Ex-atheist describes near-death experience

Standard-Times ^ | 1/31/2004 | LINDA ANDRADE RODRIGUES

[yonif]

DARTMOUTH -- A native son and newspaper carrier for The Standard-Times in Falmouth, Howard Storm went on to earn a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and for 20 years was an arts professor at Northern Kentucky University. An avowed atheist, he believed that there was no such thing as life after death -- until the day in 1985 when he died and went to hell.

Speaking to about 125 people at Smith Mills Church last week, Mr. Storm became very emotional, often stopping to compose himself, as he described his near-death experience, which transformed his life.

In 1985, Mr. Storm, 38, and his wife, Beverly, were in Paris on the last day of an art tour. Buckled over by searing pain in the middle of his stomach, he was rushed to the hospital. Awaiting emergency surgery, he knew he was dying. He said good-bye to his wife and drifted into darkness.

Standing up, he realized he was between two hospital beds. He looked at Beverly, who was motionless, staring at the floor, sitting in the chair next to his bed. He spoke to her, but she didn't seem to hear.

As he bent over to look at the face of the body in the bed, he was horrified to see the resemblance that it had to his own face. But he knew that was impossible because he was standing over the person and looking at him.

Off in the distance, outside the room in the hall, he heard voices calling him. They were pleasant voices, male and female, young and old, calling to him in English.

"Come out here," they said. "Don't you want to get better?"

He stepped out into the hall, full of anxiety. The area seemed to be light but very hazy, and he couldn't make out any details.

He followed them shuffling along in his bare feet with the memory of pain in his belly, yet feeling very much alive. The fog thickened as they went on, and it became gradually darker.

Overwhelmed with hopelessness, he told them he would go no farther and that they were liars. He could feel their breath on him as they shouted and snarled insults.

Then they began to push and shove him about, and he began to fight back. A wild frenzy of taunting, screaming and hitting ensued. As he swung and kicked at them, they bit him.

Even though he couldn't see anything in the darkness, he was aware there were dozens or hundreds of them all around and over him and that his attempts to fight back only provoked greater merriment.

They began to tear off pieces of his flesh, and he realized that he was being taken apart and eaten alive, methodically, slowly, so that their entertainment would last as long as possible. In that wretched state he lay there in the darkness.

Suddenly remembering a prayer from childhood Sunday School class, he said, "Yea though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."

To his amazement, the cruel merciless beings were incited to rage by his prayer. They screamed at him, 'There is no God! Nobody can hear you!" But at the same time they were backing away. He realized that saying things about God was actually driving them away, and he became more forceful. They became more rabid, cursing and screaming against God, but in time, they retreated back into the distant gloom beyond his hearing.

Alone, destroyed, and yet painfully alive in this horrible place, he yelled out into the darkness, "Jesus, save me."

Far off in the darkness, he saw a pinpoint of light like the faintest star in the sky. The star became brighter and brighter. As it came closer, he realized that he was right in its path, and he might be consumed by its brilliance.

This was a living being approximately 8 feet tall and surrounded by an oval of radiance. The brilliant intensity of the light penetrated his body. Ecstasy swept away the agony. Tangible hands and arms gently embraced him and lifted him up. He slowly rose up into the presence of the light, and the torn pieces of his body miraculously healed before his eyes.

After his words of personal witness, Mr. Storm answered questions for an additional two hours.

"He told me that he has given this talk hundreds of times, but whenever he describes these creatures, he just comes apart," said the Rev. Michael Robinson, pastor of Smith Mills Church.

After Mr. Storm's near-death experience, he entered United Theological Seminary and was ordained as a minister of the United Church of Christ. Since 1991 he has been pastor of Zion United Church of Christ in Cincinnati. He documented his near-death experience in the book "My Descent into Death and the Message of Love which Brought Me Back," published in 2000.

Earlier in the day, the Rev. Storm spoke to about 30 area faith leaders at Smiths Mills Church on the topic "Bringing Passion of the Gospel into City Ministry."

"Jesus weeps for New Bedford," he said. "He can heal addictions, broken relationships and poverty. I broke every one of the Ten Commandments. Jesus can fix what's wrong with us."

[Quix]

IMPRESSIVE. THX

[Quix]

BEAUTIFUL. THX!

[GrandMoM]

....VERY INTERESTING SITE!

....bookmarked to read more later. Thanks

[Quix]

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT AND WELL SAID.

[Quix]

THANKS.

[Mulder]

I personally haven't experienced anything like some of things people have posted here.

Yet I believe these things happened. Too many people have the same or similar experiences to simply dismiss it as a myth or other nonsense.

You don't have to personally experience something to believe it occurred.

[Quix]

The Bible says:

It is appointed unto man, once to die, and after death, the judgment.

We do NOT know God's definitions of each word or phrase in that sentence. We don't even know if God adjusts His definitions in a tailor made way to each individual. We just don't know a lot of things about the moment of death.

There are stories of reliable Believers which are interesting but not the same as Canon Scripture.

I am confident that Roland Buck was right. Other convincing believers have said similar things and how shocked they were when God told them.

But all such is still GOD'S DOMAIN. It is hideously presumptive to think everyone will have a chance at the point of death to decide again. The Scriptures AND EVEN THE REPORT OF FOLKS LIKE ROLAND BUCK POINT OUT THAT SUCH IS ****NOT**** THE CASE.

One had best insure that one is on God's side NOW.

None of us have the promise of tomorrow chisled in stone from Mt Sinai.

I have felt that The Scripture about Believers being able to forgive and it being forgiven in Heaven may be one route which allows SOME to have an opportunity to choose at THE POINT OF death. But it's not something I'd try and make a doctrine. It's just a personal convinction which I believe God has given me insight on. I believe it's true. But it's not anything I'd want anyone to risk anything on--especially eternal life.

But I do forgive a long list of people and types of people at the slightest leading in my spirit. I want to give God every opportunity to apply that Scripture about whatsoever we forgive, being forgiven.

[Quix]

Can easily identify with that.

[Quix]

Touched by your narrative.

Deep conversations were never really a very viable option with my mother. And now with her Alzheimer's much more so.

But, my HOPE IS IN GOD. And in the eternity when many conversations can occur.

[Quix]

FOR SURE.

[CommandoFrank]

Wasn't it Albert Einstein who on his death bed, sat up and said "It's beautiful" just before expiring?

[Quix]

You are making

PRESUMPTIVE ASSUMPTIONS

about how God construes

"ONCE"

and

"THE JUDGMENT" in that Scripture.

A rather hazardous thing to do.

I doubt God has told you WHEN HE applies the ONCE to a given individuals dying incidents.

I'm very sure God has NOT told YOU when HE arranges a given individual's LAST JUDGMENT.

That one Scripture is hardly sufficient info to build a whole elaborate, emphatic, fossilized doctrine on.

It's just a clue or 3--and a sobering one--that we ought not take for granted the next moment. We all ought to treat each day, hour, minute as potentially our last.

I believe THAT is the purpose of that Scripture.

I doubt seriously it was intended as any serious treatment of The Father's DOCTRINES about dying or THE JUDGMENT. I believe it was an encouragment to treat

TODAY AS THE DAY OF SALVATION.

IF that was HIS PURPOSE IN THAT SCRIPTURE, using it to shoehorn in one's own biases about doctrine around death and jugment is at least likely to be seen as a little cheeky, from God's perspective.

[Quix]

GROPE, GROPE, GROPE.

Evidently you are illogically addicted out of habit to a TYPE I error and quite comfortable suffering the ill consequences of a TYPE II error.

Perhaps you've not suffered seriously from a major TYPE II error. That could explain your evident dellusion that a TYPE II error will cost you little or nothing.

Quite illogical.

[Zeroisanumber]

The story is bogus. We know there is no supernatural, because it does not show up on instruments. So it's not there. He was on drugs, and hallucinated.

He stopped breathing and his brain went in to oxygen deprivation. He hallucinated. Whatever life-changing experience he had, and whatever big booga-booga he thought he saw has nothing to do with knowledge of the afterlife and everything to do with a brain trying to deal with serious trauma.

[Quix]

WONDERFULLY STATED.

[plain talk]

Right. There's nothing in the Bible that I know of that says an agnostic or aetheist can be saved after death. Of course with God anything is possible but we sure don't want make up theology that doesn't exist. As you say, we need to confess our sins and give ourself to Christ while alive on this earth.

[Quix]

WHAT A GROSSLY UNSCIENTIFIC SET OF PRESUMPTIVE ASSUMPTIONS!!!

WHERE was your platform, perspective OUTSIDE of DEATH AND LIFE

from which you performed your

thoroughly logical and rigorous

EXPERIMENTS

to disprove the above.

Oh, that's right--you're still alive--so, you don't know

DIDDLY SQUAT SCIENTIFICALLY about such on which to base your presumptive assumptions.

You don't even seem to have the benefit of the scientific studies of subject controlled research into such reports.

Yet you pontificate so emphatically.

Sad.

Haven't heard of God building a lot of mansions for the arrogant in Heaven.

[Quix]

Yes. That must be the rational focus.

Especially in terms of Scripture.

Though, there is nothing in Scripture that says God can't do WHAT HE WANTS, CONSISTENT WITH HIS NATURE AND WORD--as well.

[Ciexyz]

...I am convinced our little special boy met The Lord, and the Lord smiled on him!

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.
Whether yellow, black or white, they are precious in his sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world!"

[MHGinTN]

"We know there is no supernatural, because it does not show up on instruments. Interesting to find the refutation of an argument right in the middle of the argument ...