Moderators John317 Posted October 15, 2012 Moderators Posted October 15, 2012 Heaven is real, says neurosurgeon who claims to have visited the afterlife By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News | Tue, Oct 9, 2012.. . Dr. Eben Alexander claims to have visited the afterlife (Twitter)Dr. Eben Alexander has taught at Harvard Medical School and has earned a strong reputation as a neurosurgeon. And while Alexander says he's long called himself a Christian, he never held deeply religious beliefs or a pronounced faith in the afterlife. But after a week in a coma during the fall of 2008, during which his neocortex ceased to function, Alexander claims he experienced a life-changing visit to the afterlife, specifically heaven. "According to current medical understanding of the brain and mind, there is absolutely no way that I could have experienced even a dim and limited consciousness during my time in the coma, much less the hyper-vivid and completely coherent odyssey I underwent," Alexander writes in the cover story of this week's edition of Newsweek. So what exactly does heaven look like? Alexander says he first found himself floating above clouds before witnessing, "transparent, shimmering beings arced across the sky, leaving long, streamer like lines behind them." He claims to have been escorted by an unknown female companion and says he communicated with these beings through a method of correspondence that transcended language. Alexander says the messages he received from those beings loosely translated as: "You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever." "You have nothing to fear." "There is nothing you can do wrong." From there, Alexander claims to have traveled to "an immense void, completely dark, infinite in size, yet also infinitely comforting." He believes this void was the home of God. After recovering from his meningitis-induced coma, Alexander says he was reluctant to share his experience with his colleagues but found comfort inside the walls of his church. He's chronicled his experience in a new book, "Proof of Heaven: A neurosurgeon's journey into the afterlife," which will be published in late October. "I'm still a doctor, and still a man of science every bit as much as I was before I had my experience," Alexander writes. "But on a deep level I'm very different from the person I was before, because I've caught a glimpse of this emerging picture of reality. And you can believe me when I tell you that it will be worth every bit of the work it will take us, and those who come after us, to get it right." Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Moderators John317 Posted October 15, 2012 Author Moderators Posted October 15, 2012 Notice the message he received while in "heaven": Quote: "You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever." "You have nothing to fear." "There is nothing you can do wrong." Does this agree with the Bible? Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Administrators Naomi Posted October 15, 2012 Administrators Posted October 15, 2012 Quote: Does this agree with the Bible? We have our Bibles ... we either believe Heaven is real or we don't ... Tread carefully in them there waters Quote If your dreams are not big enough to scare you, they are not big enough for God
Gordon1 Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 "There is nothing you can do wrong." Words of false assurance to entrap and deceive the carnal heart. Quote
Gibs Posted October 15, 2012 Posted October 15, 2012 Looks like Satan's swing at entrapment to me also. Not Biblical. No none will do wrong in Heaven, not that we can't as we are free agents as only God will have. The Truth is none there will have any inclination to do any wrong, sin, or rebellion. 1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. Quote A Freeman In Jesus Christ
Moderators Gerr Posted October 16, 2012 Moderators Posted October 16, 2012 Looks like a mixture of truth & error, which is the devil's MO. But I withhold any conclusions until we see the fruit of that experience, whether it translates to holy living or not. Quote
jasd Posted October 17, 2012 Posted October 17, 2012 QR frame: >>"There is nothing you can do wrong."<< Well, what is it? Y'all's been saying that none can go to heaven but him or her who is perfect; that is, the sinner will not enter heaven... So, does the perfected Saint in heaven do wrong? Doesn't EGW also say that sin should not arise again in heaven or the earth made new? Seems the guy, in a heaven sojourn, was perfect, eh?--and therefore, could do no wrong. Quote
BobRyan Posted October 17, 2012 Posted October 17, 2012 New age, spiritists etc keep insisting that mankind is on the verge of "transcending" and that their spirit guides know that we have reached this wonderful point in our existence and now is the time for all sorts of stuff to happen. Well - I don't think this is all that different than what 2Thess 2 predicted would happen and the story given as the OP fits the up coming agenda fairly well. "A new and more exalted system of religion will be introduced". in Christ, Bob Quote John 8:32 - The Truth will make you free“The righteousness of Christ will not cover one cherished sin." COL 316.
Moderators Jeannieb43 Posted October 17, 2012 Moderators Posted October 17, 2012 I myself have had some very realistic dreams at times. Not of heaven, but some other situations in which I felt completely familiar. My opinion is that our dreams are made up of things we've been thinking about during our waking hours. Not always close in time to when we had those thoughts, but usually familiar settings. This story doesn't convince me that the man actually "went" to heaven in his dream. But it could certainly have been a very realistic experience in his mind. This neither convinces me of the spirit world nor makes me fearful. After all, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." We have such intricate brains that they can "do" more than we ever imagined. Quote Jeannie<br /><br /><br />...Change is inevitable; growth is optional....
BobRyan Posted October 18, 2012 Posted October 18, 2012 There is no question but that God "could" choose to give someone a vision, even if that person is technically near the point of being brain dead by the measure of modern science (as in this case). But when/if God does choose to do such a thing - it will not be to teach false doctrine. in Christ, Bob Quote John 8:32 - The Truth will make you free“The righteousness of Christ will not cover one cherished sin." COL 316.
jasd Posted October 25, 2012 Posted October 25, 2012 Quote: So, does the perfected Saint in heaven do wrong? Re “perfected”: 1 Cor 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Is the thrust of the text to a physical change only - of one who is already perfect (having foregone the practice of sin)?—or does the text address a change of a different sort – one that goes to both nature and nurture – and applicable to a Saint not yet made perfect in the vernacular sense of the word, but who, after the “change” will experience no desire to do wrong – ever?—and therefore, truly changed… Quote
Administrators Tom Wetmore Posted October 25, 2012 Administrators Posted October 25, 2012 Excellent point, jasd. Quote "Absurdity reigns and confusion makes it look good." "Sinless perfection is such a shallow goal." "I love God only as much as the person I love the least." *Forgiveness is always good news. And that is the gospel truth. (And finally, the ideas expressed above are solely my person views and not that of any organization with which I am associated.)
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