tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683019342240329622.post8176338576914098131..comments2016-08-27T23:11:55.156+10:00Comments on The Paradigm Experiment: Near Death Experiences - Part 2Jim Clarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13815483599664355248noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683019342240329622.post-57971490673673284592013-10-22T08:17:47.858+11:002013-10-22T08:17:47.858+11:00Christ was not Christian,he was aromatic,He taught... Christ was not Christian,he was aromatic,He taught unconditional love", love thy neighbor as yourself,look within,look at your own shortcomings. "Original Sin is a myth, Christ was murdered because<br />like Christ we are all Sons and Daughters of God,by the way you will never convince me that God is so limited in power that he has to send his own son just because he was not perfect in his creation,what nonsenseAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683019342240329622.post-91683167478370696502008-08-20T16:13:00.000+10:002008-08-20T16:13:00.000+10:00Hello Hope,You raise some good points. Yes that v...Hello Hope,<BR/><BR/>You raise some good points. Yes that verse in Mathew does refer specifically to the driving out of demons. However, I still the general context of the verse implies that where you see good effects, you know that there is a good cause.<BR/><BR/>Specifically, where you see someone teaching morality, ethics, uncoditional love, compassion, forgiveness, self-lessness, self-improvement, humanitarianism, worship of God and the pursuit of inner happiness as given by the grace of God, you know these things to be truth, from God.<BR/><BR/>On the opposite side of things, where you see greed, anger, hate, jealosy, fear, bitterness, unforgiveness, etc you know these things to be not of God.<BR/><BR/>If Satan is fighting against God, than why would he present positive teachings? Surely, if there was an advesary, then this Satan would be behind the hate, greed, lust etc etc and not behind alternating Religions teaching uncondtional love, self-lessness etc.<BR/><BR/>If in fact Satan did create Spritual philosophies teachings positive growth, then this would mean that the positive growth wasn't infact that important, and that all Satan has to do is stop people from taking on the outwards signs of orthodox Christianity and he would have succeeded in keeping many souls from "Salvation".<BR/><BR/>As you mentioned, believeing in Jesus to most Christians means actually living the teachings (showing kindness, unconditional love, compassion, charity, forgiveness etc, striving to become "like Christ" as much as possible, step-by-step transforming our weaknesses into strengths), not merely labelling oneself as a Christian.<BR/><BR/>Your ideas about Spiritual growth in the afterlife sound far more progressive than what I'm used to, and that's good. However, you mention you believe in two specific, eterall realms of the afterlife. However you mention that spiritual growth is possible in these realms, does that mean that you think that those souls that go to hell can than slowly evolve spiritually?<BR/><BR/>Question, can you honestly accept the notion that all non-christians will be denied heaven in the afterlife, in particular, say Mahatma Mohandis Ghandi who was a committed Hindu, who followed the Bhagavad-Gita, who clearly devoted his entire life to serving God in self-less acts (KarmaYoga). Can you believe that Ghandi would be denied Heaven?<BR/><BR/>I have found that the majority of people I have met through Spiritualist Chruchs and and the Ashram where I attend are committed fully to seeking God, and serving others. Surely, these are the very traits that you would describe as being evidence of "believing in Jesus"?<BR/><BR/>So my point was, NDE's give people hope and faith in the goodness of God, in his Divine Justice, Mercy and Grace, the continuation of life after death, and the meaning and importance in everything we say, think and do. They teach positive moral, ethical, psycho-spiritual teachings, the main reason why some Christians denounce them is that they generally support New Age doctrines, rather than literal, Biblical doctrines. Surely the true advesaries in this world are hate, anger, greed, lust, perversion, selfishness etc etc, not New Age and Eastern Religious teachings?<BR/><BR/>You mentioned:<BR/><BR/>"Respecting one anothers views is showing "love" better than fighting over who is right and who is wrong, which only bares bad fruit in the end. Following God would mean following his natural laws, they are one and all for everyone I believe. The law is "love" pure and simple."<BR/><BR/>I agree fully. That is my whole point. Christianity and New Age are both teaching positive truths in world full of pain, anger, hate, jealosy, ignorance (sin?) etc. One of the very fundamental reasons why I started this blog is so that the conservative elements of some religions can realise that other Religions are not the enemy. Philosophical and Theological disputes should be secondary, unconditional Love for all, should allways be primary.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your time, I enjoy the dialogue. If you can, please continue to do so.<BR/>God Bless<BR/>JimJim Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13815483599664355248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683019342240329622.post-20158515131738163822008-08-19T00:57:00.000+10:002008-08-19T00:57:00.000+10:00Sorry I misunderstood what you were saying about b...Sorry I misunderstood what you were saying about believing only in "Jesus".<BR/><BR/>How I interpret the bible is slightly different to what your saying. Believing in Jesus to me, means believing his teachings and preachings, not just in him as son of man.<BR/><BR/>Believing in his claim to being God also, instead believing him to be merely just an excellent moral teacher or a really crazy man. <BR/><BR/>Firstly a crazy man wouldnt have the fruit and wisdom of christ and a moral righteous man who is not insane wouldnt claim to being "God" either.<BR/><BR/>I don't think you can separate any of it. A true believer is not someone who just acknowledges him but someone who walks the teachings, without that component, one can't call themself a true christian or a believer.<BR/><BR/>There are many people who follow these similar teachings through other religions, its here were we come into conflict with christians who believe everyone besides christians will be condemned to eternal hell.<BR/><BR/>I personally don't believe that a loving God condemns anyone to an eternal Hell. I believe in eternity, in a place of light and love and a place of darkness void of love. I believe both these places are eternal, I also believe how we live, what we think will create not only our misery and or joy on earth but beyond. But are we locked in the mind state at death forever or do we continue to grow as spirits beyond life?<BR/><BR/>Well many christians believe the holy spirit within continues it's good works in us in heaven until we reach a perfect state. <BR/><BR/>The thing is Jim just like your interpretation of the casting out of demons, christians too have varied interpretations of the bible, everyone claiming their own is the correct one, often demonstrating much ego and pride, the very things going against the grain of christs teachings.<BR/><BR/>Respecting one anothers views is showing "love" better than fighting over who is right and who is wrong, which only bares bad fruit in the end.<BR/><BR/>Following God would mean following his natural laws, they are one and all for everyone I believe. The law is "love" pure and simple.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683019342240329622.post-28033658579245929832008-08-19T00:14:00.000+10:002008-08-19T00:14:00.000+10:00Hi Jim,I'm not sure what your saying about the onl...Hi Jim,<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure what your saying about the only thing satan has to do is stop people from following Jesus? I thought that was evident by the many who don't believe in Jesus, which means he is doing just that.<BR/><BR/>In regards to the miracle of Jesus and the opposition by the Pharisee's, wasn't Jesus casting out "devils"? Why would satan cast out his own? Jesus was talking about Satan, that was clearly evident, Jesus never implied Satan couldnt perform miracles, in fact the bible speaks otherwise, you've just assumed your interpreation is what must be intended. If you remember the temptation, where Satan promised his kingdom to Christ, I think that clearly spells out his creative powers and abilities.<BR/><BR/>Don't forget the apostles performed healings and miracles and even some people today, none of these people I would say are flawless and perfect in love and bare only good fruit (in other words in a state of perfection) These clearly bare good and bad fruit as humans are in a fallen state.<BR/><BR/>The good fruit is more about character.<BR/><BR/>An evil person will grow in negative traits the more they feed it and a person developing good traits will bare good fruits (ie healthy mindset, positive thoughts, etc.<BR/><BR/>In regards to NDE well I must have had an OBE with all the NDE components, the only difference was the angel/guide whom I met in my OBE/NDE manifested 12 months later as he promised he would in my OBE and appeared to a lady with a message and identified himself so I would recognise him, again something he mentioned in the OBE/NDE (whatever you want to call it).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683019342240329622.post-31575832490363395542008-08-18T15:16:00.000+10:002008-08-18T15:16:00.000+10:00Hi Hope. Congratulations, you are the second pers...Hi Hope. Congratulations, you are the second person ever to respond to my blog, you win the grand runners up prize of..um...uh...well, can I just say that you for taking the time to comment.<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure if I quite understand your objections to my statements. The Bible verse I mentioned clearly states that good fruit cannot come from a bad tree. These are words that according to the Bible came directly from the mouth of Jesus, and the context was the accusation by the Pharisees that his miracles were performed by Satan. Therefore, the only possible conclusion that I can see from this verse in the context that it was written is that Jesus is saying that Satan cannot perform miracles which have positive effects (good fruit). Following this, only those paranormal phenomena which produce negative results (bad fruit) could be assigned to the agents of evil.<BR/><BR/>It is indeed true that most people have a combination of posiitve and negative traits. Indeed, the very purpose of real Spiritual pursuits (as apposed to Psychic or Occult pursuits divorced from the greater purpose) is to transform those negative attributes into positives, step by step.<BR/><BR/>The fact is that many teachings bear both good and bad fruit. My understanding of this is that therefore the teachings themselves have a basis in both truth and falsehood. This very fact enables many Cults to trap people by teaching tried and tested means towards having intense psych-spiritual experiences and then attaching their own doctrines and dogmas with them.<BR/><BR/>My experience of Christianity reveals it as having both good and bad effects. my very Spiritual search has been to seperate the positive from the negative, to keep the wheat and burn the chaff so to speak.<BR/><BR/>If indeed this force of evil, Satan was behind non-Christian forms of Spirituality, than you would have to conclude that the only thing Satan needs to do is to stop people from believing in Jesus, and following Christian orthodoxy. If this were the case, than this would invalidate all the red-letter teachings relating to morality, ethics, etc etc ie, becoming like Christ. It would also invalidate this very life by reducing it to a mere test, ie "Salvation" would be the only thing of any signifance.<BR/><BR/>You mention "If you do your research you'll find there are other NDE cases like mine that didnt arise from a near death situation, so the whole dying brain thing triggering an hallucination is totally false". I'm not sure if you understood me as I intended, I was in fact arguing strongly against the dying brain theory. An OBE doesn't specifically relate to an NDE, they are seperate, yet interconnected topics. An NDE is and OBE, yet an OBE doesn't have to be an NDE. Understand?<BR/><BR/>OBE's can occur to perfectly healthy individuals in many different contexts. They can be deliberate, spontaneous and accidental, they sometimes happen in cases of extreme trauma, and sometimes they happen naturally whilst in REM sleep.<BR/><BR/>The primary aspect of NDE's that seperates them from OBE's is that they occur when the physical body shuts down, (as in death), and medical instruments record no signs of brain, heart or lung activity. I do recall that studies of people having OBE's show rapidly changed electrical functioning in the brain and signifant changes to heart and breathing rates.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for taking the time to discuss these things with me, I hope if it pleases you, you might continue to do so.Jim Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13815483599664355248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683019342240329622.post-89642430675355716212008-08-18T14:18:00.000+10:002008-08-18T14:18:00.000+10:00Just a quick note, I myself had an NDE and it came...Just a quick note, I myself had an NDE and it came about when I went to sleep one night. I speak about it on my site. I have a history of OBE experiences and I wasnt near death for any of them.<BR/><BR/>If you do your research you'll find there are other NDE cases like mine that didnt arise from a near death situation, so the whole dying brain thing triggering an hallucination is totally false.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683019342240329622.post-20897033816660814292008-08-18T14:12:00.000+10:002008-08-18T14:12:00.000+10:00In fact one could say if Satan were true and he ex...In fact one could say if Satan were true and he existed as the bible and even Christ admittedly claimed, he would certainly have abilities to deceive humans creatively.<BR/><BR/>Sorry typo above, meant to say "if Satan exists as the bible" not "he existed as the bible claimed"<BR/><BR/>:-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3683019342240329622.post-36144878670206515032008-08-18T13:27:00.000+10:002008-08-18T13:27:00.000+10:00Hi Jim,You mentioned the bible being in conflict r...Hi Jim,<BR/><BR/>You mentioned the bible being in conflict regarding Satan performing healings and miracles. I don't see the conflict in the whole context of the story. <BR/><BR/>Satan was a spirit being created by God (before humans) made in the perfect love and in God's image,like human (I have no problem believing that the same creator who made the universe, humans and animals etc could have made other things prior to the universe and life as we know it).<BR/><BR/>He made us and these angel beings with the capacity to create like himself (God). Satan's falleness came about from his free will. Pride/selfishness came to the fore and corrupted his perfected state of love.(humans did the same)<BR/><BR/>Now we humans have abilities to heal and prophecise amongst other things like telepathy and psychic abilities and still be imperfect. <BR/><BR/>I can love, reflect goodness, speak words of love and hope but then in my fallenness have a moment of weakness or ignorance, demonstrate the opposite of love, in fact perfect love isn't even possible when I'm fatally flawed. <BR/><BR/>When you think just your thoughts alone can contribute to this less than perfect state of being, whilst you may demonstrate perfect behaviour makes you see that every human being is nowhere near the way God has created us to be.<BR/><BR/>Now if Satan was created in perfection and basked in the light of God for a period before he discovered "self" why wouldn't he too retain a memory of this state of love?<BR/><BR/>Like corrupted individuals on this planet who commit heinous crimes, they too make choices to do evil whilst knowing about love and mercy at some point in their lives, even if it's from a single act from a stranger or the countless acts from a parent or neighbour, friend, therapist, grandma, child, etc.<BR/><BR/>In fact one could say if Satan were true and he existed as the bible and even Christ admittedly claimed, he would certainly have abilities to deceive humans creatively.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com