Near-Death Experiences of Homosexuals

[newcreation37]

I was recently doing some research (just out of mere curiosity) on the study of near death experiences (NDE) throughout history. It was all more or less medical studies, and honestly a lot more enlightening than I imagined it would be. I realize it may sound a bit hocus-pocusy, but the fact that the medical studies were done on people of all backgrounds and of all faiths - and the fact that such dramatic change occurred after the experiences - was really fascinating to read about.

Studies were conducted and surprisingly the religion (or lack thereof) and sexual orientation of the individuals were irrelevant. One commonality that seemed to be shared by almost all individuals that experienced NDE was a shift to being more "Spiritual" and less religious. (See links below for more info about the subject of Religion in the studies). I could ramble on about additional findings, but would recommend checking out the information for yourself.

One particular article that caught my attention, was a compilation of experiences of gay and lesbian individuals that experienced NDE. Upon reading the and following insights and experience, I literally just cried tears of joy:

Near-Death Experiences of Homosexuals - http://www.near-death.com/dale.html

A quote from the page:

NDE Analysis of Homosexuality

Countless near-death experiences describe the unconditional love that God has for everyone. This, of course, includes gays and lesbians. Just the fact that God created so many homosexuals (approximately 10% of the population) should be enough proof for any reasonable person. Unfortunately, there are people out there who, out of ignorance, fear, and bigotry, persecute them by treating them as second class citizens.

The following insights comes from near-death testimonies concerning bigotry. These insights show how homosexuality is just as natural as heterosexuality and is certainly not offensive to God as some religious texts claim.

* Creed, race, gender, and sexual preference have no real meaning to God. No matter who we are, we were all children joined under one God. The only rule is God's true law "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (P.M.H. Atwater)

* Those religions which claim superiority over others, or exclude people for various reasons, go against God's law that we love one another as we love ourselves. (Sandra Rogers)

* God is really only concerned about what is within us, our heart and spirituality, not our sexual preference. The way to heaven is through love for everyone unconditionally. We do not go to heaven by worshipping Jesus, or by believing in his name, or by believing in the cross, or by accepting him as our Savior. We grow to heaven by creating heaven within us by practicing the unconditional love of Jesus for everyone no matter who they are. (Kevin Williams' research)

* There is no one religion just as there is no "chosen" people or person. We are all children of God in the sense that we are all souls of God's creation. What counts is what comes from the heart, not what one professes to believe. The most difficult thing for a person who has been deeply steeped in a particular religious tradition is to realize that the form alone is not what elevates a person; it is the heart. (PMH Atwater)

* It also needs to be recognized that not all teachings described as religious are beneficial. Religion which is judgmental, prejudicial, critical, and narrow may impede the spirit's natural growth. It is love, not religion, which creates spiritual growth. Where religion teaches love, there is growth. Where religion impedes love, there is stagnation. (Nora Spurgin)



Here are some more links of interest.

The NDE and Religion - http://www.near-death.com/experiences/research06.html

Experts in Near Death Research - http://www.near-death.com/experts.html

People Are Dramatically Changed By NDEs - http://www.near-death.com/experiences/evidence05.html

Are NDEs Hallucinations? - http://www.near-death.com/experiences/lsd04.html


Honestly there is a lot more material out there, all you'd really have to do is a quick search on Google. God bless!



The way to eternal life is simply through the practice of love. (Luke 10:25-28)


Everyone who loves is born of the Spirit and knows God. (1 John 4:7)


Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. (1 John 4:8)


Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16)

[RedneckDyke]

I had a NDE once. My granny came for me. She'd been dead for years when this happened. I'm not worried about dying so much. If ANYONE got into heaven, my Granny did.

[Alecto]

There's been correlations between the NDE and certain brain activities. As with all such things, I personally make no presumptions about direction of causality: if there's a very real spiritual phenomenon going on, I don't think it's too ridiculous to think that it may have some observable physical "side effects" that we could measure with machines. That said, no matter how you look at it, I think it just makes total sense that there's a lot more commonality between these experiences than there are differences.

[Daniel]

The home site is quite comprehensive. It was great to see the various faiths represented.

As someone who had a revealing and transformative past-life regression years ago, I find this information fascinating stuff.

And if memory serves, the church embraced reincarnation up until the 3rd century when all kinds of 'heresies' were condemned.

[camdiddy]

I have thought about NDEs, about whether they were real or not. What I do know is that satan comes as an angel of light, so there can be deception in a perceived experience of crossing over.
I knew of one Christian woman who had died and was brought back to life. She said that she was with Jesus, but that she had to come back. She didn't want to. She cried as she was talking about it. I heard this as a child and I have always remembered this. Can you imagine what it will be like standing in the presence of the Holy God?

[Eugene]

I have become convinced that immortality of the soul is not a Biblical construct. When I die, I think I will be non-existent until the resurrection. And then I will be judged. If homosexuality (in and of itself) isn't a big deal with God, I expect he will give me eternal life because of my faith in Christ. Otherwise, I expect to cease existing again, and that will be the end of it.

Until then, I know that He is merciful to all, saints and sinners alike. And I pray to Him and trust Him to help me through whatever lies between now and then.

I used to get worked up over whether I would go to hell or heaven because of my sexuality. But not anymore. And reincarnation -- well, I have never considered that as even a remote possibility. One life is difficult enough.

[pnggrad79]

I don't know if this qualifies but when I was 8 years old, I was in the shallow in of the pool and accidentally got into the deep end. When I couldn't touch the bottom I freaked out and started thrashing but I couldn't get to the surface long enough to get air, so I went up and down 3 times and I felt myself blacking out, and then a girl with long red hair dove in and I grabbed her hair and she pulled me up onto the side of the pool. I coughed for several minutes but I was ok.

[Rick336]

I had a near death experience once where my whole life flashed before my eyes. It was cool because I saw where I misplaced my sun glasses.

Rick

[newcreation37]

Hi Camdiddy,

I too struggled with the verse (2 Corinthians 11:13-14) about Satan being an angel of light in conjunction with the near death experiences I read. I agree it is good to be concerned about discernment. On a positive note, I also remember in the bible Jesus mentions that false prophets will come and the way to recognize them is by their fruit (whether they lack the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love, peace, etc.). The encouraging part of many NDE's is that they return profoundly affected, much more loving, caring, spiritual individuals. They mention the "Light" as Unconditional Love - truly a gift of the Holy Spirit and not of false hope (such as wealth, fame, earthly riches, etc. which seem fulfilling on the outside but our truly devoid of what we ultimately need). If we also remember in the Bible, people accused Jesus of being "of Satan" since he cast devils out. Here is more info on the subject if you are interested in further thoughts on the subject:

http://www.near-death.com/experiences/origen01.html

Peace and love!