Family Believes White Spot In Photos Is Boy's Guardian Angel

Newsnet5 ^ | 07/14/03 | Staff Writer

[Aquinasfan]

But don't state as fact something that is merely something you believe.

The existence of intellectual beings (angels) is a logical necessity:

...I answer that, There must be some incorporeal creatures. For what is principally intended by God in creatures is good, and this consists in assimilation to God Himself. And the perfect assimilation of an effect to a cause is accomplished when the effect imitates the cause according to that whereby the cause produces the effect; as heat makes heat. Now, God produces the creature by His intellect and will (14, 8; 19, 4 ). Hence the perfection of the universe requires that there should be intellectual creatures. Now intelligence cannot be the action of a body, nor of any corporeal faculty; for every body is limited to "here" and "now." Hence the perfection of the universe requires the existence of an incorporeal creature...

Whether an angel is altogether incorporeal?
St. Thomas Aquinas
Summa Theologica

[cardinal4]

Apparently the boys belief provided some comfort to the family.

[Only1choice____Freedom]

>>"I feel sad for MineralMan being a non believer. Prayers for you going up."

I have seen things I could exlain logically.

Living like that must be very lonely.
Life without hope is empty.

My heart goes out to you, MM.
Things are rarely as they seem.

[rwfromkansas]

Maybe.....but similar waterspots on all 3 cameras?

[Naspino]

How does one watch a video of the holocaust and not believe in demons? If you believe in demons you have to believ in angels.

[drjimmy]

I tend to believe his story because he is now an ordained minister.
And the good reverends Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, and Jesse Jackson will all vouch for the honesty of their brother minister!

[MineralMan]

"Ah...you are an atheist.

Well, that explains it.

Note: Ignore MineralMan. He is atheist."

Yes, it does explain that I do not believe that supernatural entities exist. As to whether I should be ignored, I'll leave that up to each person to decide.

[The Brush]

Talk about opening a can of worms!
According to the Bible: "The dead know not anything" (Ecclesiastes) I tend to believe that.
I don't know what the boy saw. I wouldn't go as far as saying his whole family is stupid though. I think there are many things we will never understand until we get there.
I'm going to hold my opinions until then.

[MineralMan]

"When I die, though, I'll be cremated

..and cremated...and cremated...and cremated for ever...

Sorry couldn't resist.."

Isn't that nice? A threat of eternal damnation! Boy, how original that is.

Sorry, but I also don't believe in that, or anything else eternal about human existence. We are born; we live; we die. That's quite enough, and is remarkable enough to satisfy me. The point is to live your life fully and responsibly, harming nobody and helping who you can. If you do that, you can die (as each of us does) happily.

[rwfromkansas]

There have actually been several reports of such black near death experiences and I remember hearing about the one you are speaking of.

I wish I would have taped a Nightline from a couple years ago, as it focused on life after death and the scientific evidence. I was simply blown away. Many of the studies I had never heard of, but they proved that energy of some sort from us stays around after we die. They also did studies on NDE's which provide support to the idea it is not just brainwaves acting up prior to death.

I have been reading a book on demonology and one interesting point the author brings up is that the demons in Scripture testify of Christ's divinity when a possessed man comes near the Son. Missionaries have recorded demons in a possessed person to this day testifying that Christ is the Messiah. It is rare, as why would they want to testify of the Divine they hate? But, it has happened occassionally.

[Quilla]

We bought a rather large, older home five years ago. We asked our children to pick what bedroom they wanted and were surprised that neither of them picked what I thought to be a fabulous room. It's positioned in a wing of its own with windows on three sides. For some reason, something about the room just scared them. A couple of years later, my husband and I ran into a gentlemen, who upon learning where we had moved said "oh my goodness that house is haunted." To this day, my now savvy, know everything teenagers will not spend the night in that room.

[cmak9]

Reason, combined with evidence, leads to belief for me. Angels? Not on your life.

No offense intended here, but reason combined with evidence leads me to belief in God. To think that all creation is some big accident or something, without a prime creator, is unreasonable. As far as the "the family is stupid" comment, the Bible says that "a fool believes in his heart that there is no God", or words to that effect. Stupidity is a relative term. Some are stupider than others.

I can understand agnosticism to some extent, but never atheism. Just because there are a lot of religions in the world, doesn't mean that somebody isn't right (I believe Christianity to be the correct one). Much like there are a lot of philosophies in the world, but we know conservatism to be right! I personally believe Jesus died for everybody, regardless of what they believe (in the VERY long run). This opinion is probably as unpopular as atheism ;-)

[Mr. Jeeves]

See post #44. A misplaced bright light could easily create the same ghostly glow on all three cameras.

A subscription to Skeptical Inquirer is recommended to all - they convincingly debunk these kinds of paranormal claims all the time.

[rwfromkansas]

I will not put limits on what God has destined to do unless I see a reason to do so. You may be right, but I am not going to say so either way unless Scripture convinces me one way or another.

[MineralMan]

"As far as the "the family is stupid" comment, the Bible says that "a fool believes in his heart that there is no God", or words to that effect. Stupidity is a relative term. Some are stupider than others.
"

Well, I did not say that the family is stupid. That was someone else. Nor do I say that your belief or the belief of others is stupid. I do not share your beliefs, nor the beliefs of the Hindu, nor the beliefs of the Muslim. I call none stupid.

The round spot on the photo is nothing more than a common internal reflection in the lens of a cheap disposable camera. The poor quality of the photo is evidence of the poor quality of the camera. Internal reflections are quite common in photographs. With cheap, non-adjustable cameras, they take the shape of a circle. With better cameras, you'll see the hexagonal or other polygonal shape of the iris that adjusts the aperture of the camera.

All that is required is a small source of light somewhere in front of the camera. Even a candle can produce such an internal reflection.

Now, this boy had a brain tumor. I've known several people with brain tumors and it's quite common to have visual disturbances and to see things that aren't there. For a boy who knows he faces death, it would not be at all surprising that he considered such things to be "angels."

Like the image of Jesus on a tortilla, or on the window of a hospital, those who wish to see the image see it. Those who study the image can tell you how it came to be there in real terms.

You may believe in supernatural entities. More power to you. You'll not find me calling you stupid or any other name. I just don't believe in such things.

[Only1choice____Freedom]

Just look through history and see how human history has been brought to the point it is today?

Coincidence? I think not.
Your life is no different.

Every person must be born ultimately alone and you will face death alone. Where you go is decided by you - alone. Every person must decide whether or not God is real and you will experience a crisis point in your life. If you believe everybody is just fooling themselves into seeing a god that doesn't exist you will have to ignore an awful lot. And that is another way of fooling yourself. What personal history you have with a church doesn't enter in it. You will face God at some point. The question is: at the end, will you be afraid you were wrong or running to your Father who has been waiting for you? He designed you and made you, he knows you better than you know you. He has made provisions for your "failures" knowing who and what you are. And he loves you anyway. If you are looking, you will find him. If you are not looking and are not open to even the possibility that you are wrong, you have to ignore a lot and deny the undeniable.

[theDentist]

My neighbor, Mark, died at 18 from Cystic Fibrosis. A hell of a kid. During his last days he often described the angels surrounding him, the spirits of grandparents and others who died before his birth. I don't know if that was just the brain failing from oxygen depletion, but he was quite lucid up to the end. It was spooky. I don't know what the spots are, but on 3 cameras from 3 different angles is weird.

[rwfromkansas]

This leads me to be more skeptical of the picture claim then.

Thanks for your input.

However, there have been instances in which people have attempted to get photogs to explain away pictures and they could not do so.

Just because there are some cases of fraud (this potentially being one), does not mean that none are real.

[Mr. Jeeves]

It takes just as much of it if not more to not believe than to believe.

The kind of faith required to see angels in spots on photographs is the same kind of faith required to believe flying jetliners into skyscrapers is a quick ticket to heaven.

God gave us minds with the intent that we use them, not lose ourselves in counterfeit mysticism.

[tractorman]

If I send my Guardian Angel to reveal Himself to you, will you then allow the Holy Spirit to bring you to the Father?