Bert&Ernie Posted May 11, 2012 (edited) http://today.msnbc.m...s/#.T6xiGujeYfU http://catholicforum...,3437602.0.html "After a burst appendix nearly cost 4-year-old Colton Burpo his life in 2003, his parents were thankful just to have him alive and well. But when he opened up about his brush with death a few months later, they were shocked when he described a very vivid trip to heaven, and spoke of matters about which he had no apparent way of knowing." I think it was a OBE of what the boy really thought heaven is like.... what does every one else think? Edited May 11, 2012 by jwerta Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert&Ernie Posted May 11, 2012 Or maybe the dad made it all up just to sell a book? "The whole story seems ridiculous to me. The boy's description of Heaven seems to fit with how one would generally expect a child of his age to imagine Heaven. Also, it seems like the boy could have easily picked up many of the facts that he supposedly "couldn't have known" without his parents knowing about it. Another thing to keep in mind that the boy's father is a Methodist minister who used this experience to write a book. Lastly, if this were authentic, wouldn't someone have told the boy about the need to convert to Catholicism? As it is, this whole story will only encourage people to continue as or become Protestants. " 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted May 11, 2012 Pft, who hasnt been to heaven. 11 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel Posted May 11, 2012 Pft, who hasnt been to heaven. LOL! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
applesnail Posted May 11, 2012 (edited) ive seen jesus to! there are marble statues of him in every cathedral across Australia, but im still trying to find the negro jesus or the jesus with breasts! Edited May 11, 2012 by applesnail Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
applesnail Posted May 11, 2012 (edited) W OW i found him everyone is on facebook nowadays! and as a bonus hes here apparently "Im here to spread the word and answer your questions about shit. Ask away. I am a pillar of advice and shit." negro jesus is way cool obviously blasphemy isn't a sin for negro jesus! http://www.facebook....lackjesusishere Edited May 11, 2012 by applesnail Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dionysus Posted May 11, 2012 "negro jesus" isn't so ridiculous. far more likely than white jesus, the middle east has for a long time been an area of migration from africa. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
space cadet swami Posted May 11, 2012 The concept of a pale skin, red-headed, blue eyed Jesus is about as plausible as a negro Jesus. The reality is, if there was a Jesus (as in the historical sense) he would have been the same to look at as the Palestinians of today look. Olive to dark brown skin, Brown or black hair, with brown eyes. In the real world... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel Posted May 11, 2012 Come on, now. He's the son of God. He can look like any damn thing he pleases. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psylo Posted May 11, 2012 Jesus looks like me. Thats why spicecadet spends much time on my photo with mast a'heavin. Doing it for the son of god 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nabraxas Posted May 11, 2012 how about black jesus & mary? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Max Cady Posted May 11, 2012 Just don't post a black Moses... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
space cadet swami Posted May 11, 2012 You know how I feel about you psylo, there's nothing but lust in my heart Please forgive me Jesus... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dionysus Posted May 11, 2012 irie, what about Tafari Makonnen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
space cadet swami Posted May 11, 2012 ^^^Certainly could pass, but I don't think he has the carpentry skills needed to carry round large pieces of lumber on his back... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Belching Posted May 11, 2012 There was a Read it and Weep podcast about this book - highly recommend it! The podcast that is. The dude's dad is a pastor, so he kind of has a vested interest in sharing and embellishing the story. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thelema Posted May 11, 2012 so what if the kid saw jesus and it was informed by his cultural expectations of what jesus and the afterlife should be? that doesn't necessarily mean that he didn't have an OBE or NDE. After all, most people taking hallucinogens and having NDE's conform to this pattern. Doesn't mean that something interesting didn't happen... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nabraxas Posted May 11, 2012 Thelema have you seen the biological explanations for NDE, after a quick net search this was the best i could find, but i've seen more detailed stuff, just couldn't be bothered searching at 2:30 am... There is ample scientific explanations for the physiological reactions that people experience. From PubMed (my emphasis): The Near-Death Experience (NDE) is a dissociative mental state with characteristic features. These can be reproduced by ketamine which acts at sigma sites and blocks N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) linked phencyclidine (PCP) receptors to reduce ischaemic damage. Endogenous ligands, alpha and beta-endopsychosin, have been detected for these receptors which suggests an explanation for some NDE's: the endopsychosins may be released in abnormal quantity to protect neurons from ischaemic and other excitotoxic damage, and the NDE is a side effect on consciousness with important psychological functions. The light in the tunnel effect is an easy one, since I have personally experienced it numerous times in a high-G environment. Your eyes naturally create a tunnel effect as they start to lose oxygen. As for seeing loved ones, in the case of this particular book, that is more likely a post hoc occurrence for financial gain as well as societally influenced expectations. The personal history and background of the boy Colton, and the author Todd Burpo, align exactly with what they wrote about (isn't it funny that no one ever experiences a "vision" that would be opposed to their expectations and personal history, like a christian seeing Vishnu for instance?). And it is established that autobiographical memories can be implanted in individuals, and that children are especially susceptible to this. Loftus (1997) investigated memory distortion and the relation with the degree of confidence in the existence of a false memory. She calls this phenomenon the "misinformation effect". She observed that if witnesses of an event are later exposed to new and misleading information about it, their recollections become distorted (Loftus, 1997). Loftus was able to empirically demonstrate this phenomenon with autobiographical memories. With corroboration from the participants' family members, Loftus was relatively successful at implanting false autobiographical memories. EDIT TO ADD: I just found this article today that is relevant to this answer. This week, in “ The neurology of near-death experiences “, Alex debunks the religious trappings that attach to the “out-of-body” and similar experiences that occur in conjunction with operations and medical episodes. In particular, he shows that experiences such as dreamlike states, tunnel vision, and leaving and returning to one’s body are all phenomena that have well-understood medical causes. Some of them can even be reproduced by stimulating people’s brains. I suggest anyone interested in the subject check out the links. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted May 12, 2012 i'm absolutely with thelema on this. there are several explanations for NDE which i find reasonable. they don't include the popular christian view of an afterlife but one holding that view could find themselves in a mindscape reflecting it or even a genuine afterlife with friends and family and other deceased christians producing their own "heavenly" realm, a culturally-reinforced mass-dream. TLDR maybe various afterlife scenarios exist if there are enough souls to pretend with 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderIdeal Posted May 12, 2012 also, that's no ordinary boy. that's annakin skywalker! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert&Ernie Posted May 12, 2012 some one should post this stuff on that catholic forum xD 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
random Posted May 12, 2012 (edited) oops broke another rule again Edited May 12, 2012 by random Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goneski Posted June 5, 2012 (edited) I think neuroscience is constantly shedding light on these kinds of experiences. I think scientists have it right when it's hypothesised to possibly be the brain's way of deluding the self into believing immortality (and statistically seems to occur more to religious/supernatural people -- funny that). I think that invoking Occam's Razor and approaching these kinds of experiences scientifically, as merely materialistic phenomena within the brain, is the best bet.. I think it's presumptuous for people to actually believe they saw something real when we know so little about the brain and consciousness. I also believe that had the boy been raised elsewhere, he would be reporting he saw Allah (for example), and not Jesus. Edited June 5, 2012 by SYNeR 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete34 Posted June 5, 2012 Or maybe the dad made it all up just to sell a book? "The whole story seems ridiculous to me. The boy's description of Heaven seems to fit with how one would generally expect a child of his age to imagine Heaven. Also, it seems like the boy could have easily picked up many of the facts that he supposedly "couldn't have known" without his parents knowing about it. Another thing to keep in mind that the boy's father is a Methodist minister who used this experience to write a book. Lastly, if this were authentic, wouldn't someone have told the boy about the need to convert to Catholicism? As it is, this whole story will only encourage people to continue as or become Protestants. " Agreed as in the past people can benefit from creating delusions and milking the masses Salome Peter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
