Posted on 02/18/2007 7:30:33 PM PST by freedomdefender
A retired Air Force officer who now spends his days authoring books on Christianity has posted an online collection of recordings he believes captures voices and music of God's angels in heaven.
Angelic statue in Lommel, Belgium (photo: Jan Schiphorst, used with permission)
"I have four specific recordings of angels singing in church settings," Jim Bramlett of Lake Mary, Fla., told WND. "It happened supernaturally. There's no other explanation. It's either from God or from the devil, and I don't think the devil is in the business of worshipping Jesus. That is not in his job description."
Bramlett, 76, collected the tapes from various sources in recent years, and has now put them on his ChoicesForLiving website, where readers can click on several links to listen to three recordings made in the U.S., and one from China.
The Feb. 6, 1996, recording at the Greater Grace World Outreach Church in Baltimore, Md., starts off with a woman playing a piano, and gradually, accompanying voices are heard in the background. Bramlett described them as "beautiful voices of beings who were not in the service."
Jim Bramlett
"I have the full tape with the pastor discussing the situation with the congregation, and about 25 people gave testimony to hearing the voices. They were all in awe at what had happened."
Another recording took place at the Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland, Fla., and features a 10-minute, sustained sound after a call to praise by a minister.
"They seem to lift the praise of the congregation to a totally new and awesome level, and it just goes on and on. The intensity and consistency are clearly supernatural and beyond the ability of the congregation," explains Bramlett, a former vice president at the Christian Broadcasting Network where he spent nine years.
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A woman who says she and her husband were at the Lakeland service wrote Bramlett to vouch for the authenticity of what took place:
"The tape of the Florida meeting was exactly like the way it sounds. Glenn and I were there during those meetings, and if it wasn't this one then there is another tape of a meeting where [the phenomenon] happened again. The one we were in went on and on and stopped abruptly. Silence for about a minute then a male voice sang out 'Glooooory' and several women's voices from different directions echoed 'Gloooooory' in perfect harmony, and the praise and worship started up all over again."
Perhaps the most stunning of all the recordings is thought to be from a church in Kansas City, where there is not only an audible chorus of "Hallelujah" – meaning "praise God" – but also the voice of a male soloist who purportedly was not present. The lyrics of the mysterious solo were transcribed as follows:
Hallelujah, breathe it all across the land Everybody's singing at the Lord's command All the saints and the angels up in glory wait to hear the news of Jesus and his children as they're coming through. Though he doesn't have it on tape, Wayne Warmack of Greater Works Ministries in Rogers, Ark., says he and his wife, Sandy, personally heard angelic voices during a Passover celebration last April at a lakeside retreat center near Marianna, Fla.
"I began to distinctly hear wordless voices in perfect harmony with us, that were clearly not coming from me or Sandy, or the other 20 or so people present in the room. They sort of drifted in and out of my hearing while I struggled to maintain my composure and continue the song," Warmack said. "If you've ever heard that sound, it leaves you a different person than when you came in. I can't describe it. There's just no way to describe it. It is definitely heard with more than just the physical ears."
But not everyone is joining the chorus of hallelujahs.
Steven Novella
Dr. Steven Novella, a neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine and president of the New England Skeptical Society, analyzed the electronic voice phenomenon, or EVP, at WND's request.
"The fatal problem with this entire type of evidence is that there is no way to validate or invalidate the source of sound on a recording. Therefore it has no discriminating value," Novella said. "Personal testimony is not reliable as evidence and is not acceptable scientifically. Choosing to have faith in the persons making the angel-voice claims is no different than just having faith in angels in the first place, so the recordings don't get you anywhere."
Novella discussed some of the specific claims made by Bramlett and others who suggest the source of the sound is supernatural:
"There seems to be no doubt they are angelic voices." They sound like human voices to me. This is just a bold assertion without supporting argument or evidence.
" ... about 25 people gave testimony to hearing the voices. They were all in awe at what had happened." Not uncommon for a congregation of believers sharing a common belief and being swept into an emotional fervor by an experienced preacher. Not exactly dispassionate testimony.
"I have had this tape for several years but I recently found a cleaner version of it on the Internet, preceded by an explanation. I do not know the identity of the narrator." This reminds of the "Jesus in the clouds" picture that keeps cropping up. When the same piece of evidence keeps coming up in different contexts and situations, that strongly suggests fraud. Also, the angels in this recording were playing bass guitar and horn, and at one point broke into a pretty funky beat. It's actually pretty laughable. Also, it was noted that the angel voices were not noticed until the recording was played back, so nothing was heard during the recording. This is a red flag for a recording artifact. The simplest explanation is that the recording was made over a prior recording of a choir singing with accompanying music, and they heard the two recordings superimposed when they played it back.
So, bottom line, these are all worthless as evidence. They are being offered uncritically by people who already believe, are not questioning the angel claims, and who are committing some logical fallacies.
"I think his explanations are nonsense," responded Bramlett.
"Over the years, I have found there are negative skeptics and cynics out there on every subject. It is easy to find them. They are so predictable, and they typically reject anything supernatural. They have to, because to admit it would be tantamount to admitting to a God to whom they are accountable. They cannot permit that. It is as simple as that. Biblically speaking, you could say they are spiritually dead and they think everything must have a natural, material explanation."
The concept of supernatural beings called angels has a strong basis in Scripture. In the King James Version of the Bible, the word "angel" is found 201 times in 192 verses, while "angels" occurs 94 times in 92 verses.
At least two are named – Michael and Gabriel – and the New Testament describes a galactic conflict involving angels at war with each other.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels (Revelation 12:7)
The Bible also records numerous instances of angels appearing to humans and even having discussions with them.
The angel Gabriel appears to the virgin Mary in 1898's 'The Annunciation' by Pennsylvania artist Henry Ossawa Tanner
The 19th chapter of Genesis indicates two angels helped rescue Lot and his family from the ancient city of Sodom; Luke 1:26 shows the angel Gabriel being dispatched by God to the town of Nazareth to inform Mary she would miraculously become pregnant with Jesus; and Hebrews 13:2 reminds people to "entertain strangers," since some strangers might actually be angels.
Bramlett believes angels are still making appearances in our modern day, and he documents several purported instances on his website.
"Some say that true reality is spiritual, not physical," he said. "The supernatural breaks through [into our dimension], and it's exciting when it does."
There are many instances of people seeing angels in human form. No reason why angels shouldn't be heard singing, when they want to be heard.
"Bramlett believes angels are still making appearances in our modern day,"
Well, this will upset the roman catholic church.
Why is that?
If I get to heaven and find out that angels sing that horrible muck you hear in nondenominational Protestant churches, with stupid badly-rhyming lyrics and a heavy base line and electric guitars, I'm leaving.
How's that?
why?
You hear it in Catholic churches, too. to get away from it, ironically, you probably have to go to a liberal mainline downtown Presby or Methodist or Episcopal church, where they tend to have traditional music and even paid choirs. Also, a Lutheran church or any synod still understands the value of good music.
Heaven's reserved for music such as Bach's Mass in B minor, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and Jimi Hendrix's "Machine Gun."
That's odd...in his day C.S. Lewis described hymns as being fifth-rate lyrics set to sixth-rate music.
Cheers!
They play that drek in our church. The same lyrics are repeated six or eight times instead of having 6 or 8 novel verses; I guess modern songwriters can't be bothered to do something as tiresome as writing several verses.
I love my church but now I just go there in time to hear the pastor's brilliant sermon; the music gives me a nervous breakdown and Mr. Fairview silently protests by crossing his arms across his chest if we have to listen to much of it.
What's so wrong with the beautiful old hymns that have inspired believers for centuries? And what's with having a sax played in church? Every time I hear it I think of bill clinton, which definitely puts me in a non-reverent mood.
Why would you say that? Do you know what teh Catholic Church teaches about angels? from the Catechism:
The existence of angels — a truth of faith
328
The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls "angels" is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.
Who are they?
329
St. Augustine says: "'Angel' is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel': from what they are, ‘spirit,' from what they do, ‘angel.'"188 With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they "always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven" they are the "mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word."189
330
As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness.190
Christ "with all his angels"
331
Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are his angels: "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him. . . ."191 They belong to him because they were created through and for him: "for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—all things were created through him and for him."192 They belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?"193
332
Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham's hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples.194 Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself.195
333
From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God "brings the firstborn into the world, he says: ‘Let all God's angels worship him.'"196 Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church's praise: "Glory to God in the highest!"197 They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been.198 Again, it is the angels who "evangelize" by proclaiming the Good News of Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection.199 They will be present at Christ's return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgment.200
There's a special place in heaven for those who like their hymns to sound like a funeral dirge. ;)
I am somewhat familiar with Jim Bramlett. He is a devout and honest man by all accounts.
I might add, my son was a vocal music major in college. He performed a few pieces with a chorale group that, in certain settings, were designed to produce overtone sounds that gave a separate richness and complexity to the music that had to be heard to be believed.
Well Randy and Paula might put them through but I wouldn't count on Simon.
The trick is to not let yourself be fooled into thinking it's something that it's not.
Maybe he meant that the Catholic church wouldn't like the fact that this occurred in a Protestant church setting with people actually speaking in tongues (The Lakeland Florida tape) rather than at a Catholic Mass.
I think it's all just a matter of taste. There are some old hymns that do nothing for me, and I feel like I'm just mouthing words just to get through them. But then there are modern songs {Shout to the Lord, for example} that are amazing in their ability to put me in the spirit of worship.
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