Greg, I understand your sentiment. Have you ever had an NDE yourself?
Here's the thing. I'm 59 years old. I've had dreams and nightmares my entire life. I've never had anything even closely resembling the NDE I experienced. It was definitely not a dream, no matter how much you, my family, or anyone else might want to call it that or believe that. It was certainly and most definitely something else.
Believe me. I understand. Before this happened, I did not put much stock into NDE's, although I found them curious. You see, after attending a Christian college in my late teens-early 20's, I fell away from religion because I found it implausible and thought it had a high probability of being manufactured by humans. I found religion comforting, and I understood why people were drawn to it, but it was more important to me that it be real. I had a hard time with the concept of faith. I'm a skeptic. Absolutely.
So, for you to spout off your opinion as if it is truth actually reminds me of those I came to feel sorry for who blindly followed religion without any reservations. I appreciate and honor people who question things and keep open minds. You remind me of the preacher who told me every week how to live, while all the while, he was shagging the church secretary. He didn't know any more than you know.
I don't want to preach to anyone. I am the last person who should be doing that. I'm just telling you my truth - what I know to be true. Take it or leave it, but please don't try to make it fit into your small, closed-off belief system.
I never condemned religion for people who find comfort and happiness in it, who truly consider it, and who are able to put their faith in it. In fact, I've been envious of their peace. I always wondered if maybe there was something inherently wrong with me - why couldn't I believe? Why couldn't I find hope and have faith?
Well, what I'm saying here really happened. If you can't believe it, at least don't dismiss it. You make a mockery of every single human being on the planet when you shut down the idea that what you think or perceive is the only way. Believe me, I should know.
