Posted on 06/10/2006 9:45:53 PM PDT by churchillbuff
Despite lifelong beliefs that have been ingrained in my faith since childhood, I have to admit that like almost everyone else I have from time to time wondered if my existence will simply come to an end on the day I draw my last breath.
There is, after all, no way to prove one way or the other that human life continues in another realm after the body ceases to function. Nobody has come back to testify about it, with one notable exception of course, and those who reject his divinity also tend to doubt what he had to say about life after death. And the late Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the infamous atheist, hasn’t weighed in on the subject lately either.
Some would insist such doubts are implanted by the devil himself. Others counter there is no scientific basis for belief in a hereafter in the first place.
But just about every time I entertain such doubts, something comes along to reinforce my long-held belief in the hereafter. It’s often the experience of a dying saint getting their first glimpse, as an old gospel song puts it, of what’s over on the other side.
I’m told the Rev. Dr. Hollis Pistole appeared to have one such experience at his passing a little over a month ago. According to the story, Dr. Pistole, after a long battle with debilitating illness, raised up and put his arms out just before he drew his last breath. Apparently he received that glimpse of what awaited him.
My wife’s father had a similar experience, opening his eyes and reaching heavenward just before his passing.
I also recently went over my mom’s notes made at the time of my dad’s death more than half a century ago. “Under me? Under me? Thank you, Jesus,” he said.
A whole category of what have been termed near-death experiences have been catalogued by those looking for insight into what happens at the end of life. A common phenomenon is a light-at-the-end-of-a-tunnel vision. Many claim to have seen friends or relatives but were unable to reunite with them when they were suddenly jerked back into life.
My Uncle Melvin had such an experience, claiming to have seen his brother and another loved one at the time he was suffering a severe heart attack from which he recovered.
It is impossible to figure out the working of the subconscious, thus rendering any attempt at concrete conclusions problematic. Are any or all of these phenomena merely the gyrations of an active brain or might they be an indication of a link between this world and one to come?
Belief in life after death has been part of human experience as long as mankind has pondered its existence. It has been reinforced by the most sacred writings of most of the world’s major religions, including Christianity, which bases its entire concept on the idea of God personally demonstrating life after physical death through the manifestation we call Jesus.
In this life, of course, our existence is tied to our physical body. But to define human life according to our physical limitations is an obvious understatement of our role in the universe. Human interaction is limited by our physical senses. But the true self that has developed over the course of our lifetimes would seem to go far beyond the senses.
And certainly there can be no doubt that the rationality of human beings and their capability to build on their life experiences place them in a category entirely separate from other living creatures.
Is there life after death? The question defies physical proof, to be sure. But there would seem to be glimpses enough into the future to show that our existence has only just begun.
And anyway, by preparing for eternity, I think I’m building a pretty good life here as well.
Jim Bailey’s column appears on Sunday. He can be reached by e-mail at jameshenrybailey@earthlink.net.
Very similiar to my mother's last days. My mother had cancer and was bedridden at the end, so she was only getting sponge baths. A couple days before she died she begged me to bathe her and curl her hair- she said my dad was coming for her on Thursday. My dad had passed away 5 years before. Mom was on some pretty good painkillers and had been saying odd things so I didn't think much of it at the time. I tried to bathe her as best I could and curled her hair. Mom passed away on Thursday night, dad came for her just as she said he would. The strangest thing about her knowing the exact day she would go is not only that the doctors thought she had several weeks left to live, but also that due to the drugs she was on she did not know what day of the week it was from day to day- so her saying Thursday and it turning out to be Thursday was pretty amazing.
Life after death is nothing more then a metamorphic transformation.
Watch a caterpillar morph into a butterfly and fly away.
If you have more time, watch a volcano regurgitate a diamond
that was once, millions of years ago, a piece of carbon.
Amazing story!
Personally, I believe there is an after life.
Of course there is. Otherwise it all seems pretty pointless.
LOL.. Well that sums up in one sentence, what I was trying to say with too many words.
Thanks for posting that. That is an interesting, and ultimately (I believe) perfect take on the situation.
susie
Perhaps because where they are is so cool, they don't really want to waste one second coming back here....
susie
Ping.
Yeah. My OBE seemed real enough to me.
I can't even produce proof that I actually exist.
susie
I have to laugh at that because I'm certain our govt sees us that way! ;)
susie
Would it be Heaven for you, if you could never be with Peaches again?
Not according to Luke 16:27-31:
27Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Ummm. Hello???
Liberals believe in lots of things despite clear proof that they just plain aren't true. They can be some of the most faithful people around...
(proudly posting w/o reading the thread since 2002)
When I got to the afterworld, I tried telling everybody that there was life before death but nobody believed me so I decided to come back and prove it to them.
I think that Michael Reagan is a Christian (at least I"m pretty sure I read that).
susie
*shrug* Life is like a sewer.
What you get out of it depends entirely on what you put into it.
(Extra points for the FReeper who can cite the source of that little gem)...
(I sure hope so!)
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