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John_of_Woking
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NDE’s… a motive for beleif? Discuss
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Garyjohn2
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I think people will disagree with me, but I think some of these reports of near-death (or sometimes full-death) experiences are to be paid attention to.
Anybody can make up a story of having visions, or going to heaven, and then write a book. At the same time, maybe they aren’t making it up and are just hallucinating or getting visions from the devil or something.
HOWEVER, the stories I’ve heard are wonderful stories where the person affected has a huge conversion, turns their life around, and starts living for Christ in a major way…all because of the visions and information they received while “dead”.
We will know them by their fruits, right?
Anybody can make up a story of having visions, or going to heaven, and then write a book. At the same time, maybe they aren’t making it up and are just hallucinating or getting visions from the devil or something.
HOWEVER, the stories I’ve heard are wonderful stories where the person affected has a huge conversion, turns their life around, and starts living for Christ in a major way…all because of the visions and information they received while “dead”.
We will know them by their fruits, right?
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Whitacre_Girl
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Garyjohn - I largely agree with you. I think most of them are the result of the severe circumstances the body is going through. Very few of them seem genuine, and I agree with your statement completely - you shall know them by their fruits. I don’t think in any of these cases anyone has actually gone to heaven. I think they are visions, rather than the actual afterlife. God knows who is actually coming in, and who is “just visiting,” you know?
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Garyjohn2
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I think in some of these cases, the people actually enter the afterlife. Of course I can’t proove this…but based on some descriptions I’ve heard, it makes so much sense to me. I think perhaps God allows them a taste of heaven, or hell, for the purpose of changing their lives, or coming back and telling others so they change theirs.
Of course, I also think some are fake, mistaken, or otherwise. Who’s to say which is which?
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John_of_Woking
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My friend, hitherto an agnostic, who is still recovering from a severe accident, recently had three NDE’s…(he had three heart attacks) one of hell, two of a ‘Christ-like’ love. Whilst he is not as yet a fully professed Christian the experiences have positively impacted him in a way that seemed incomprehensible not so long ago. It made me sit up and take note and I have to say my Faith increased after hearing these experiences recounted.
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presidentjlh
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If something inspires in someone a true love for God and a desire to become close to Him, I think we can regard it as being good.
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DV56
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From the near death experiences that I’ve read about there have been people that have changed their lives. Not all NDE’s are pleasant. I’ve read about unrepentant people have terrible NDE’s. I’ve also read about very devout people having immeasurably beautiful NDE’s.
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Garyjohn2
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That is facinating! Three? Is there any information about them you are able to share here?..or is this the wrong thread…
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John_of_Woking
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The first one…he felt darkness… like he was being pulled interminably towards his barren plight…He heard menancing and threatening voices…I was petrified
and I wasn’t even there!Now, at this time, we had a whole lot of Christians (protestant brothers and sisters) and a few of us Catholic Christians entreating the Almighty for help. Some fasting (to my shame I never did - although it was the begiining of lent so some abstinence was at play!) took place as we believed the Devil or one of his reprobate angels were at work. Then later two more heart attacks …and two positive experiences of Indescribable Love- My friend ascribed it to Jesus. He begged Him not to leave as we all would in that situation…My friend is still in hospital and paralysed in the legs…What’s amazing is that physical healing has taken place and the recovery is quite rapid.
Nothing is impossible to God and it certainly stirs my soul to meditate on these matters.
God Bless, John
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John_of_Woking
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Agreed
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John_of_Woking
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Agreed. NDE’s are very interesting and I think their stories motivate me to pray harder!
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vera_dicere
Guest
My brother’s friend "died’ in a car accident, and he was “dead” for about 4 minutes.
Anyway, he lived a rather “unpleasant” life, engaged in all manner of sexual sins, gluttony, abusing his many girlfriends et cetera, he was also a staunch atheist and living his life this way because he said there was nothign after death so why bother adhering to some old fashioned sexual purity code?
When the doctors got him back, he woke up screaming, terrified! My brother was actually in the waiting room and heard his friend screeching!
Later, the friend told my brother, and then me and several others, that when he was “dead” he was in Hell. God appeared to him in a door way, between Heaven and Hell and told this guy to buck up his ideas or else his eternity would be spent in this place. God at the time was holding the leashes with several scary big dogs (the guy hated dogs and was very afraid of them),
When the guy told God he’d behave, God said “I only want you to be free of this eternity, I want you to know my love” or words to the effect.
Now, this former atheist is one heck of a Catholic!
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coolcatholicguy
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presidentjlh
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I am very, very happy that he ended his willful rejection of the Truth and has turned to God. Remarkable!
But this raises a question for me: Assuming your friend is being perfectly honest and indeed went to Hell, doesn’t this mean he actually “left” Hell?
Again, the power of God makes the powers of Hell look like me at the weight room (truly pathetic) but still, it raises some questions.
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hellopeople
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To be honest, that NDE seems more like built up guilt and the person knowing that they were doing wrong. God having an evil dog on a leash? It is just too much.
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Lypher
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I certainly think so and I think they are good as long as positive changes come out of those that have the experience.
God Bless You.
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presidentjlh
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Maybe, but I feel there’s definitely something to NDEs.
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hellopeople
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I feel there is something to NDE’s as well. The thing is that it could be a complete hallucination made up by our minds and we aren’t actually seeing visions of heaven or hell, but God is behind these hallucinations knowing that it will help the person to believe and live a better life.
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Angel7
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I wouldn’t be too trusting, because stuff like this can get tricky. Don’t let it lead to you thinking, oh according to this experience people who are not Christian are not saved… etc…
I would stay away from them altogether, really, I would. It is a very complicated area.
I choose not to listen to them, because sometimes I am afraid it may lead me to a moment of sin.
I would like to hear what A Priest would say about these experiences.
I would stay away from them altogether, really, I would. It is a very complicated area.
I choose not to listen to them, because sometimes I am afraid it may lead me to a moment of sin.
I would like to hear what A Priest would say about these experiences.
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John_of_Woking
Guest
Really uplifiting experience. Praise be to God
…I don’t want to go anywhere near hell’s chambers of doom- Status