Christian Doctrines and the NDE

Someone once asked me by email the following question: "You mentioned that you learned from near-death testimony that we don't attain heaven because of a belief in Jesus, but rather, we attain heaven through emulating Jesus by living a life of love. How has your knowledge of near-death experiences changed your belief in Christian doctrines such as the trinity, resurrection, the work of Jesus, and others." The near-death phenomenon expanded my understanding of Christian doctrines. Where controversial doctrines were once in question, near-death experiences gave me the answers. The following are my answers to questions relating to Christian doctrines according to my understanding of them in light of near-death experiences.

Christian Doctrines Index

God	Evolution	Humanity
Garden of Eden	Adam & Eve	Original Sin
Evil	Satan	Angels & Demons
Heaven & Hell	God's Law	Virgin Birth
Jesus	Christ	Trinity
Bible Miracles	Resurrection	Gospel
Salvation	Last Judgment	Damnation
Bible	Church	Prayer
Always Saved	Predestination	Second Coming
Abortion	Death Penalty	Homosexuality
War

God

The Bible teaches that God is life (1 John 5:20), God is love (1 John 4:16), and God is light (1 John 1:5). This agrees with near-death testimonies. God is not a divine man. God is everything. God is the life and light of love that shines through Jesus, Buddha, and everyone from one degree to another. One near-death experiencer gave a good analogy of their experience with God in heaven. The analogy is this: What air is to this physical world; God is to the spiritual world. In the higher realms of light, it has been said that the presence of God is obvious to all. Read more about the near-death experience and my research conclusions concerning God.

Evolution versus Creationism

The scientific, metaphysical and religious evidence suggests that both evolution and creationism are true. The universe was created by God through the process of evolution. Although a literal interpretation of Genesis suggests the universe is not older than 10,000 years old, the scientific evidence shows the universe to be over 15 billion years old. The light from the stars that we see in the night sky took millions and millions of years to reach our eyeballs. If this was not true, you would not be able to see them in the sky. This fact alone proves that the universe is much older than 10,000 years. But a spiritual interpretation of Genesis can incorporate the scientific evidence because the universe is a greater revelation of God than Genesis. The universe is a greater declaration of God's handiwork than the entire Bible. And there is a mountain of scientific evidence supporting the theory of evolution. You can read more about human origins based upon a famous near-death experiencers.

Humanity

Garden of Eden

A literal interpretation of the story of the Garden of Eden tells a bizarre tale of how sin entered the world and humanity fell from God:

A talking snake tricked a woman, who was created from a man's rib, into eating magical fruit.

The Bible states that this ridiculous event unleashed the horrible satanic legions of apocalyptic abomination of desecration and damnation from the dark abyss and into the hearts of all humanity bringing unspeakable evil, death, oblivion, holocaust, and Armageddon.

However, if we give this strange story a spiritual interpretation, as one would do with a parable or dream, then we might be able to see that this is an archetypal account of humanity's fall from the spiritual universe. The "Garden of Eden" represents our heavenly origin. The "snake" represents wisdom. The "apple" possibly represents our free will. Our "banishment from Eden" represents how souls left the divine origins of heaven to explore our free will and the physical universe. A large group of early Christians believed this was the case. Read more about my research conclusions concerning the fallibility of a literal interpretation of the Bible.

Adam and Eve

A literal interpretation of Genesis suggests that Adam was the first human on Earth. Eve, who was created from the rib of Adam, was the first woman on Earth. However, this does not take into account of the millions of years of human evolution that science has discovered. Edgar Cayce, who had near-death experiences for over forty years, was given the complete account of Adam and Eve. Here it is:

Humans evolved from homo erectus to homo sapiens. But homo sapiens did not actually become humans until the souls that left their divine origins began to possess the bodies of the homo sapiens. Thus, is the Biblical story of the "sons of God" joining with the "daughters of men."

The story of Adam and Eve is the story of how the ape-man became human. They came out of the trees, developed communities, learned to cultivate, created religion, and thus, man was born. The first man, Adam, was the first homo sapien to become the first "son of God" and the first to receive the divine consciousness. Edgar Cayce revealed that this man was the first incarnation of the "Christ" soul. The "Christ" soul was a higher spiritual being who chose to supervise the evolution of humanity. Cayce revealed that Jesus was not the Christ soul, but that Jesus was the final incarnation of the Christ soul. Thus the Christ soul was the first "Adam". The last "Adam" was the man named Jesus. Read more about Edgar Cayce's near-death testimony concerning the past lives of Jesus.

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Original Sin

The doctrine of original sin came from a literal interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve. It suggests that the sin of Adam led to spiritual and physical death to all humanity. Only a divine Savior can reverse it.

The notion that God punishes children for the sins of their fathers is incredibly unjust and Christians need to face up to this. Suppose your friend committed a murder. It would be an incredible travesty of justice if your friend's son was executed because of his father's sin - especially if your friend gets off scott-free. Read more about the near-death experience and my research conclusions concerning religion.

Evil

It is clear that the Bible states that evil and sin are the "plague" of humanity. Christians believe there is a universal force that is opposed to God and is the source of all evil. But near-death testimonies reveal what Christians have traditionally known to be "evil" is best described as being "ignorance." What Christians have traditionally known to be "sin" is best described as being "mistakes."

It must be admitted by Christians that "evil" and "sin" are permitted to exist only because of the sovereignty of God. Otherwise, God would have destroyed "evil" the moment it was created. People having near-death experiences learn that God permits us to make mistakes for the purpose of instruction and enlightenment. For example, Hitler was very "evil" man in that he was a very ignorant man. There was no universal force than made Hitler "evil," Hitler made himself into a very very ignorant person. Read more about the near-death experience and my research conclusions concerning Hitler.

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Satan

The Bible refers to a being that is the originator of "evil". According to the Bible, this being was one of the greatest creations of God but fell from grace. Now, this being called "Satan" leads a universal force of rebellion against God. Christians believe this being tempts people to sin and is responsible for the fall of humanity from grace. But many near-death experiencers have been shown that such a being does not exist. What people think of as "Satan", is really their own personal trait of self-centeredness, self-gratification, self-glorification, self-consciousness, self-righteousness, self-interest, SELF. Read more about the near-death experience and my research conclusions concerning Satan.

Angels and Demons

The Bible describes angels as a hierarchy of higher spirit beings that aid humanity in fulfilling the work of God. Demons are a hierarchy of lower spirit beings that war against God and man.

There is much evidence from near-death experiences, after-death visitations, deathbed visions, out-of-body experiences, dreams, etc.. that higher and lower beings do exist. Some of these higher beings are the spirits of human beings. This agrees with the Biblical notion that people entertain angels without knowing it. Other beings appear with great authority, tremendous light and even wings. Read more about the near-death experience and my research conclusions concerning angelic guides.

The Bible and near-death experiences describe beings that can only be described as horrible. Near-death experiences also describe beings with grotesque bodies having such features as rotting flesh, melting faces, dark countenance and very unpleasant personalities. It is generally assumed by the people who see them that they are human. Such beings can be found in the hell realms. Earthbound human souls that haunt the living have been mistaken for "demons". Ultimately, all these beings will eventually see the light and progress higher, but it may take "eons" of "time".

Heaven and Hell

God's Law

The so-called "law of God" in the Bible, is based on the concept of "an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth", the natural law of cause and effect, what goes up must come down, do unto others and the same will be done to you, live by the sword and die by the sword, reap what you sow, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, the law of karma, etc... This is the law of nature and the law of the physical realm. While this law can be seen everywhere, there is an even greater law which has been revealed from higher sources. It is the law of forgiveness. When someone strikes you, instead of striking back, turn the other cheek. This will stop the vicious cycle of hurt. It means loving your enemies. It means unconditional love. The best way to undo bad karma is through forgiveness. Forgiveness is divine because God forgives everyone. God is love (1 John 4:16) and love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Cor.13:4-5). In fact, love removes a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Therefore, the law of God is love (Rom. 13:10). The commandment of the Lord is love (John 15:12). Even the very gospel is love (John 3:16). And Jesus affirmed that the way to eternal life is love (Luke 10:25-28). Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7). We know we are saved if we love (1 John 3:14). Love is the sign of a disciple of Christ (John 13:35). Without love we are nothing (1 Cor. 13:2). Without love we gain nothing (1 Cor. 13:3). So faith alone without works of love is dead (James 2:17). We must follow God's law of love to attain the Kingdom of heaven (Luke 10:25-28). The Kingdom of heaven can be found within ourselves (Luke 17:20).

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Virgin Birth

Jesus

The Bible describes some very special people who exhibited super-human abilities and Jesus is one of them. The influence of the life of Jesus on the world cannot be overstated. Jesus is also person who frequently appears in near-death experiences. The Bible describes Adam as being the first "son of God" for which the Apostle Paul compares Jesus to be the "last Adam" who undoes the error of Adam.

In the Hebrew Bible, a character named Melchezidek is described as a being who was never born and who has never died. Paul describes Jesus as being a priest in the order of Melchezidek. Enoch was another special man because God took him to heaven. The story of Joseph is about a man who rose from an Egyptian slave to an Egyptian prince. He was blessed with the power of dream interpretation and prophecy. It is clear from the Bible these were some very special people. If the gospels are true, then Jesus certainly had powers that no one else in the world ever had. This would make the life and death of Jesus certainly unique. Read more about the near-death experience and my research conclusions concerning Jesus.

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Christ

The word "Christ" means "anointed one" and is a reference to the Hebrew Messiah. The New Testament states that Jesus was the Hebrew Messiah. The origin of the concept of the Messiah can be found in Genesis where God informs Satan that a descendant of Eve will destroy him. God also informs Satan that he will harm this descendant of Eve in the process of Satan's destruction (Gen. 3:15). This descendant of Eve was to be the Messiah.

The Bible describes several people who are able to fulfill this prophecy of a Messiah. As previously mentioned, several special people in the Bible includes Adam, Enoch, Melchezidek, Joseph and Jesus. These special people in the Bible have many personality characteristics that are similar to each other. 

The Bible declares the fact that reincarnation was widely believed in Biblical days. There is strong evidence that reincarnation was taught by Jesus. Those Christians who believe in reincarnation, such as myself, might see how these personalities in the Bible having similar personality characteristics, that the personalities of Adam, Enoch, Melchezidek, Joseph and Jesus could be the reincarnation of the same soul. Several Christian sects around the time of Christ believed this as well. Also, the man who had more documented near-death experiences in history - Edgar Cayce - affirmed that this is the case as well.

In essence, the Bible is the story of this very special soul and his ministry throughout the recorded history of the world. From this information, one can say that Jesus was a man, flesh and blood, whose soul attained "Christhood" (i.e., at-one-ment with God), the "anointed one" who reincarnated as the some of the most important figures in the Bible.

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Trinity

According to the Bible, humans were created in the image of God. According to many religious traditions and near-death experiences, a human consists of a physical body, a mental body and a spirit body. The human body is actually a trinity of bodies: mind, body and spirit. The Bible describes God as a trinity of forces: life, light, and love. Jesus described his relationship with God as: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Using this information, we can now understand the relationship between God, Jesus and humanity. The Bible refers to the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), the Mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), and the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9). Interesting enough, these Bible verses also refer to human beings. We are sons of God like Jesus and we are a part of the Body of Christ (the Son). We are like Jesus in that we have the Mind of Christ (the Father). We are also like Jesus in that we have the Spirit of Christ (the Holy Spirit). From this we can conclude that, as "sons" of God, we have the Mind, Body and Spirit of Christ (God). This would also explain why Jesus defended his divinity by making a "blasphemous" remark to the religious leaders. In John 10:30-36, he quoted Psalm 82:6. It states, "You are gods; you are sons of the Most High." Jesus was almost killed for quoting this verse. It clearly states the divinity within all human beings.

This concept of the trinity I have described is another revelation from Edgar Cayce who described this trinity in terms of the body (conscious mind), the soul (subconscious mind), and the spirit (superconscious mind). According to Cayce, each aspect of our being corresponds to various afterlife realms. The body belongs to the physical realm; the soul belongs to the astral realm (the realm of dreams and near-death experiences), and the spirit belongs to the spirit realm (the higher realms of pure consciousness).

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Bible Miracles

The miracles in the Bible that are most intriguing are the miracles of Jesus. According to several separate testimonials, Jesus turned water into wine, raised people from the dead, walked on water, healed many people of incurable diseases, transfigured into a Being of Light, feed a multitude of people, quieted a storm, foretold his own death, and rose from the dead. Because so many near-death experiencers identify Jesus to be a Being of Light, this is strong circumstantial evidence that Jesus is person and not a myth. Also, near-death experiencers have received information of the truthfulness of the Bible if interpreted spiritually. Because of this, I see no reason to disbelieve these miraculous claims - especially in light of the miracles that have been reported in modern times such as psychic phenomenon, healings, near-death experiences, etc.. Read more about my research conclusions concerning the fallibility of the Bible.

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Resurrection

The consensus among Christians is that "resurrection" is the miraculous power of God in raising corpses out of their graves and transforming corpses into immortal bodies. The gospels describe Jesus resurrecting Lazarus from the dead and it describes Jesus himself being resurrected from the dead.

The concept of "resurrection" originated with the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism which is also the source for apocalyptic end of days and the concept of Satan and demons. During the Babylonian exile of the Jews, these concepts from Zoroastrianism were incorporated into the Hebrew religion. In the days of Jesus, the religious sect called the Sadducees rejected all Persian concepts because they believed them to be "foreign" doctrines. For this reason, the Sadducees rejected the concept of resurrection and maintained the traditional Hebrew doctrine of Sh'eol, the place where all the dead go.

The Pharisees, according to Flavius Josephus, believed that  "resurrection" meant reincarnation. However, it is clear that the traditional Zoroastrian concept of resurrection was also believed. Paul was a Pharisee who embraced the Zoroastrian concept of resurrection.

In the 1940's, two of the greatest archeological discoveries were discovered - the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library of Gnostic Christian writings. According to some scholars, the controversy of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Essenes, and the religious cover-up that followed, centered around the concept of resurrection. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi writings affirm that the concept of resurrection actually meant reincarnation in those days.

In the Bible, Jesus describes two different kinds of "resurrection". One was a physical "resurrection" which was identical to  reincarnation. The other kind of "resurrection" refers to spiritual regeneration or becoming "born again." The Bible describes Lazarus being "resurrected" physically from the dead and it is believed that Jesus also "resurrected" from the dead. Although there is no reason to doubt these events, there is also no reason to discredit reincarnation because of this either. It is also possible that Jesus may have appeared to his disciples after his death in the same way people have after-death visitations today. This means that a physical "resurrection" of Jesus does not need to be believed. In other words, it was his spirit that rose, not his body.

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Gospel

Salvation

Many Christians believe that only those who believe in Jesus are saved from hell. I believe this is based on a misinterpretation of the teachings of Jesus. After all, even demons believe in Jesus.

The Bible describes two different types of salvation. One type of salvation is defined by Paul. It is salvation by faith alone. The other type of salvation was defined by James. It is salvation by good works. If one reads the teachings of Jesus in the gospels, it is clear that Jesus emphasized good works - especially the good works of loving others. When Nicodemus asked Jesus what he meant by "born again", Jesus replied that "whosoever believes in him will have eternal life." What does Jesus mean by "believes in him?" Does it mean that those who believe in his name have eternal life? Or does it mean that those who believe Jesus is their savior have eternal life? Or does it mean that those who know certain things about Jesus have eternal life? In Luke 10:25-28, Jesus describes what it takes to have eternal life - loving others and God. So, we see that it is by good works - not faith alone. Everyone who loves has been born again knows God (1 John 4:7-8).

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Last Judgment

Damnation

Bible

Several near-death experiencers were told by Jesus that the Bible is true but it has to be read spiritually, not literally. A literal interpretation of the Bible yields a multitude of errors and contradictions. It is also a mistake to limit all revelations of God to just the Bible as many Christians do.

The Bible, as it exists today, is the product of the Orthodox Church when a relatively few bishops and clergymen decided what would be in the Bible and what would not. The Book of Enoch was a book considered to be holy scripture by the Jews during the days of Jesus. In fact, a quote from the Book of Enoch can be found in the Bible - Jude 1:14–15 to be exact:

However, the orthodox Church rejected the Book of Enoch as heresy. But even the Book of John was suspected of being heretical and almost received the same fate as the Book of Enoch.

During the early Church age, there were many gospels and many writings floating around. The few clergymen of the Church had to decide what is inspired and what is not. It was completely a bureaucratic process.

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi scriptures revealed many books that was considered to be scripture in the days of Jesus. This suggests that the modern Bible is not the complete work of God.

Many near-death testimonies describe a direct experience in heaven before the light of God. This cannot be said of all the experiences in the Bible. This begs the question: "Are near-death experiences a greater revelation of God than the Bible?"  This is a question people have to answer for themselves. Read more about the near-death experience and my research conclusions concerning religion.

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During her near-death experience, Betty Eadie was actually shown how the prayers of people on Earth create spiritual "beams of light" that shoot out from the Earth and into outer space toward heaven. She saw how group prayer creates a large and strong beam of light to God. She saw how a mother's prayer for her children also produces a much stronger beam of light. She also saw how insincere prayers - or prayers of repetition - create very weak beams of light that fall short of the boundaries of Earth and never reach heaven.

Kahlil Gibran, the famous Christian mystic and poet, had an interesting thing to say about prayer. He said: "God listens not to your words save when he utters them through your lips." I believe the poet is referring to how God is within us and when we pray to God, we must go within.

One controversy for some Christians today is the fact that children are not allowed to pray in public school. Although it is clear that kids need to pray - especially when there is an epidemic of drugs, gangs, and venereal diseases in our public schools - I believe it might be dangerous to allow prayers in public schools. Which kind of religious prayer do we have kids in school say? Some religions teach that prayers should be performed in a kneeling position facing East. Some religions teach people pray to more than one God. Some religions don't even involve prayer. Who is to decide what kind of prayer to give? What if the majority of kids in a class wanted to say a Buddhist prayer with Christians in the same room? Because of this, I think it is best to keep religious rituals and public prayers in church where they belong. Besides, Jesus taught against public prayer. He taught that prayers should be done in the quiet of your own room where nobody but God can see.

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Orthodox Protestant Christianity, as founded by John Calvin and Martin Luther, traditionally held to a doctrine of "election" which is a Biblical term used to describe how God is absolutely sovereign in deciding who to save and who to damn. This is based upon Biblical references which describe how God chose, before the universe was created, an "elect" group of people from fallen humanity whom God would save from eternal damnation. On the other hand, modern Christianity in general holds to the belief that God gives everyone the opportunity to be saved because all humans have a will that is not enslaved to Satan but is free and autonomous. Calvinists deny free will except for the freedom which is given to us by Jesus. However, I have discovered that near-death experiences affirm both predestination and free will to be correct. God chose everyone to be saved and everyone has the free will to come to God. The key is that all paths lead to God. In other words, we choose our destiny. Our free will is predestined to bring us closer to God.

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I believe the evidence shows that Jesus had many incarnations in this world. The idea of a "second" coming is really a misnomer. It would be better to say that Jesus will return as he already has a number of times throughout history. This also means that Jesus will enter the world the same way he did the last time - through birth (or more correctly "rebirth"). It is my personal opinion, based on a number of prophecies, that Jesus has already been born again into this world. This corresponds to the time when Jesus will become an adult and help lead humanity once again to become more spiritual.

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The controversy of abortion centers around the question: When is a human zygote or fetus an actual human being? Some people believe in "zygotic personhood" which is the belief that life begins at conception. Some people believe life begins at birth. I prefer to believe the psychic revelation from Edgar Cayce on this subject. The soul/spirit enters the body during a time period from six months before birth and up to an hour after birth. Even the Bible describes God giving man the "breath of life" which made him a living being. Also, one particular woman had a near-death experience from having an abortion and God had absolutely no condemnation against her. In essence, God didn't care about it and didn't even mention it.

As long as babies are not aborted around the time of birth, I see no reason to prevent a woman from aborting a fetus. In fact, even the Bible describes how the prophet Hosea prayed to God to abort the fetuses of his enemies (Hosea 9:14-16). Hosea's prayers were answered. From this, one can conclude that abortion is Biblical and legal. What is not Biblical or legal is bombing abortion clinics. And if life begins at conception, then what about all natural abortions that millions of women menstruate every year? Is such menstruation murder?

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Suppose a murder/rapist tortured, raped and murdered your daughter (God forbid). The anger and desire for retribution would be incredible for many people. Near-death experiences describe how the souls of murderers and rapists create their own in hell after death. And many near-death experiences reveal how people in hell are allowed to reincarnate when they finally repent of their actions.

But which is better: Having the murder killed immediately and sent to hell? Or having the murderer rot in prison for the rest of his life and then face a possible hell. For some murderers, death certainly seems too good for them. But having murderers rot in prison is a good way to have them to think about their actions while facing a lifetime of prison justice by prisoners. Also, since we really should have compassion for such unfortunate and ignorant people, rotting in prison may actually be a more humane way of justice by giving them the opportunity to repent in this lifetime.

I believe many Christians are for the death penalty because the Bible suggests that God is for it. The argument is that if God did not believe in the death penalty, Jesus would have been given 10 to 20 years in prison with time of for good behavior. However, my opinion is that giving Jesus the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment.

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The Bible was written thousands of years ago when people had slaves, women were slightly higher in status than cattle, homosexuals were stoned to death, pagans were put to death, and prostitutes and adulterers where stoned to death. It is in this context that the Bible was written.

In the Bible, Paul certainly declares his  pro-slavery, anti-feminist, homophobic, religiously intolerant, anti-Semitic, anti-marriage and sexually repressed opinions. Such attitudes are certainly against the principles and teachings of Jesus who said God is our only master, that women are equal to men, that so-called "sexual deviants" are loved by God, and that religion does not matter to God - only love.

Those Christians who throw stones at gay people should examine their own sexuality. Do you masturbate? Why shouldn't people throw stones at you? Have you ever really thought about what homosexuals do in bed? If so, you have committed a homosexual act according to Jesus. This is because Jesus said that having a lustful thought is equivalent to committing the lustful act. For this reason, why throw stones at people at all? Especially when near-death experiencers affirm that gay and lesbian people do go to heaven too.

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