After Life

The Dying Experience

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Death is a certainty, and almost 150,000 people die everyday, which would be approximately 2 people every second, and over a million people every week.

Even children ponder that which is unknown such as is there a God?....and "where do we go after we die?" Why is it that some people have an incredible fear over dying and others seem to embrace it?
One good starting point may be the near-death experiences. They used to be rare, but they have become much more common ever since the development of modern cardiac resuscitation methods. The medical community has been somewhat reluctant to address the phenomenon of NDEs, and grant money for research has been
scarce.

Could this be because near death experiences shed some light that could end the debate over God and after life existence?

According to the Barna Research Group, the vast majority of Americans believe that there is life after death, and that people do have a soul, and that Heaven and Hell does exist. The existence of God is the widely embraced viewpoint with 8 out of 10 Americans (81 percent%) believing in an afterlife of some sort.

In most religions the belief of the soul’s existence in an afterlife is present. Hinduism and Buddhism and Wicca believe in reincarnation, where a person's conduct during their lifetime warrant a reward or a demotion in their future life.

9% of people would side with the Agnostic position that heaven or hell may or may not exist, while just one out of every ten adults (10%) contend that there is no afterlife after one dies on earth. Philosophies such as humanism, empiricism, also hold a belief that is no afterlife.

Dr Susan Blackmore

Dr Susan Blackmore, a psychologist, sides with many
Atheistic and Agnostic points of view where near death experiences are simple to
explain. She states that simply "the brain is building a
different view of itself" when a person is seeing Near Death events. She
believes that a person's brain is capable of compiling images that create the
"Out of Body" experiences. She states that the brain is capable of
recreating an illusion of an out of body experience, such as a person who is
seeing their body from the vantage point of the ceiling, and looking at their
dead body.

Many claim Susan Blackmore's scientific proof that NDE is an artifact of brain chemistry are to be in error. NDEs have many common elements which suggests an experience outside the body than produced within the brain.

Nancy Evans Bush

Nancy Evans Bush, a NDEr with the International Association for Near-Death
Studies, who said: "There is no human experience of any description that
can't simply be reduced to a biological process, but that in no way offsets the
meaning those experiences have for us - whether it's falling in love, or
grieving, or having a baby."

Greg Stone

Greg Stone author of Under the Tree, gives an in depth Critique of Susan Blackmore's Dying Brain Hypothesis only to find her claim doesn't prove her
hypothesis. In fact, he finds that she doesn't give any evidence for
nonexistence of the spirit, but in fact does the opposite, proves that the
spirit can live separate than the mind.

What is A Near Death Experience?

According to Wikipedia A near-death experience (NDE), refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with an impending death, encompassing multiple sensations
including detachment from their body; feelings of
levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of
absolute dissolution; and the presence of a light, which some people interpret
as a deity.
According to Jeff Long with (International Association for Death Studies), approximately 12-15 million people have had a near death experience.

These substantial testimonies leave many speculators and NDE individuals confused and drawing informed conclusions about the experience because there are so many different experiences as NDE's can occur before unconsciousness, during unconsciousness, during recovery, after recovery and after clinical death.

Speculations that brain cells can live on after clinical death have been another hot theory which has been debated as a possible explanation for NDE's. It is known that a lack of oxygen to the brain causes brain cells to die, being that they are the most sensitive cells in the body.

"Though I accept that some simple or low-levelled
cognitive activity comparable to associative dreaming might still be
accounted for by residual cortical processes, this is a far cry from believing
that such processes might actually explain the level of thought, memory, emotion
and perception shown in NDEs." - Dr Peter Fenwick

Taking into account the vast amount of near death testimonies, we would like to focus this discussion on primarily clinical death experiences testify to Near Death Experience.

With the heated debate that many believe which is a result of an artificial stimulus produced by drugs or a lack of oxygen or the result of complex functions of the brain, these all can be eliminated as possible explanations if we focus on just clinical death experiences.

I write from a Christian perspective, because I have found overwhelming evidence for Christ, compared to all other faiths that exist. While near death experiences may be up for debate, the Near Death Experience can be yet another rock added to an overwhelming mountain of evidence for Christ.

While Near Death Experiences may not be the very best evidence for Christ, we do find many similarities within the experiences that do point towards him. Many atheists proclaim that near death experiences cannot be tested, and in many respects many spiritual encounters cannot be tested. There are many intances where people can experience a supernatural experience before death which may not be the same classification as true Near Death Experience. A great majority of studies from medical doctors conclude that clinical death results in deeper and richer after death experiences.

Possible Theories For Near Death Experiences

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1.)Hallucinations are not the cause of Near Death Experiences

Assuming that NDEs are merely hallucinations, it is odd that mass amounts of people are testifying to similar experiences. It also should be noted that there is a startling amount of accounts with the same vision of another reality existing over the present earth.

NDEs are not the result of drug or oxygen deprivation causing hallucinations, as "People tend to forget their hallucinations, whereas NDEs remain absolutely clear. If you ask people about the nature of their experiences while they are in the intensive care unit, you find they have a totally different flavor from NDEs." -Dr Fenwick

Dr. Jeff Long -"NDEs are quite varied, but the consistency of the NDE elements(OBE experience, tunnel, light, meeting other beings, etc.) is striking. There is no plausible biological explanation of NDEs. There is no other human experience so dramatic, shared by so many people, and so relatively consistent in its elements. The preceding suggests faith in the validity of NDE accounts is the most reasonable conclusion from the evidence."

German psychiatrist Michael Schroeter-In his extensive review of all published near death research states there is no reason to believe that NDEs are the result of psychiatric pathology or brain dysfunction.

2. NDE's are not a result of brain "awareness" of Near Death Experiences such as a tunnel, and seeing God.

NDEs Have Been Reported Since Ancient Times such as Plato's Testimony of a Soldier Named Er and His Near Death Experience.

Researcher P.M.H. Atwater, who has studied NDE in depth notes that NDE were experienced in Abraham Lincoln, Mozart, Albert Einstein, Queen Elizabeth I, Edward de Vere/the 17th Earl of Oxford, Winston Churchill, Black Elk, Walter Russell, as well as the Apostle Paul who described a NDE in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4.

This concludes that the brain does not produce images such as Susan Blackmore suggests as a possible explaination of NDE. Many of these historical individuals lived in a time where the NDE topic was not common knowledge.

3. The contunuation of the brain's survival after death is an invalid theory in the possible explaination of NDE's

Fenwick states that, "If the mind and brain can be independent, then that raises
questions about the continuation of consciousness after death.
Dr Peter Fenwick determined that consciousness is not dependent on the brain, as he carefully describes the state of the body during a cardiac arrest:

"The first point is that signs of cardiac arrest are the same as clinical death. There is no detectable cardiac output, no respiratory effort, and brain stem reflexes are absent. If you are in this state and I put a tube down your throat, you will not cough.You will have dilated pupils. Your blood pressure has fallen to zero. You are, in fact, clinically dead. Even if I start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), I cannot get your blood pressure any higher than 30 millimetres of mercury, and this is not going to produce an adequate blood flow to your brain." - Dr Fenwick, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist emeritus at the Maudsley Hospital in the UK; Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry; and Consultant Neuropsychiatrist at the Radcliffe Infirmary Oxford; and Honorary Consultant Clinical Neurophysiologist at Broadmoor Hospital

"A number of studies show that the longer CPR is continued, the more brain damage occurs. So it is not an ideal intervention. We know that after a cardiac arrest, both NDErs and non-NDErs suffer brain damage, but we do not know whether the amount of brain damage in the two groups is the same or different. During CPR, you are not going to be able to perfuse – that is, force an adequate amount of blood through – the brain. When the heart does finally start, the blood pressure rises, and there is a slow resumption of circulation and lots of technical reasons why your brain function does not return instantly. And the point to remember is that your mental state during recovery is confusional."

"What should be clear to you now is that it is not a good thing to have a heart attack. In their 1999 study of cardiac arrest and brain damage, Graham Nichol and his colleagues found that out of 1,748 cardiac arrests patients, only 126 survived (Nichol, Stiell, Hebert, Wells, Vandemheen, and Laupacis, 1999). Most units range between 2 and 20 percent resuscitation rates. Eighty-six of Nichol’s survivors were interviewed, and most of the people who were resuscitated had evidence of brain damage."

"Simultaneous recording of heart rate and brain output show that within 11 seconds of the heart stopping, the brainwaves go flat. Now, if you read the literature on this, some sceptical people claim that in this state there is still brain activity, but, in fact, the data are against this in both animals and humans. The brain is not functioning, and you are not going to get your electrical activity back again until the heart restarts." - Dr Fenwick

"The flat electroencephalogram (EEG), indicating no brain activity during cardiac arrest, and the high incidence of brain damage afterwards both point to the conclusion that the unconsciousness in cardiac arrest is total. You cannot argue that there are ‘‘bits’’ of the brain that are functioning; there are not. There is a confusional onset and offset, and there is no brain-based memory functioning. Everything that constructs our world for us is, in fact, ‘‘down.’’ There is no possibility of the brain creating any images. Memory is not functioning during this time, so it should be impossible to have clearly structured and lucid experiences, and because of brain damage, memory should be significantly impaired, and you should not be able to remember any experiences which occurred during that time."
What is Fenwick saying?
Dr Fenwick is referring to Near Death Experience cases involving cardiac arrest patients. In these cases, he is stating that the brain completely stops working and there should be no way that it can enable the patient to continue experiencing anything. Under normal circumstances, even if the patient does have any experience, he should not be able to remember it and report it later. That's because his memory has already stopped functioning. After all, the person's brain has shut down completely.

Profound Testimonies of Near Death Experiences

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One common misperception is that everyone seems to label "their" experience with "a Near Death Experience". In fact, there are a variety of experiences that people experience that may present supernatural tendencies such as dreams and visions, and experiences within consciousness, and while loosing consciousness.

The best evidence to point to review is the evidence of Near Death Experiences of those people who were clinically dead, and could verify conversations and events confirmed by medical personnel after they are clinically dead.

Many neurosurgeons have conducted research that we went over such as Dr Bruce Greyson, Pim van Lommel, Dr Melvin Morse, Dr Sam Parnia, Dr Peter Fenwick, and Kenneth Ring. ALL of these doctors have studied the field of NDE, and have narrowed their studies down to qualifying patients who only include cardiac patients who have fit into the category of clinical death. This means they are only studying the patients who are clinically brain dead, with no breathing, and no heartbeat. Within their studies they have found that many individuals report having better vision perception, better hearing, despite a dying brain incapable of those advanced functions.

Here is a summary of evidence which we found pretty remarkable findings:

1. Patients have advanced perception of sight, and hearing, and testify to events and conversations while being Clinically dead while being out of their body.

The patients can accurately recall conversations and events while they are clinically dead such as surgical techniques and nurses performing specific tasks in the room while the individual is dead. One of the most interesting studies were the people met people in their families they didn't know existed such as abortions, aunts or uncles that later verified to be true. Studying only the clinically dead patients throws out all the preconceived notions that the brain is capable of producing images, or are a result of drugs or stimulus because the brain is not functioning.

Pam Reynolds had an out of death experience where she met Jesus while under brain surgery. She accurately described the medical equipment that was covered which she would have had no knowledge of before the surgery. In addition, it must be noted that the blood from her brain was drained, so we have to admit that in this case, she had a flat EEG, and she was brain-dead.

In the Documentary The Evidence of Heaven, a patient experienced a NDE and floated out side of her body above the hospital, only to see a red shoe on the roof of the hospital. Later on, medical personnel retrieved the shoe off the roof. Here is a incredible story that proves that the brain doesn't produce NDE out of stored memory.

2. Near Death Experiences of Individuals who are dead for a Long period of time.

Don Piper was killed instantly from a 18-wheeler struck his Ford Escort head on. He was killed instantly - pronounced dead by four sets of EMTs. A pastor from the same conference Don just came from began praying for "the man in the red car." Don came back from the dead 90 minutes after being dead. To date, 34 surgical procedures have taken place. He walks only as a result of miraculous and in some cases medically unexplainable circumstances.

George Rodonaia underwent one of the most extended cases of a near-death
experience ever recorded. Pronounced dead immediately after he was hit by a car in 1976, he was left for three days in the morgue. He did not "return to life" until a doctor began to make an incision in his abdomen as part of an autopsy procedure. Prior to his NDE he was a neuropathologist as well as an avowed atheist. After his experience, he devoted himself exclusively to the study of spirituality, taking a second doctorate in the psychology of religion. Rodonaia held an M.D. and a Ph.D. in neuropathology, and a Ph.D. in the psychology of religion. He delivered a keynote address to the United Nations on the "Emerging Global Spirituality." Before emigrating to the United States from the Soviet Union in 1989, he worked as a research psychiatrist at the University of Moscow.

3. Clinically dead Individuals who encounter people in heaven who tell themthings they wouldn't have any knowledge of.

Al Sullivan was a 55 year old truck driver who was undergoing triple by-pass surgery when he had a powerful NDE that included an encounter with his deceased mother and
brother-in-law, who told Al to go back to his to tell one of his neighbors that their son with lymphoma will be OK. Furthermore, during the NDE, Al accurately noticed that the surgeon operating on him was flapping his arms in an unusual fashion, with his hands
in his armpits. When he came back to his body after the surgery was over, the surgeon was startled that Al could describe his own arm flapping, which was his idiosyncratic method of keeping his hands sterile.

Author Maggie Callanan in her Final Gifts book,wrote about an elderly Chinese woman who had an NDE in which she saw her deceased husband and her sister. She was puzzled since her sister wasn't dead, or so she thought. In actuality, her family had hid her sister's recent death from her for fear of upsetting her already fragile health.

There are testimonies of people seeing family members or friends in heaven they did not knew existed, such as abortions, or dead relatives only to later be confirmed.

If we regard experiencers' perceptions of dead relatives as just imaginary "wishful
thinking", how can we explain their accurate description of relatives previously unknown to them, yet later verified by living relatives and by civil documents?

Curtis Kelley was shown his dad beating his mom while she was pregnant (with him) by God in heaven, and a Russian doctor who was dead for three days had a remarkable testimony of things shown to him in the afterlife that later were proven accurate. One man relayed a message to a daughter whose mother passed away during a fight. The daughter was so depressed over not being able to be forgiven. The mother asked to relay the message for her daughter to get on with her life, as she was forgiven. This man was not related to the mother and daughter, but a mere acquaintance. Remarkable stories are credible evidence that the afterlife exists.

4. Individuals who were born blind suddenly see accurate events during a Near Death Experience.

Dr Kenneth Ring and Sharon Cooper completed a two-year study into the NDEs of the blind, and published their findings "Mindsight" which documents solid evidence of 31 cases in which blind people report visually accurate information obtained during an NDE.

Vicki Umipeg was born blind, as her optic nerve was completely destroyed at birth. Her NDE showed that she saw accurate descriptions that were verified as true.

5. Individuals experiencing a NDE and were clinically dead appeared in spirit and later confirmed.

Dr Melvin Morse testifies to a patient named Olga Gearhardt who underwent a
heart transplant. The transplant was a success, but at exactly 2:15 am, her new
heart stopped beating and it took a frantic transplant team three hours to revive her. The interesting part of the story was her family awaited at the hospital during the surgery, except for her son-in-law, who stayed home. Her family was only told in the morning that her operation was a success, without other details. When they called her son-in-law with the good news, he said that exactly 2:15 am, while he was sleeping, he awoke to see his Olga, his mother-in-law, at the foot of his bed. Olga told him to tell his wife that she was going to be ok. He wrote down the message, and the time of day and then fell asleep. When Olga regained consciousness. Her first words were "did you get the message?" She was able to confirm that she left her body during her near-death experience and was able to travel to her son-in-law to communicate to him the message.

6. Some of the Most unique Near Death Experiences involve Group Near Death Experiences.

A rare type of NDE is called the "group near death experience" where a whole group of people have a NDE at the same time and location. In 1996, NDE researcher Arvin Gibson interviewed a fire-fighter named Jake who had a most unusual NDE while working with other fire-fighters in a forest. His Near Death experience happened at the exact same time as several of his other co-workers were also experiencing a NDE. During their NDEs, they actually met each other and saw each other above their lifeless bodies. All survived and they verified with each other afterwards that the experience actually happened.

Other Considerations

A: Near Death Experiences are not a result of the publics conditioning to near Death Experiences.

Today the term " go towards the light" is a widely recognizedreferral to death experiences. Many people have claimed that these experiences are just another overall conditioning of the public which there for gives the brain ample evidence to reproduce that thought. This theory does not work for many reasons. P.M.H. Atwater, a NDE researcher has found that Abraham Lincoln, Mozart, Albert Einstein, Queen Elizabeth I, Edward de Vere, Winston Churchill, Black Elk, Walter Russell, and several others had NDE before they were widely recognized.

B: Experiences of NDEs are profoundly changed in ways that cannot occur from hallucinations and dreams.

Great examples of this are Atheists such as Howard Storm, and others who were hard core Atheists before their NDE, and after their experiences often peruse God, such as Howard Storm who presumed full time ministry. Alcoholics suddenly drop their addictions over night, and hardened criminals have a 180 degree life change. These profound life changes do not occur over night, and at best do not occur over several weeks of therapy for cases of addictions.

If the spiritual component of the near-death experience could be explained away as just an extension of the person's pre-existing belief system, why have confirmed atheists come back after their NDE convinced there is a God? And why have religious believers returned from their NDE with un-orthodox changes to their prior dogmas?

C. Complete Understanding of Complex Questions.

In many Near death experiences, one common theme that surfaces in Near Death Experiences is a person experiencing sudden and complete understanding when they are in the presence of God. In this interview with Howard Storm, it is hard to understand that he died a hard core Atheist and came back with a theological understanding such as a practicing minister with 40 years under his belt. This complete understanding is seen when people often ask questions of God on complex issues such as space, creation and so forth. Often people have stated to experience a lack of talking, but rather a dialogue that was spiritual in nature. Simply, they thought of the question, and Jesus answered it in their heads such as 23 minutes in Heaven's Bill Wiece.

In our present tense, we understand that the world revolves around time, being
born, aging and dying. When people experience the afterlife it is a common
testimony that they suddenly understand the whole scope and meaning of eternity. Take for example Howard Storms admission that he was gone just a few moments, but describes laying in hell for a matter of months before being
rescued. God is not limited by time as we are. With Him one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day (1 Tim. 1:17; cf. 2 Pet. 3:8), so Howard Storms time perception in Hell would line up with the biblical references of Time in eternity.

D. An Understanding of Sin.

Those that saw themselves in Hell knew exactly where they belong, and in their
mind, there was no question why they were put there. In fact, Christ talked about this Himself in Mathew 25. Jesus also said that if Satan cast out Satan, how would his kingdom stand? (Mathew 12:26) Meaning, why would Satan show people that there is a Hell, that would work against his kingdom and his lies. No, impossible. As an angel of light, Satan can deceive many. But this variation that they see in Hell, whether it is total darkness or whether it is fire, both are places where they never want to visit again. Linda story of going to Hell, where she realizes she has no hope in Hell. Listen to what Satan tells her in her testimony.

Clinical Death Research Medical Research

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1.) NDEs Have Been Validated In Scientific Studies.

Among all the specialists, the most interesting analysis comes from the mediacal
doctors themselves. Neuro-biological specialists within the field of medical science and psychiatry have carefully studied the field of NDE. After the review of thousands of near death experiences doctors such as Dr Bruce Greyson, Dr Peter Fenwick, Dr Parnia,and Dr Pim Van Lommel have narrowed the field down clinical death experiences where significant findings for life beyond death was quite evident.

Interest in Near Death Experiences originally gained interest by Sir William Barrett's 1926 book "Death-Bed Visions" which has become a classic in the field. At that time Death Visions were rarely discussed, if they did happen.

The establishment of the International Association for Near-death Studies was founded shortly after that in 1981, which was an international organization
based upon scientific research of near-death experiences. Among its publications exists a peer-reviewed Journal of Near-Death Studies, and a quarterly newsletter called Vital Signs. Among the scientific and academic journals that regularly publish new research on the subject of NDEs, are: Journal of Near-Death Studies, Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, British Journal of Psychology, American Journal of Disease of Children, Resuscitation, The Lancet, Death Studies, and the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Dr Sam Parnia

Dr Sam Parnia at Southampton University, conducted a 3 year study in Sept 2008
which 25 UK and US hospitals will examine near-death studies in 1,500 heart
attack patients-survivors.

Sam Parnia's first interests in NDE was at age 15 reading a book of experiences of persons close to death. In the early years of medicine Dr Parnia understood the common theoretical debates surrounding NDE and looked into possible stimulants that could invoke hallucinations such as lack of oxygen, drugs, as well as their religious backgrounds. Dr Parnia ruled out the subjective accounts, and was extremely selective in his tests where he studies only people who suffered cardiac
arrest,and who were clinically dead.

Sam Parnia concentrated researching patients who could accurately describe the situation of the emergency room after being clinically dead. He tested their testimony with the nurses and doctors who attended to the person to verify the conversations and events.

Dr Peter Fenwick

Dr Peter Fenwick is an accomplished doctor with over 240 papers in medical and
scientific journals to his credit. In 1996, Dr. Fenwick became a consulting neuro psychiatrist emeritus to the Epilepsy Unit at the Maudsley Hospital, which he ran for twenty years. He is also chairman of the Scientific and Medical Network, a group of doctors and scientists seeking to deepen understanding in science and medicine.

Dr Fenwick published a book on the subject of NDE, titled 'The Truth in the Light, which was a critical examination of over 300 cases selected from approximately 3000 that had been sent to him.

Dr Bruce Greyson

Dr Bruce Greyson- Professor of Psychiatry, studied 1,595 patients admitted to a
cardiac care unit with heart trouble. Dr. Bruce Greyson is one of the leading
academic researchers into Near Death Experiences. He is a psychiatric researcher
and teacher at the University of Virginia Medical School.

Foundation panel discussion at the September 11, 2008 United Nations Hanifa Mezoui, PhD, Chief of the NGO Section of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (ECOSOC) at the United Nations, Dr. Elie During - Beyond the Mind-Body Problem . Dr Mario Beauregard, PhD talking about how mainstream science regards the study of consciousness, and how the religious spiritual phenomenon are being ignored by the medical community. He explains the cultural war of facing no funding for the possibility that experiences may have a spiritual spect in explanation. Dr Henry Stapp, talks about the collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics can explain mind-brain interaction. Dr Christina M. Puchalski, speaking about the irrelevance of reductionist views of reality to clinical practice.

Pim van Lommel

The findings of Pim van Lommel suggests that research subjects can experience consciousness, with self-identity, cognitive function and memories, including the possibility of perception outside their body during a flat EEG.

Dr Pim van Lommel in Holland studied NDE in which patients did not have a heart
beat, breating, and loss of brain function. Dr Pim Van Lommel conducted a huge
study, with 344 cardiac arrest survivors with in 2 days of their heart attack
within 10 hospitals. Forty-one survivors reported NDEs, and it was found that
NDEs was not influenced by the duration of either unconsciousness or cardiac
arrest, or by medication. He also found that significant NDEs were reported in
persons who were clinically dead.

Van Lommel, Van Wees, Meyers, Elfferich (2001). Near-Death Experience in Survivors of Cardiac Arrest: A Prospective Study in the Netherlands. Lancet.

"About the Continuity of Our Consciousness" by Pim Von Lommel

A great response by Pim Van Lommel against a Leading Skeptic regarding his research study.

Dr Raymond Moody

Dr. Raymond Moody published a book entitled "Life After Life" which described
his findings from 150 persons who died, or almost died, and then recovered. He
finds that 1. People's lives are transformed after having an NDE, 2. NDEs are
not hallucinations, 3. Drugs do not appear to be a factor.

Carl Becker, Ph.D

Dr Carl Becker has researched NDEs in Japanese hospitals and literature for 30 years. He states in his professional opinion that 1. Paranormal knowledge that is later verified 2. The similarity of deathbed events in different cultures

Dr Melvin Morse

Dr Melvin Morse is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of
Washington. He has studied near-death experiences in children for over 15 years and suggests that memory could be stored outside the brain, that the right temporal lobe acts as a transmitter and receiver of the universal mind. Dr. Morse claims that there are many scientific facts that validate a higher power.

T. Lee Baumann, M.D.

Quantum physics supports NDE concepts which include the properties of light, a
multi-dimensional reality, zero point, quantum interconnectivity, quantum
consciousness, quantum synchronicity, space and time interconnectivity, time
travel, teleportation, non-locality, singularities and the concept of
subjectivity. T. Lee Baumann, M.D. is the author of God at the Speed of Light: The Melding of Science and Spirituality, Window to God: A Physician's Spiritual Pilgrimage, and The Akashic Light: Religion's Common Thread.

How Can We Test Other Super Natural Experiences?

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The Scientific Evidence For Survival Cf Consciousness After Death has been one of the best resources in gathering the medical evidence of NDE's and throwing out speculative assumptions.

Their article has presented the best analysis that includes precise answers to the facts behind NDE, but also brings us to their evidence of other spiritual occurrences. The occurrences we would like to review are their discussions on spiritual matters such as talking to dead spirits, remote viewing, dreams, mediums and psychics.

Many people do not believe in fortune tellers and psychics as they think it is an elaborate scam for cash. Like anything in the world, there are those who master their craft such as Certified Master Chefs compared to hobbyist cooks who enjoy the art of cooking.

Bill Schnoebelen is an individual who climbed the ranks of Satanism and became a Voodoo High Priest, 2nd degree Church of Satan, New Age guru, occultist, channeled, 90th degree Mason, Knight Templar, and a member of the Illuminati. You would agree with me that a person of that caliber would be able to produce much more than the lady down the street who reads tea leaves. The same evidence exists for ministers who are able to raise the dead in Jesus's name such as Jewish/Christian Prophet Tom Deckard, or individuals such as Bree Keyton who have preached the gospel in other nations by translation of the spirit, (meaning appearing in spirit) only to have the people later recognize her in person from these crusades as being there in person than in spirit.

What I would like to ask the reader of this article to do is to really take a good look at the evidence they consider truth over their lives. We will be giving answers from the Bible which give clear cut answers regarding the other spiritual answers presented in the Article mentioned above. Again, we are going to lay down outstanding evidence to show that Bible is the supreme authority to these answers.

If there was murder many people were accused, having obviously one party that is truly guilty in the group, we would assume that after investigative techniques were performed that the evidence would eventually surface pointing clearly to the direction of the person at fault. Just like a police investigation there should be very specific pieces of evidence that point to God if there is one.

While investigating the many religions of the world it seems like many point to only ONE piece of evidence that which proves their God. "God can be seen in design" is often the one and only evidence for God in many religions.

I would like to briefly go over some of the SPECIFIC evidence that only relates to The God Of The Bible. The end of the article will give more evidence, and also I will include my blog which gives up to 70 pages of Evidence for Jesus Christ.

- The bible has over 2500 prophecies, and so far every Atheist has avoided that evidence because there is no explanation for over 2000 prophecies that have been
proven accurate. The prophecies are solid evidence specifically for the God if YHWH that no other religion even compares to.

- The bible is supernatural. Many people testify to reading it, and gathering new insight each time they read it. How can we know it is not just a number of testimonies that were made up? They have found advanced Mathematics in the bible.

Researchers such as Faulstich and Ivan Panin for instance have devoted 50 years of his life exploring the numerical structure, generating over 43,000 hand-penned pages of analysis.

On top of that the bible codes are one of the greatest discoveries of the century in testifying to the incredible supernatural origin of the bible. The bible doesn't have just a handful of codes present, but thousands of codes revealing names of current presidents, groups and events of our time. Can we get more specific with this piece of evidence? The answer is YES!! The old testament prophecies reveal a plan set forth for God to come to earth and show his love for humanity and dying for their sins. Many Jewish people are still waiting for the messiah to come. The bible reveals another amazing layer of evidence. Within the old testament prophecies reveals the name of Jesus within the bible codes. Take for example the prophecy that exists in Isaiah 52 and 53. They have found 74 names relating to Jesus and the persons around him during his ministry The odds of finding these codes relating to the messiah are about one in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, or one out of a billion times a trillion.

- The prophecies of Jesus were investigated by 600-university students at Westmont College. They found that the statistics that one man could fulfill over 48 prophecies according to the bible would be 1 in (10 157POWER) . Yet Jesus fulfilled over 300! Here is the concrete evidence -a committee of the SCIENTIFIC -American Scientific Affiliation determined that all the analysis was correct and was published.

- Many Christians don't know anything about the festivals and choose to participate in Pagan holidays such as XMAS, Easter and Halloween. They do not know that God's festivals that are prophecies in themselves and YHWH also shows himself on his appointed feasts. It has been found that solar and lunar eclipses though history has happened on YHWH's appointed festival dates, which is specific evidence for the YHWH.

(We do not agree with the date of Jesus's return, and we do find there are scriptures that proclaim that we should be keeping the festivals and sabbath today as we will do so when Jesus returns)

-The new and current evidence of a 3D image has been found on the shroud of Turin. The shroud of Turin has been speculated as Jesus's burial cloth. There are blood marks around his head which was the rose thorn crown he was made to wear on his crucifixion.

- Turin Shroud reveals a Hologram that presents the words - "The Lamb-

- Jesus had to be born through a particular family line as it was prophesied in the Old Testament.- Calculated Statistics of that Happening 10 To the 2nd Power (1 in 10,000)

- GOD Picked the City of Bethlehem for The Messiah to be Born in. Jesus would have No CONTROL over this. Calculated Statistics of that Happening - 10 to 5th Power (1 Chance in 100,000)

- The Messiah would have had 456 identifying characteristics. Jesus had them all.

- Jesus DID NOT manipulate events to fulfill prophecy

Such as The Place of the Messiah’s birth (Micah 5:2).

The Date of the Messiah’s birth (Daniel 9:25).

Manner of birth of the Messiah (Isaiah 7:14),

The Manner of death of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:10;Psalm 22:16 prophesied before the invention of crucifixion).

Piercing in side of that Messiah (Zechariah 12:10).

The Details of the Burial of the Messiah(Isaiah 53:9).Executers dividing up Jesus’s clothes after he died on the cross

- AN EARTHQUAKE and an Eclipse Happened while Jesus was dying on the cross, 13 Sources wrote down the fact that it did happen, and the darkness was noted all around the world! In addition The Holy Temple Had A Curtain Separating the Holy Place where GOD dwelled AND At the Very moment of Jesus's Death the Curtain (60 feet in height, and 30 feet in width and 4 inches thick) was torn in half.
Now that we can lay out the basic overwhelming evidence for God in the person of Jesus Christ, (the holy trinity) we can now show you what the bible says about other supernatural occurrences.

The vast evidence for Satanism is evidence for Christianity. After you hear the testimonies of many converted followers of Satanism turn to Christianity, you find significant evidence for wickedness and darkness exists just the same as the extensive evidence for God which is goodness and holiness.

The bible says Satan is a master of misrepresentation. Satan never reveals his destructive consequences to people upfront, rather he comes across attractive, engaging, and persuasive.

The bible has warned us that Satan successfully presents himself as "an angel of light" to people revealed in 2 Corinthians 11:14.

His plan is to get as many people off track involved in religions that lead them to Hell, and sinful desires that condemn them to an eternity in liquid fire. So here we have a very plausible answer to the many visions,dreams, and spiritual occurrences that lead people to believe in reincarnation and other religious deities from spiritual experiences. (It is the authors conviction based on the evidence for Christianity that there is only one GOD, it is up to each individual to carefully weigh the evidence of their faith and convictions. I have not found any signifiant evidence for any other
religions, like that that is present for Christianity) (Please feel free to comment if there is something I have missed)

What does the bible say about those who read horoscopes, get their fortunes read, ingage in contacting the dead, astrology, and witchcraft in general?

Deuteronomy 18:10- "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft"

Exodus 22:18 "You shall not allow a sorceress to live.

Leviticus 19:31 'Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 20:6 'As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off
from among his people.

Deuteronomy 12:31 "You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

Jeremiah 27:9 "But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.

Malachi 3:5 "Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness
against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear
falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow
and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me," says the
LORD of hosts.

So, why did God gave warnings not to consult with a person who interprets omens or dreams such as witches and soothsayers?

The answer lies in Deuteronomy 18:9-12 where consulting with those who claim to know the future is that it may involve consorting with demons (Deut. 18:9-12).

In Acts 16: 16-19 tells the testimony of when Paul was preaching the gospel and a girl with supernatural power was confirm the legitimacy of Paul’s preaching. Even though she was telling the truth, Paul cast the spirit out of her because it was demonic.

What does the Bible say about demonic possession? What can you do if you have dabbled in Witchcraft? Simple- Ask Jesus to come into your life, and proclaim you want the demons to go. It is not a complicated thing, as Jesus does it for you. BUT, you must turn away from the old ways and crate new ways. This means throwing out all things such as tarot cards, ouija boards, and so forth. This Spiritual Deliverance Manual is one of the best out there for direction.

The Evidence For Christ is Overwhelming!!

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Barna Research Group also has found more than 50 million adults are still uncertain about the afterlife. With all the Major Religions out there, how do you know which one is the truth?

We have compiled some pretty INCREDIBLE Evidence for the Bible. I Challenge YOU to review our evidence, then review any other religion. You will see the BIBLE is set apart.

HERE ARE JUST 12 POINTS THAT ARE EXTRA ORDINARY

Either what JESUS said was false, and you can dismiss the information, OR, if he was telling the truth, there IS a HEAVEN or Hell waiting for us. God LOVED US all so much, Jesus suffered the eternal fire for us...

1. The Bible is Divinely inspired. It touches on an astounding remarkable amount evidence of History ,Science, Mathematics AND Medicine to the finest detail. It also has embedded Numeral Mathematics within the words, as well as THOUSANDS of Bible codes threaded within and throughout the BIBLE. (The Bible Codes and Mathematics only work in the original word of the Bible, not the modern translations) How can you possibly write a book (of 40 authors) that reads on the surface fluently, and has THOUSANDS of Modern Bible Codes, AND on top of that Multiple places of Mathematics present?

2. Jesus had to be born through a particular family line as it was prophecied in the Old Testiment. Jesus would have NO CONTROL over that. They have calculated the odds of that actually happening - 10 To the 2nd Power (1 in 10,000) Jesus would be a Descendant of David

3.Prophecy Tells US GOD Picked the City of Bethlehem for The Messiah to be Born in. Jesus would have No CONTROL over this. They calculated the odds of this - 10 to 5th Power (1 Chance in 100,000) Jesus would be born in Bethlehem

4.The Uniqueness of God is shown in his consistency. In everything he does, he wants to lead people TO HIM. For 1000 years followers of the holy Bible Scriptures came to Bethlehem and celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. In Leviticus 23 it tells us those people, as well as many Chrstians today are to celebrate this festival in humble ways such as living in tents remembering what the deliverance of Gods people out of slavery in Egypt, in the exodus. AND ASTONISHINGLY, Faithful believers knew that their Messiah would be born DURING this festival in Bethlehem. They knew someday their messiah would be born during this festival. AND HE WAS!! It is amazing that Gods Festivals all SIGNIFY important events in history that show himself. Jesus will COME BACK on Feast of Trumpets some day. So we watch for that day at the Mount of Olives.

5. An astonishing 668 prophecies have been fulfilled and none have ever been proven false . An honest study of biblical prophecy will compellingly show the divine authorship of the Bible. Jesus fulfilled over 300 messianic prophecies written in the Old Testament scriptures. Prophecies have come to pass regarding events around the world. Isn't that amazing?

6. There are 2,000 prophecies that discuss past events which have come to pass (proven correct), future prophecies and 300 prophecies (ALL proven correct and detailed) on the implications about the life, INCLUDING the death, and resurrection of Jesus. No other religion has specific, repeated, and unfailing fulfillment of predictions many years in advance of contingent events over which the predictor had no control.

Buddha didn't rise from the dead, nor did Confucius or Zoroaster. Muhammad didn't fulfill detailed prophecy. Alexander the Great didn't raise the dead or heal the sick. And though there is far less reliable information written about these "religious" leaders, they are believed in and followed by millions.

7. The Messiah would have had 456 identifying characteristics. Jesus had them all.

8.Professor Emeritus of Science at Westmont College, Peter Stoner, has calculated the probability of one man fulfilling the major prophecies made concerning the Messiah. Twelve different classes representing some 600-university students worked out the estimates.

1 in (10 157POWER) that one man could fulfill even 48 (F O U R T Y - e i g h t ) of these Old Testament prophecies. JUST REMEMBER THAT JESUS FULLFILLED OVER 300!

Finally, he submitted his figures for review to a committee of the American Scientific Affiliation. Upon examination, they verified that his calculations were dependable and accurate in regard to the scientific material presented (Peter Stoner, Science Speaks, Chicago: Moody Press, 1969, 4).

9. Jesus DID NOT manipulate events to fulfill prophecy Such as The Place of the Messiah’s birth (Micah 5:2). , The Date of the Messiah’s birth (Daniel 9:25). Manner of birth of the Messiah (Isaiah 7:14), The Manner of death of the Messiah (Zechariah 12:10; Psalm 22:16 prophesied before the invention of crucifixion). , Piercing in side of that Messiah (Zechariah 12:10).The Details of the Burial of the Messiah(Isaiah 53:9).Executers dividing up Jesus’s clothes after he died on the cross

10. MILLIONS of Muslims are seeing dreams of JESUS and ARE Converting to Christianity

11. AN EARTHQUAKE and an Eclipse Happened while Jesus was dying on the cross...

Sited by MANY NON Biblical Sources (13 in total) It did HAPPEN! The darkness was noted all around the world! It happened from 12 noon to 3 pm when Jesus died.

12. The Holy Temple Had A Curtain Seperating the Holy Place where GOD dwelled. At the Very moment of Jesus's Death the Curtain was torn in half. The Remarkable thing, CHECK out the measurments of this Curtain- The curtain was 60 feet in height, 30 feet in width and 4 inches thick

AND There IS TONS MORE ... see our site evidence4christianity.blogspot.com

- Archaeology has confirmed the Bible, and a relatively small part of the remains of the biblical world has been excavated. Of some 5,000 known sites of archaeological significance in Palestine, only about 350 have been excavated, and of these only about 2 percent have been extensively excavated. Of those that have been excavated, it is a fact that the entire Bible holds a remarkable track record of accuracy when compared with the finds unearthed through archaeology.

Gleason Archer, a scholar of biblical studies and languages of recent years, writes about attributes of the Bible: "As I have dealt with one apparent discrepancy after another and have studied the alleged contradictions between the biblical record and the evidence of linguistics, archaeology, or science, my confidence in the trustworthiness of Scripture has been repeatedly verified and strengthened by the discovery that almost every problem in Scripture that has ever been discovered by man, from ancient times until now, has been dealt with in a completely satisfactory manner by the biblical text itself-or else by objective archaeological information" (Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1982, p. 12).

(Even though we do not agree that Jesus will return on the date they reccomended, these great researchers have found extraordinary evidence that YHWH has shown himself to his people though HIS festivals, in ways YHWH could only produce! We reccemend to any Christian to keep the festivals and sabbath because Jesus kept them, as well as the disciples and first century Christians after Jesus died. The true blessings are found in keeping YHWH's commandments. )

What makes Christianity Different than All Other Religions?

Point A: Jesus Claimed to Be GOD Himself

Unlike any other Religion, Jesus Christ claimed to be God (John 10:30 ) “I and the Father are one.” Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did.

There is only one God (Exodus 20:3; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8)

Jesus is a part of a trinity. Just like the mathematical model of Liquid Water-Water vapor-Ice
water, all revealed in different forms.

God revealed himself in Exodus to Moses through a Burning bush Exodus 3:14 - "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’" Jesus claims to his disciples in John 8:58- " 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.'"

Jesus claimed to be there from the beginning of the creation of the universe John 1:1 - "In the beginning was the Word(Jesus) , and the Word(Jesus) was with God, and the Word(Jesus) was God." John 1:14 - "And the Word(Jesus) became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

The Disciples of Jesus were asking about the Father was like, Jesus in John 14: 6-7 Jesus said to
him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him."

Point B: What if The Bible Is Correct About Heaven and Hell?

There are over 162 references in the New Testament, alone which warns of hell. And over 70 of these references were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ! You choose hell when you reject Jesus Christ, and then in turn refuse God's love gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ. God never forces anyone to believe in him. He gives his creation a choice to love him.

Jesus Christ says in Matthew 25:41, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into EVERLASTING FIRE, prepared for the devil and his angels."

All other major world religions, like Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, Catholics teach that we must perfect ourselves in order to be saved. All Other religions believe that if people live good lives, and if the good works they do outweigh the bad, then they will have earned their way to heaven. However, this approach has logical errors. For example, if we prepared an omelet with five good eggs and one rotten egg, we do not get an omelet with four good eggs, but get a rotten omelet. Just like this, we cannot mix good deeds and bad deeds, and hope that we will be good enough to enter into the heaven.

The Bible says that we are all sinners (Rom. 3:23, Romans 3:13). This means that WE HAVE all offended God. Because of this, we are separated from God (Isaiah 59:2), are dead in our sins (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:3), cannot please God (Rom. 3:10-11), and will suffer damnation (2 Thess. 1:9).　

Therefore, Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the grave to save us (Isa. 53:6). Only the saving faith in Jesus Christ can be the basis for forgiveness of sin and life everlasting (Ac. 16:31)

Salvation is found by trusting in what Jesus did on the cross (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Pet. 2:24, John 1:12, Acts 16:30,31,

GOD MAKES IT EASY TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16)

Pray this prayer, and mean it with all your heart, AND YOU WILL BE SAVED.

Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and unless you save me I am lost forever. I thank you for dying for me at Calvary. I come to you now, Lord the best way I know how, and ask you to save me. I now receive you as my Savior. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen.

BE SURE to Check out our websites

www.evidence4christianity.blogspot.com
www.evidenceforchristianity.blogspot.com
www.whygodreallyexists.com
themostimportantnews.com
lifeafterdeathheavenandhell.com
www.theantichristisnot.com