoretician. Sabom again produces evidence that at least some NDEs occur when there is no lack of oxygen and no excess of carbon dioxide as these were measured at the time of one patient's cardiac arrest and subsequent NDE. but again. it seems capable of implanting details of perceived events and allowing access of those data milliseconds after they occur. had elicited reports by patients that they seemed to be leaving their bodies. a state that is opposite to the clarity of remembering and thinking that NDEer's demonstrate. there can be triggering of memory events. or hypercarbia. Such intelligence. Hypoxia. Hypoxia is known to be a trigger for seizure activity in the limbic system. stimulations of nearby surrounding areas led to claims of visions of deceased relatives. a condition in which the brain is starved for oxygen. Even Darwin was aware of the difficulties with his theory. a partly evolved eye would be small advantage to its owner. Indeed. xix He refers to a 1986 paper by Melvin Morse xx in which Morse found case histories in a textbook by Penfield where electrical stimulation of an area in the temporal lobe. Man is still left with little more than speculation to explain brain processes. is considered by some to be a likely cause of NDEs. 28 . However. What's more. This and the dozens of other bodily processes and capabilities (such as the capability of eyesight) should "give pause" to even the most arrogant atheistic scientists who attempt explanations of their origins by gradual evolutionary variations that provide advantages to progeny. the corroborated details of experiencers' perceptions require more than what has been recorded in their brains. Preceding these seizures. What's more. a state purposely created by early baptism experiences. Mammals can't grow cells to close a wound in so short a time period. As just stated. hypoxia can elicit visions. as being a cause of NDEs. and hallucinations characterized by horror. it has been shown that drugs can induce genuine mystical experiences. it seems. In fact hyperventilation and breath retention can lead to visionary experiences. Added to that were claims of having experienced a life review and hearing majestic music. forced thinking. There's a large gap between a lightsensitive organ and one with imaging optics.or grown in eye-blink time? Can even holographic models compare in capability to the processes of memory? With whatever physiology it is building. xxi Work has been done to determine whether hallucinogens can produce NDEs. fitted into a theory of evolution. These histories seem to support the physiological origin of these aspects of NDEs. a neurologist in Los Angeles who may successfully compile demonstrable proof of out-of-body perception. hypercarbia often produces bright geometric figures or patterns. Sabom's measurements of blood oxygen and carbon dioxide in one patient also preclude excess carbon dioxide. friends or of God. especially the brain's most complex one. That patient even reported a description of the blood test involved in making this determination. Sabom further comments that hypoxia is characterized by reduced cognitive abilities.
Daniel Carr. what's important are the facts that they are not the only possible causes of NDEs. he found that they 29 . and even alcoholism. that this ". brain trauma. temporal lobe dysfunction. explain neither the complete absence of pain and discomfort. fell from a tree and witnessed his fall as an event that lasted several minutes. Autoscopic hallucinations occur in cases of schizophrenia. Another identified cause of NDEs is fear. if the chemical inhibitor effect were responsible for these losses of pain. making the near death experience seem even more likely to be unique. and as for dreams. His and thirty other cases in which people survived falls were cited in nineteenth-century "euthanasia" books. B-endorphin. lack of emotion. A third and equally simple theory is that NDEs are simply dreams. A case in point involves a son of a friend and coworker who. under such circumstances. nor the sudden return of pain at the conclusion of the near death experience. racing thoughts. or response to the threat of death. and clinical psychologist Roy Kletti.Several researchers have provided evidence that in a controlled setting. freedom from pain. epilepsy. Sabom found nothing in subject's imaginations to support the details reported in NDEs. however. xxii. and they do nothing to show that NDEs are simply psychological or physiological occurrences. and sharper vision and/or hearing". The images are perceived as being unreal and mimicking of the person's own body gestures. people experience "vivid. Further. drugs can induce religious experiences that are essentially indistinguishable from spontaneous religious experiences. xxv Kletti and Noyes acknowledged that these joyous aspects go far "beyond the mere numbing of depersonalization". a "lady in white" talked to him reassuringly and instructed him to place his head and neck in a particular position to avoid breaking his neck upon impact. xxvii A second very simple theory is that NDEs fulfill prior expectations where people's fantasies are produced to satisfy conscious or subconscious wishes. And. both of the University of Iowa. narrowed focus of attention. a person perceives his double. xxiv Professor of psychiatry Russell Noyes. Stimulations such as the sting of a needle and physical contact are still perceived in patients not experiencing NDEs. calm objectivity. During his descent. often as a haunting phantom image of the head and shoulders. Sabom. One theory involves autoscopic hallucination. Jr. even if hallucinogens can stimulate an NDE.. phase is sometimes followed by lifereview elements and then in some cases by a stage of transcendent or mystical experience". In this condition. Sabom's work has helped to dispel several other theories that have been proposed. The report of his account included a comment by his doctor to the effect that his landing could have broken his neck if his head had not been so positioned. xxiii However. as a youth. a neuropsychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital suggests that the brain's morphine-like "natural painkillers" may be responsible for the NDE. and therefore their causes seem to be possible attractive explanations for them. these natural painkillers produce a loss of alertness and clarity of thinking which is the opposite of the states reported consistently by NDEers.. which were forerunners of the hospice movement that originally attempted to show that dying need not be painful. xxvi Mental and emotional conditions can be linked to several aspects of brain functioning that are common to NDEs. Another more commonly referenced case is that of a Swiss geology professor who fell about seventy feet while mountain climbing in the Alps.. an expanded sense of time. its effects would wear off gradually rather than suddenly. as just implied. consider this a variation on the "depersonalization" syndrome in which. This is far from the pleasant experiences generally reported by NDEers. detachment from the body and surroundings. feelings of unreality. found that the effects of one representative substance.
that they're related to insufficient oxygen to the brain. I'd like to now look at some results of past scientific NDE research." This collection of proposed explanations is the basic set of theories to which skeptics cling. Bruce Greyson. I think. and what they relate may be changed or be limited by what they remember. is the fact that NDEers can easily distinguish between overheard speech and that which can be seen visually during their experiences. What can be said about them is simply this: all of them fail to account for the accurate and compelling information that NDEers can verify. It has been speculated that sounds from the environment. and many of them. or projection of wishful thinking. have been flatly contradicted by the data that we now have. None of these fine physiological theories account for all the common features of an NDE. At the 1990 international conference of the International Association For Near Death Studies (IANDS) in Washington. One single example of many is Marty's when she was accidentally shot in the chest seventeen years before I met her.. that they're a fantasy or defense mechanism. Considering the single study of Sabom where resuscitations were described with essentially complete accuracy by NDEers. for example that NDEs are a type of toxic psychosis. Dr. that they are drug-induced psychoses. ". the case for coincidence becomes absurd. The reason for this difficulty is nearly obvious: the NDE cannot be observed objectively. that they reflect impaired brain physiology. Troubling to scientists is the fact that these reports come exclusively from the memories of NDEers. a great deal of information has been derived from these reports and from the behaviors of experiencers. We've seen a lot of theories proposed. when a control group of more medically aware individuals could not achieve anything close to that degree of accuracy. has been very little about what causes people to have NDEs. Only the reports of near death experiences and the effects they seem to have had on the experiencer. This NDE is the experience that is closest to me. Nevertheless. xxviii Semiconscious perception is one of the most commonly offered explanations for the NDE because hearing has been shown to function during unconsciousness. addressed the assemblage.C. a psychiatrist and past president of the organization. Coincidence is another explanation offered when NDEers report events that have been verified to have happened.differed most notably in that the sense of reality consistent with NDEs is generally not true for dreams. D. with all these tools.. can be observed. are heard and translated into mental images. A comprehensive explanatory listing of these items appears in a "Scientific Commentary" by Greyson. much of which has been undeniable. that they result from denial of the threat of annihilation.What we've learned in the past fifteen years. appearing at the end of a book titled Full Circle by Barbara Harris xxix which records much of the history of 30 .. and interviews with her and her family have verified the detailed events she clearly saw while her body was convulsing and separated by walls from events she later accurately described. including speech. That which they remember may not exactly match what they experienced. Sabom has referred to studies involving hypnotic regression where it has been shown that language heard in altered states of consciousness is not translated into visual images. despite the fact that the NDE is a difficult phenomenon to study in the laboratory. that they are dissociative hallucinations. that they're a symptom of temporal lobe dysfunction. and even nearly to the point of death. in fact. that they reflect mental illness. More importantly. and that they're an artifact of endorphin release.
NDEs can be rated by how many specific aspects were experienced in the four categories of "(1) a Cognitive Component which includes time distortion. experienced unlimited knowledge. publicly reported in November 1995. and an experience of a brilliant light. decades ago. we have seen the evidence of stars forming from gaseous clouds in the Eagle nebula. sex. or the. and values that often follow NDEs. been touched by unconditional love. reproduced as they appear in her book. blood carbon dioxide level. added the following. Science progressed from having no visible evidence to having clear and strong evidence. increased altruism and spirituality. and the more readily answered question. decreased fear of life. type of approach to or brush with death. consequent problems. as Ring found. characteristics of the NDE such as the frequency with which people report NDEs and the type of experience that they report are found to be independent of age." He spoke of the problems this may cause for experiencers such as 31 . With the aid of the Hubble telescope. (3) a Paranormal Component. reconciling their new concepts of themselves with their old lives. but on the more interesting question. Many researchers. previous paranormal or mystical experiences. the level of consciousness prior to the NDE. such things as decreased materialism. include the following facts. It should by now be clear that NDEs are real. endorphin level. the opposite has been demonstrated many times. the sweeping transformations in attitudes. A decade ago. It's interesting to note. This is the aspect of the NDE in which we've made our great progress over the past decade and a half. and for some NDEers. including feelings of peace.NDE research. prior knowledge about NDEs. Similarly. quote. Bruce Greyson. decreased fear of death. including enhanced vision or hearing. had the NDEer crossed it. and appreciation of life. And. Even after you've been through a transcendental experience. What's more. "But I want to focus in this hour. would have precluded his or her return to life. and with that. and an out-of-body experience. pervasive and permanent. NDEs increase spirituality. Today. precognitive vision. its "aftereffects are uniquely profound. reality. have established. Some of the findings of his and others. mankind had very little of the enormous body of evidence validating NDEs. of the NDE. (2) an Affective Component. one could take NDE testimonies into a courtroom and show stronger documentation than that used to win death penalties. thought acceleration. concern for others. a mystical being. Of greater importance becomes the question of what is to be done with knowledge of them. in study after study. 'So what?'. religious and educational background. and sudden understanding. some of whom you're hearing speak at this conference. and thinking oneself to be near death may be as much of a stimulus to having an NDE as actually being near death. only some of which have been mentioned earlier. and mental health." Children have essentially the same kind of near death experience that adults report. however. you still have to deal with the physical world and its mundane problems. Despite the fact that near death experiences seem similar to hallucinations or dissociative states. and visible spirits and a barrier or 'point of no return' that. prior expectations of death. including encounters with an apparently unearthly realm. totally unlike the aftereffects of any phenomenologically comparable experience. and competitiveness. and (4) a Transcendental Component. NDEs decrease the "fear of death. that people who expected to die had fewer Cognitive experiences." Although suicide was presumed by some to become more attractive to people hearing about NDEs. very little evidence existed to support the theory of star formation. drugs reduce one's chances of having an NDE. materialism and competitiveness". not on the causes. beliefs. apparent ESP. race. blood oxygen level. and cosmic unity. continuing his address mentioned above. joy. life review.
and as a result. If half of the phenomena associated with NDEs are real. nothing to hope for. reject or ridicule the NDEer. some data of which is strongly supported by scientific investigation. we've looked at the error of following a too-limited source of information about "the greater questions" that impact humanity. we should feel bound to investigate further and test its universality.cultural and religious dissension? At some point in the future. and a similarity of justifications for committing their crimes. Pursuing that end is one of the major responsibilities of human beings. they have little of importance to do or think about. a person's values and priorities can change dramatically. Only knowledge and the quelling of ignorance can significantly ease the pain. that family and friends don't necessarily understand. How better can we counter two of civilization's most divisive influences . We're all making a kind of trip. and relationships. So. listed theories that have been used by the skeptics in their attempts to deny the strong evidence for this reality. this material is really dead serious (no pun intended). to be nearly unquestionable. These negative attitudes and characteristics of criminals are sometimes countered by simple tenets that appear. a majority may begin to see the NDE as a phenomenon offering opportunity. Consider what information about NDEs could do to criminals. When a seemingly more universal road map is found. and mankind doesn't attempt to utilize the findings for advancement of civilization. "When more people feel the heat. careers. Karen. and life has cheated them and unfairly granted advantage to others. or want the NDEer to change. I now want to comment on the reasons that NDE information can be a positive influence on civilization and world peace. it will likely be delaying recognition of the Rosetta stone of human life. no one cares about them. They are what may best reach those who have nothing to do. death probably ends conscious existence. Criminals tend frequently to have a similarity of beliefs that support their crimes. with some of us thinking we have a sufficient road map for the journey. These include the following six points. As global conditions change (for the worse. We've covered "difficult" aspects of the Bible. The world is perpetually hurting. NDEs may more likely be the "cutting edge of societal evolution". 32 . For you. shown evidence for the reality of the near death experience. including the feelings or facts that: their own and their victims' lives are of little importance. what would be most important to you after such an event? By now. and how pursuit of such a goal will speed the betterment of the culture of man. After experiencing transcendental knowledge and unconditional love. and commented on aspects of NDEs that cannot be explained by any such imaginable theories. they have little reason to respect themselves. related problems of presumptuousness to fundamentalists of all faiths. from NDE information. as many NDEers predict). more reason may be seen to resort to a spiritually transforming catalyst for their mitigation. although much effort will be required to accomplish it. and nothing to lose.necessary changes in lifestyles. perhaps they'll see the light". The strong belief is that much can be done with this material.
they're characteristically seen as important to those purposes. on some level. of course. One example of such a program is the remarkable work of Charles Colson that is based on Christianity. yet these are commonly indicated. only information which comes from medical and scientific research is included. These include guides and very likely loving deceased relatives. Every person has others. Each person's life and how he or she lives it is of great importance. "ADCs" have been found to be about six times more common than NDEs. 1) Every person is of great importance in the grand scheme. but also worthy of reverence. many people. Let's look more deeply at these tenets of NDEs. this more scientific approach seems more likely to be accepted as factual and authoritative by a greater number of people. and NDEers who have life reviews learn this most poignantly. the part that remains conscious after we leave our bodies and looks upon them with detachment.1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) Every person is of great importance in the grand scheme. is one such example. who care about him or her. 4) Each person's life and how he or she lives it is of great importance. The apparent communication from the writer's deceased brother. Because of the concentration on spiritual elements. It strengthens the reasons for a criminal to behave in a more socially constructive manner. whose contacts are termed "after death communications". No one is unworthy of respect on this level. especially those without present caring family members. Without knowledge that this is true. often feel that there is nothing of importance in their lives to do or think about. but also worthy of reverence. 33 . both to self and "the plan" that is glimpsed in NDEs. See a book by Bill Guggenheim and his ex-wife Judy Guggenheim. who care about him or her. Those who think in terms of reward and punishment find difficulty relating to concepts of earthly-schoolrooms and after-death education and work. Our spiritual essence (our "soul". Every person is purposefully here and has real importance. following from this is the feeling that the consequences of one's actions are equally unimportant. Fifteen of these were reportedly supported by evidence to show unmistakable interventions. People with low self esteem profit from this knowledge as something to work from in building their confidence. Related to this is the main crux of such an idea: Ultimately. 5) Consciousness and purpose continue after death. 2) Every person has others. 6) Our life situations have specific purposes and opportunities. NDEers who've experienced life reviews return with an understanding of the purposes and backgrounds of the incidents in their lives. Rather than these incidents being random or unfair. 3) Each person's essence is not only respectable. there's a similarity in this proposal to various religious programs that involve acceptance of a specific religion. Marty's mother also had verified ADC experiences. Our life situations have specific purposes and opportunities. already mentioned. In an NDE-based program. The opposite seems to be true. on some level. rather than promoting beliefs based on faith. perhaps) is the surviving essential part of us that transcends this life. With a kind of twisted logic. titled Hello From Heaven! vi which reports on over three hundred such cases drawn from interviews conducted with more than two thousand ADC experiencers. Each person's essence is not only respectable. Consciousness and purpose continue after death.
acts that NDEers and NDE researchers also do for us. with encouragement for involvement by others who would take it further. with attendant proof of some facets. The nature of our reality is a touchy issue. But progress is made by opening new frontiers..A seventh and general facet of imparted knowledge leaves an anti-crime impression on the NDEer. a broad-scale program using scientifically supported spiritual concepts has not been attempted. but its results have not been assessed and published. Throughout history. if not yet to the distant horizon. consider this hopefully relevant comment about human rationality. but it. The evidence for these principles. We send pioneers into space to learn about our world.". along with the noticeable life transformations caused by NDEs. mankind has been plagued with "mythconceptions". left unanswered the ultimate questions of life.) To attempt to couch NDEs in a proper perspective. We support research into theoretical physics to investigate matter. anathema for others..all those that teach us our place in the cosmos. evidence that at least points beyond the hill. Events physically invisible and inaudible are witnessed and corroborated. mankind has endeavored to become more civilized and to have ever-greater knowledge and understanding. Only religion and philosophy offered explanations. The negative impact of a person's actions will evidently be experienced by the perpetrator. Our cultures and traditions are persistent. Is it not rational to examine it with the fitting excitement of a scientist? Mankind goes to great lengths to solve life's riddles. and all other sciences. Apparently. We erect huge directional antennas to listen for intelligent communication from other sources within our galaxy. scientific exploration has accumulated evidence for some of these answers. and "merely" considerable evidence for others. during or following the death process. (Such a program would be geared only toward the positive effects it can offer society. The "enlightened" and proudly "not superstitious" risk professional integrity with academic peers if they reveal interest in controversial topics like a spirit realm. Others' thoughts are sensed and validated. In contrast to an entrepreneurial venture that would be patented and protected for private gain. We practically prove the "Big Bang" theory of the universe's creation without seriously considering the source of the power that could generate such mass and energy from a pinpoint. To consider other possibilities is disquieting for some. NDEs are one example. On a small scale. and praise their efforts. commensurately painfully (!) to educate him to the consequences of his actions. But now. its details are unrestricted. NDE information has been presented. namely that Negatively impacting another's life is wrong. Astronomy revealed our position and size within the universe. our investments great. Success of the idea and carrying it to a logical pinnacle of usefulness would be the sole motivations. as when President Clinton bestowed honor on the victims of Challenger 7 and ". Events like these that are studied are shown to have validation at statistically significant rates. Congenitally blind people demonstrably "see" during their NDEs. and their disagreements have been notable. especially those more experienced and capable in the field of criminology. support the foundation of a program for combating crime. as with the detention home and with a local drug rehabilitation program. What more do rational beings need to 34 .
The rate did slow. and the belief in its source. revised this figure to sometime between 2005 and 2010. Bartlett of the Department of Physics at the University of Colorado. absurd. (and the effect on the world economy can hardly be slight). and the ". largely due to OPEC's increase in oil prices. Such an ethic is the essential message of near death experiences." and that world production will have to fall by about 2010 (page 83). approximately doubling each of four decades. In the 1970s. We have a thin veneer of civilization holding together our society. and soon. and that actual reserves would be depleted before the end of the century if the usage rate weren't slowed. and his latest videotape. This nineteen-page special feature (which is enclosed because I want you to show it to Bill) states that "What our society does face. the resulting deprivation and suffering may require more commitment and patience than was ever required during World War II. How much foresight. Albert A. greater than our social advancement can produce absent an awakening to a higher ethic. but his plotted points are from accepted and published data. the availability of supermarket supplies. "Global production of conventional oil will begin to decline sooner than most people think. complete with Ross Perotstyle charts and graphs. He warned that early steps were needed to prepare for this eventuality so that our economy would not stop due to lack of power. was not being noted by anyone speaking publicly about energy. Even if oil companies reveal only a portion of their known holdings. is the end of the abundant and cheap oil on which all industrial nations depend." The point of this relates to a sobering phrase. 35 . indicating that our civilization was beginning to run out of available oil resources.pay attention to the likelihood that some answers to these questions of life are staring us in the face? Here's another thing to think about relative to the importance of these studies. But New Technologies Might Prevent an Energy Crisis. most of humanity depends on inexpensive energy. We rely on the continuation of these "necessities". In such an eventuality. and needs of many more people are not met. Of course. limitations will still be applied sooner than the public expects. for business reasons.world could thus see radical increases in oil prices. The byline at the beginning of the article is. fire and police protection. transportation and the chemicals that fuel it. and not the least. running water. it isn't certain that his prediction is accurate. Predictions by others were based on oil reserves and rates of usage that dated from the 1940s and 1950s. and on several occasions. and fuel are our major necessities. resolve. made in 1993. Presently.. shelter. a unifying force that conceivably could help to minimize the chaos of such a catastrophe. and two of those are outside the control of most. Shortly thereafter. If large disruptions occur. an economy that can support a relatively low unemployment rate. a perceived loss of a small percentage of our oil caused a rise in fuel costs and the temporary partial control of fuel sales. In stark agreement with his findings is a long article that appeared in the March 1998 issue of Scientific American titled "Special Report: THE END OF CHEAP OIL It's Coming Fast. I became aware of a videotape xxxiii made by Prof. a pertinent question will be: How many more people will attempt to forcibly take what they want from those who (still) have it? Food. It was eminently clear from his quoted experts that the majority of the other's predictions of oil depletion were grossly inconsistent. probably within 10 years". Bartlett claimed that the exponential rise in oil consumption. patience. initiative and energy will be available for maintaining the quality of our lives? The answer will always depend on the strength of our motivation..
Society cannot simply adopt an attitude of acceptance for all beliefs and behaviors. where broadly accepted doctrines have formerly excluded alternative thinking. unacceptable. and perhaps only. spiritual reality. mankind advanced. (In fact. The pain involved can be great. caring. murder. prejudice.How relevant. and the willingness to do so can be absent. The NDE provides the feeling of purpose necessary to overcome such tragedies. has unparalleled relevance. rape . The world economy may suffer a loss of confidence that would produce a worldwide depression. Very realistically. But widespread consensus on women's rights in Iran. It can help to ensure a great reduction in social evils such as abuse of children. when its position in our solar system and its minor galactic position were determined by astronomy. mankind's beliefs have been challenged by discoveries. many NDEers claim to have learned that rough times are pending). and a real and meaningful plan for mankind. When the Earth's shape was found. spouses. positive efforts. Others would be inclined to meet the challenges through exhaustive. our planet and its resources. when its age was established from geology. Without trusted bases for judgment. religion and nationalism.you name it. slavery. perhaps other nagging questions could also be addressed. NDE information is both advancing our knowledge and raising new questions. Throughout history. To avoid the potential violence. In a more "official" study. education is the best. cults subjecting Tokyo subway passengers to nerve gas. Considering the possibilities for future difficulty. Examining ourselves in light of new information is a necessary process of growth. when ten thousand other findings enlightened the thinkers. may flourish forever without new impetus for change. Among friends and family. matters which similarly divide humanity with their more tolerated and subtle beliefs. not out of faith. 36 . The non-pathological. and pre-arranged marriages is more difficult. then. theft. it could be extremely relevant. Many people pulling in the same direction can be a powerful and inspiring force. But facing new information honestly can put an end to the dissension and prejudice that divide families and even whole nations. and then the masses. This is particularly true in science. We might find answers to ethical questions pertaining to euthanasia. but out of evidence as presented above. More people would consider crimes to be unthinkable. Some would survive by resorting to violence. and terrorists bombing innocents in Oklahoma are obvious examples on which most would agree. is the NDE to our society? To the degree that something as strong and spiritual as the NDE can be accepted as a working hypothesis. at least. Islamic fundamentalist that machine-guns tourists. As always. Similarly. energy will rise to an unreachable premium. the NDE and its messages of hope. and in religion. solution. and for many. where broadly accepted theories have effectively excluded the paranormal. social ills like racism. It's possible that mass starvation in "civilized" areas of the world could reach levels currently existing only in the poorest locales. female circumcision in parts of Africa. would be inclined to grant freedom and security to others. and disinclined to maintain unfair conditions that stem from misguided culturalism. we may soon face a choice to go one-way or the other. most of the survivors will have to be in the second category. it can cause disharmony. the elderly. these and the more "mild" injustices and disagreements.
In my opinion. if we live in the Middle East. leaving people to wonder what there is to do with this information. even though. the answer largely depends on a person's life's activities. It seems clear that one of our tasks as human beings is to positively contribute to our planet's civilization.. much less worship. I meet in the literal understanding of Scripture a God who is simply not viable. Our responsibilities are probably as large as our levels of influence. the more we're responsible. policies. it's the more ignorant and hard-headed that must "learn the hard way". We must collectively give up more of our impediments to having the world "work" better. we must recognize the futility of seeing only as enemies the people who are our neighbors. to write. the ancestors of whom had issues with our ancestors. others who have digested this material will always have the appropriateness of their treatment of others to think about. theologians. and even a multitude of other laws. capital punishment. and infer that all human beings are deserving of all of which we feel deserving. It offers me a God I cannot respect. The basic core of this information is highly in agreement with the teachings of Jesus. the question. unfair in its implications. it is far from having all the answers to our questions. like much that is dispensed in religions all over the world. NDE information makes our free-will choices more clear. we were brought up with only partially accurate information. If we live to embrace one race or sex superior to another. and ultimately dangerous to people's lives as they try to live in the real world and make decisions about life based on it. this task is better defined. In contrast to this.abortion. Whether parents or world leaders. and what the mind cannot believe the heart can finally never adore. and its message is far more palatable than the aspects of our early teaching that drove Archbishop John Shelby Spong. reincarnation. In conclusion. "What does this have to do with me?" is a logical one. we can admit to the absence of support for this in the other realm. divisive. What's more. For example. the general question is simply. we have a source of information that has enough strong evidence to at least indicate that studying it puts us on a better track to the truth. Episcopal Archbishop in Newark. "Are we living our lives responsibly?" We can examine the information and evaluate ourselves. the information was extremely limited.. In short. giving us a kind of tunnel vision that requires education from which to escape. We can imagine ourselves in the shoes of another and see our impact upon them. doctrines and dogmas that currently guide people's lives and leave them divided. a deity whose needs and prejudices are at least as large as my own. ". For people with NDE awareness. Remember: the smartest people learn from other's experiences and can avoid the traumas those cause to themselves.A literal Bible presents me with far more problems than assets. is incomplete. Given the broad range of potential impacts. There should be no need to become agonizingly specific. For example. containing of error. 37 . And generally. just like what we were exposed to as children. The information. The more that we're aware of this. So. and scientists certainly have new and pertinent material to study. in light of evidence for the schoolroom nature of our planet and for the lessons we're apparently here to learn. philosophers. we can't afford the arrogance of presuming that NDEs have nothing to offer us. Karen.
and not expect that more difficult times will produce tragedy that would be avoidable only by a shift in collective consciousness for the whole world. and I hope you realize it now. I think the future of our society might depend on our more advanced maturity. with this equation. *[N=R*fpneflfifcL. as many secular critics of religion maintain. fp is the fraction of those sun-like stars with planets. or 1021. Drake determined that there are likely 10. in such large numbers and with such strong evidence that we do a disservice to God and his plan for humanity to not turn our heads in that direction." That sums up my feelings about the literal Bible. regarding astronomical data. and I suggest that the first stages of it have been revealed to us. and L is the length of time during which civilizations release signals into space. It ain't so. Ed. by now. fl is the fraction of those planets where life develops. we're simply stuck and not using the full measure of intelligence that God apparently gave us. fc is the fraction of planets where technology would likely develop. Love."Is there a truth beyond biblical literalism to which my life can be dedicated? Can I find this truth by probing the words of the Bible? Or. fi is the fraction of life sites where intelligent life would likely develop. as I do with NPR and other sources. but the issues are drawn powerfully and provocatively drawn. or we can ignorantly lie to ourselves and continue to "worship" in a veritable stupor. where N = the number of civilizations in the Milky Way whose radio emissions are detectable. NDEs seem to offer the only hope for such an advance. but at least it's not heightened or exaggerated by Bible teachings that indicate that we're totally worthless worms whose best is garbage in the sight of God. R* is the rate of formation of stars suitable for planets. ne is the number of Earth-like planets per planetary system. It suggests there is new information to be found. keeping us in a kind of social dark age not unlike the oppressive influence of the middle-age Catholic church. I'm not saying I live without these two attributes. and it's high time that a new paradigm is sought. If we don't.000 technological civilizations in our galaxy alone. One can hardly listen to national news every day. There is no way out except to walk into these questions deeper and deeper until either there is nothing left or a wondrous new meaning begins to dawn. the number of planets in our universe is estimated to be about one sextillion.] (Incidentally. we may compound man's suffering by orders of magnitude. We can choose to break from the invisible bonds. 'Bye for now. Karen. I hope that this letter has a certain and positive effect on your thinking and cause that slight refinement that will free you from some of the unnecessary guilt and anxiety that I think you live with. Karen. has time run out on the Judeo-Christian tradition as it did on the gods of Olympus? "The answers to these questions are not yet clear. and without it. This is considered to be about a 38 .
million times larger than the total number of words or sounds uttered by all human beings since the beginning of time!) 39 .
U. 41. P. 1987.. Do drugs have religious import? Journal of Philosophy. Lic. Page 118 xxxi ibid. Adventures in Immortality: A Look Beyond the Threshold of Death. page 116. Varieties of transpersonal experience. page 170 xxviii Recollections of Death: A Medical Investigation New York.REFERENCES i Vanity Fair." American Journal of Diseases of Children 140 (1986): 1110-1113 xxi The Near Death Experience. MD. Pages 181-185 xiii The Light Beyond by Raymond Moody Jr. later quote on June 6. Journal of Near-Death Studies. Carol Zaleski. "Childhood Near-Death Experiences.O. Problems. page ____ x designfax. vii Crime In America by Ramsey Clark. pages ix. 4. King Hussein's Delicate Balance by Judith Miller. Pages 253-270 xxx Coming Back To Life: The After Effects Of The Near Death Experience. Ballantine Books. 50 viii Ibid. later published by Bantam. page 26 xii Recollections of Death: A Medical Investigation New York. v U. 39. page ____ ix Ibid. page 24. by designfax. page 99. Section 6. page 98 Bob Kerrey's Odyssey. Atwater. Kenneth Ring. Bascom. and Charles P. M. by Bruce Greyson. William 3rd. Calvert Roszell. Pages 45-8 xvii Broda's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science. et al. Stanislav (1972). D. P. 1987. and Guggenheim. Calvert Roszell. Cairo bureau chief iv Gallup. Castillo. NIJ Research Plan. 520 xxiii Grof. Paul. and Juan S. 8. Carol Zaleski. 1982. M. Pages 166-68 xxix Full Circle: The Near Death Experience And Beyond. 1988. MN 551210640 xi Heading Toward Omega by Kenneth Ring. Holeyoke College.O. 1990. page 139 xiv Ibid. pages 5.. South Hadley. Box 21640. page 130 xxxii Richard Moran.D. No. 19951996.D. pub. page 171 xv The Near Death Experience.10 vi Guggenheim. page 31. published privately by The ADC Project. Department of Justice. 1996 during Morning Edition ii 40 .. 1984. Ph.. April 22. 1992. 7. Box 916070. Pocket Books. Carl Sagan xviii A Neurobiological Model for Near-Death Experiences. with William Proctor. Hello From Heaven! A new field of research confirms that life and love are eternal. Professor of Sociology and Criminology. Oxford University Press xxvii ibid. 1992. (407) 862-1260.S. Summer 1989 xix The Near Death Experience. Mt. 45-80. Pocket Books. MA. 1988. page 6. Flynn.. 4. Venecia. New York. xxiv Otherworld Journeys. 1992. P. 1984.H. Jr. 24. Morse..M. P. page 27. page 23.. 1985. Barbara Harris and Lionel C. Pages 242-3 xvi Heading Toward Omega by Dr. Judith A.. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.Q. Longwood. Huston (1964). 1982 by Michael Sabom. iii The New York Times. January 1992. Anthroposophic Press xx M. George. by Peter J. 1971.. Juan C. 1982 by Michael Sabom. Calvert Roszell. 1984. Oxford University Press xxv The Near Death Experience. Anthroposophic Press xxii Smith. Gómez-Jeria. Perspectives. St. Anthroposophic Press xxvi Otherworld Journeys.. Prospects. Vol.S. Saavedra-Aguilar. Boyer Ibid.D.A. FL 32791-6070. May 1995. National Institute of Justice.
Box 390.xxxiii Albert A. Department of Physics Professor. Bartlett. Boulder CO 80309 41 . 1983 and 1994 tapes supplied by University of Colorado at Boulder Television. Boulder CO 803090390.
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