To Unique1,
Hmm, death, a fascinating subject indeed. I read a book many years ago by two doctors who had experienced many death bed situations in their practice. It was called, At the Hour of Death. (You can still purchase this book.) It doesn’t preach or try to convince (as I remember it), it just relays these two doctor’s experiences with death. They noticed that many people who faced death had similar experiences regarding their death scenes. I’m sure you have heard of many of these, such as going through a tunnel, and bright light, and dead loved ones they’ve recognized. One account I recall from the book was that of a terrible car crash where a little girl who was mortally wounded sat up in her hospital bed and said, while looking off in the distance, "Mommy, I coming!" Then the little girl collapsed and died. The little girl had no knowledge of her mother’s condition. The mother had died instantly in the same crash.
I had some dealings with the Ouija Board many years ago that convinced me that there is a spiritual plane. I don’t know what it was exactly (demons, ghosts, etc.) but I am convinced it exists. So, if consciousness exists for ‘something’ that doesn’t have a physical body, will it exist for us when we leave ours? I dunno.
Life hasn’t been very easy for me (like it has been for anyone?) and sometimes I secretly fantasize what it would be like not to be here and not have to worry about this or that. Sometimes, I like the idea of loosing all consciousness when death overtakes, and other times it disturbs me that when I die, all that I have experienced will cease to exist along with me, including my awareness. I think, so therefore I am. So, if I can no longer think, I am not? I don’t want to no longer be, if I can put it that way. I would like to continue on, of course. But how can I continue on ‘thinking’ without my brain, which is as far as I know, where all the ‘stuff’ that makes me me, reside?
How does God figure in? Would He allow me to slip into nothingness, after teaching my a lifetime of experiences? What would be the point of that? That’s a hard one for me to accept. I do believe in God, I can’t shake that belief. But what if God’s gift of life (awareness) is just what we have in there here and now? Even that would be such a great gift, in and of itself. But yes, I want more. I have asked God many times to give me a glimpse of the afterlife, in my dreams, but to date I have not been shown a thing. I think this is kind of a secret where He’s concerned.
I have seen so much religiosity when it comes to eternal life, that it all seems to me like a kind of tool used to manipulate people into believing a particular way. These days, I have a difficult time believing in the "traditional" paths to eternal salvation. I don’t deny that Jesus lived and died for our sins, but I also don’t pretend to understand it either. Poor me if I would have been born a Moslem in a Moslem country where I would have very little chance in accepting Jesus’ sacrifice to atone for my sins? Perhaps there are many ways to God and eternal life? I dunno. But this I believe Unique1, God has a plan for you and for me, when it comes to the eternal. I don’t know yet the mechanics of it, but I believe He will guide us in that moment, in His way, in His time, and by His method. And it will be good. For He is good. He has always supplied my needs. I can’t imagine that He would be non-existent in the very hour that I would need Him most. And I can’t believe He would be non-existent for you in the very hour you need Him most, either.
Steve
