The
Ground of Faith"Theological Education and Paranormal Sciences"
The Ground of Faith has now celebrated its 6th Birthday
*Until now we have been providing material from many sources that invites us to think about the Christian faith in the light of science that recognises and explores the reality of the paranormal experiences of countless millions of people, regardless of their faith community. Such science has much advanced over recent years, and more and more people in the so-called Western world are becoming sure that there is an afterlife.
In this issue we ask the question: Should familiarity with paranormal sciences be part of theological and Christian education? [And of course part of the education of Moslems, Jews, Buddhists and anyone else. It is just that this journal has a Christian readership in mind.] Rationally, the answer should be Yes.
Let's consider things that are asserted within mainline Christianity:
*That there is a spiritual dimension
to reality
*That there is eternal life. The
death of the body does not change this.
*The Communion of Saints of the
church militant and the church triumphant. (The oneness of the living and the departed in Christ.)
*That the way we live in the body is
important part of our spiritual development
*Some Christians believe that we may pray to the saints, and
that spiritual beings can help us in our earthly lives
*That prayer matters, and can
sometimes play a part in spiritual and physical healing
*In the New Testament we see
cases of telepathy, clairvoyance, distance seeing, prophecy for the
future, inspiration, peak experiences, holistic awareness,
communication from the spiritual world, negative entities,
possession and more
*That the Spirit is in
all through all and above all.
Overall, from the point of view of paranormal science one could see the New Testament as a multifaceted psychology.
It would make sense for Theologians, Theological students, students in church schools, Christians in general to become acquainted with the state of the play in this field. If this were to happen it:
*would help Christians to interface their Christianity with what can be learned here, and perhaps thus grow in their faith.
*would
help Christians be clear how the Materialist hypothesis is
falsified, while employing the various scientific methods in coming
closer to the truth of things. [Materialism
asserts that mind/consciousness/spirit is nothing but
electrochemical processes in the brain.]
Why ever would Christians not wish to study what would support and illuminate the very things they believe?
This on the one hand; but the issue is much bigger than this: What we are faced with is the question of how to totally re-orient our thinking in a culture shot through and through with this denial of the significance of mind/spirit.
*Now we are hoping readers will help us think about the future. You could join our FaceBook group or write to the Editors at editor@thegroundoffaith.net
An organiser of religious education in church secondary schools has invited us to draft an experimental syllabus for ages 16-17, and to trial it. We have made progress in making PowerPoint presentations of the topics we would hope to cover, and the ways they could be addressed. If you click on this link, you will find out how we are thinking, and we would much value comments and suggestions.
We
think that we are the only on-line journal tackling the Paranormal
and Christianity.
But there are a bewildering array of scholarly journals investigating the paranormal and the functions of science. Examine the links provided by
http://www.anomalist.com/ or better still http://scientificexploration.org/ and be overwhelmed.
ASPSI
Was Michael Jackson overshadowed by spirits?: Michael Tymn
There has been much in the way of spirit communication to suggest that talented artists in the spirit world attempt to influence, or overshadow, people here on the earth plane, especially people who might have an aptitude for whatever gift the particular spirit had when incarnate. "The spirit world, rather than the physical world, is the sphere of causes," Dr. James M. Peebles, a California physician, quotes one of many seemingly advanced spirit communicators in an 1887 book. "Its baptismal influences are continually being poured upon mortals. All great orators are inspired; all poets are impressed; the greatest artists often paint wiser than they are known. Read on..
ASPSI Frederick W H Myers:
Michael Tymn
Theodor Flournoy, a world-renowned University of Geneva psychology professor, once opined that the name Frederic W. H. Myers should be joined to those of Copernicus and Darwin, completing "the triad of geniuses" who most profoundly revolutionized scientific thought.
Pioneering psychiatrist William James, wrote that Frederic Myers "will always be remembered in psychology as the pioneer who staked out a vast tract of mental wilderness and planted the flag of genuine science upon it." Read the article
<http://metgat.gaia.com/blog/2009/6/remembering-frederic-myers----frederic-who>
ASPSI
When
the silver cord is severed: Michael Tymn
“Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” - Ecclesiastes 12:6-7
http://metgat.gaia.com/blog/2009/5/when_the_silver_cord_is_severed
New
Ideas in Science: Thomas Gold
Source: scientificexploration.org/journal
[Thomas Gold's work crossed academic and scientific boundaries, into biophysics, astronomy, aerospace engineering, and geophysics; Read this Wikipedia article about him]
"Peer review is Herd review and so new ideas are squashed"
New ideas in science are not always right just because they are new. Nor are the old ideas always wrong just because they are old. A critical attitude is clearly required of every scientist. But what is required is to be equally critical to the old ideas as to the new. Whenever the established ideas are accepted uncritically, but conflicting new evidence is brushed aside and not reported because it does not fit, then that particular science is in deep trouble-and it has happened quite often in the historical past. If we look over the history of science, there are very long periods when the uncritical acceptance of the established ideas was a real hindrance to the pursuit of the new. Our period is not going to be all that different in that respect, I regret to say. Read the rest of this important article
Scientificexploration.org
We
hope to continue to link to the FIVE-STAR site: with a multitude of
excellent articles, and endless links to a very great number of
sites that will be of interest to readers of this journal. It is
produced by The
Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE) which “is
a professional organization of scientists and scholars who study
unusual and unexplained phenomena. Subjects often cross mainstream
boundaries, such as consciousness, ufos, and alternative medicine,
yet often have profound implications for human knowledge and
technology. All topics amenable to scientific inquiry are welcome.”
Subversive
Thinking http://subversivethinking.blogspot.com/
By subversive thinking, I'm refering to a critical approach to many controversial topics, including (but not limited to) paranormal phenomena, afterlife research, pseudoskepticism (debunking), reductionistic materialism, dogmatic atheism, philosophy of mind and religion/spirituality. Ocassionally, you'll note some broken english expressions of mine... I'm sorry, I'm japanese and I'm learning the english language. [**** in the opinion of the Editor]
http://subversivethinking.blogspot.com/2009/02/marco-biagini-quantum-physics-and.html “Marco Biagini: Quantum physics and the scientific refutation of materialism”
http://www.openexchange.org/archives/JFM08/wolf.htmlBook Reviews
Charles
Tart: The End of Materialism
His
and other scientists' work convinced him that there is a real and
vitally important sense in which we are spiritual beings, but the
too dominant, scientistic, materialist philosophy of our times,
masquerading as genuine science, dogmatically denies any possible
reality to the spiritual. This hurts people, it pressures them to
reject vital aspects of their being.
http://www.paradigm-sys.com/end-of-materialism/index.cfm
Elizabeth Nawotny-Keane Amazing Encounters: Direct Communications from the Afterlife.
The Editor writes: "I met Elizabeth and her husband Ross at
an annual conference of the Academy of Spirituality and
Paranormal Studies Inc. at deSales university Pennsylvania, two years
ago, and it was a great pleasure for me. Elizabeth had recently been
awarded a PhD from the University of Western Sydney, on her
dissertation on 'Direct communications from the Afterlife". This has
now been published in the form of this book, and I highly recommend it.
The following is part of a review that you will be able to
read in full at the link at the end."People who have experienced the presence of a departed spirit no longer doubt there is an afterlife. This book tells amazing stories of people who have received direct visits and communications from deceased loved ones – a parent, spouse, sibling, child or friend. The bereaved tell stories of visionary encounters, conversations, dreams, familiar scents, even hugs and kisses. These fascinating accounts of successive communications from the deceased are shared within the framework of the lives of their loved ones.
The power of these direct and spontaneous communications from the dead in easing grief, in alleviating the fear of death and in changing lives is evident. The book will be of great interest to those who are interested in spirit and spirituality, psychic experience, death and the afterlife.
It will be of value also to people who are engaged in supporting those who are grieving the loss of a loved one, the bereaved, the elderly and their families. It will be helpful for so many people who have had such experiences and do not know how to share them or to integrate them into their lives. Read more... and order the book, if you wish.
Damian Broderick: Outside the Gates of Science
Journal of Public Parapsychology Thursday, June 25, 2009
Damien
Broderick is an Australian science-fiction author and critic with a
PhD in the comparative semiotics of science and literature. A rare
and chimeric blend of qualities which make him an engaging and
sympathetic commentator on parapsychology- an enterprise which is
viewed by establishment science somewhat in the same way that
science fiction is viewed by the literary establishment- as a quirky
and rather embarrassing enterprise driven by a desire for
wish-fulfilment that anyone with respectable academic ambitions
ought to have grown out of by the time they hit puberty. However
Outside the Gates of Science: Why It's Time for the Paranormal to
Come in from the Cold is not a book you’ll feel you have
to read surreptitiously under the bed covers. A fast-moving foray
into the fascinating (and sometimes downright bizarre) world of
parapsychological research. It’s a good introduction to the
controversies of the field for the non-specialist reader. Read the
rest of the review
TOWARDS A SYSTEMS BASED SPIRITUAL PHILOSOPHY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Paper
presented at a Systems Theory conference in Brisbane, by co-editor
Victor MacGill
Abstract: In the Western World over the last 300 years or so, spirituality has become a casualty in the development of human knowledge. Traditional Christian religion has tended to become rigid in its formulation, maintaining a world-view that sees the earth as the centre of the universe and ‘man’ as God’s special creation given dominion over the earth and everything in it. Reductionist science has taken us to the opposite extreme, seeing the world as a mere rock in an obscure and unimportant part of the cosmos brought into being by sheer random events. Both traditional religion and reductionist science separate us from the world we live in and see the earth and everything in it as available for our use as we please. Read the presentation.
From our readers
The Jospice Mattress Imprint
Louis de Figueiredo of
Sao Paolo, Brazil, has previously contributed several articles to this
journal. "When the West Indian patient Les died of cancer of the pancreas in the St. Joseph's Hospice, Liverpool in March 1981 he left a partial but indelible imprint of his body on the polypropylene mattress over which he had been lying. The imprint showed his right hand, buttocks, arm, shoulders and jaw, in the form of outlines, and with some shadows. The director Father Francis O’Leary took the mattress home after he and members of the Management Committee had observed this unusual happening. There it lay for five years".. Read his article
Other relevant e-journals, blogs and publications
Don't forget to visit these websites: Victor Zammit's site for instance, is updated every week with new material of great interest.
Victor Zammit's Weekly Treasure Trove
Visit
the archives of Victor Zammit's weekly newsletter at
http://www.victorzammit.com/archives/index.html
for hours of fascinating reading. When
you open this website you have the opportunity to request that
these emails be sent to you every week, something that we
strongly recommend.
SurvivalAfterDeath.org.uk
We strongly recommend this site, as a source of much interesting material.
http://www.survivalafterdeath.org.uk/
Public Parapsychology
Editors' notes: Public Parapsychology is one of an increasing number of web sites that we should be aware of.. and subscribe to. Try this url: http://publicparapsychology.blogspot.com
http://www.afterlifedata.com/
The Largest Database of Afterlife Description & Analysis on the Internet
“This web site is a compilation of information on the afterlife and other related critical concepts, such as the purpose of life and reincarnation, as they relate to souls here on earth. We have not created this site to convince anyone of the validity of this information, we simply invite you to read through the data, explore the sources we have used and visit other sources to learn more. Using spirit sources from Afterlife101.com and respected authors like Michael Newton, Allan Kardec, Jane Roberts and others, the results of our first investigations reveal 94.8% agreement on a variety of very specific topics. We believe this web site contains the largest correlation of spirit communications about the afterlife, all from respected sources, available anywhere. We will continue to expand this data as information is made available to us and our research expands.”
Near-Death.com
Click http://www.near-death.com/ for hours of fascinating reading
Greetings!
My name is Kevin Williams and I am the owner and webmaster of this
website. Over the years, an increase in the public interest in
near-death experiences (NDEs) has helped make this website very
popular on the internet. My goal is to transform this website into
the "Grand Central Station of NDEs." My mission is to help
connect people with information and resources concerning NDEs and
NDE research for the purpose of understanding death and thereby
understanding life in a way that brings tremendous joy and love.
For people who want to know a little bit about me, I say, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" All joking aside, here is how I describe myself: middle-aged, computer scientist, cable news junkie, manic depressive, universalist Christian with Gnostic and Tibetan Buddhist leanings, former Montana cowboy, U.S. Army veteran, social liberal, economic conservative, single Californian, internet addict, and last but not least, NDE evangelist. I am also the author of "Nothing Better Than Death" on the subject of NDEs. Continue reading
Read also http://www.near-death.com/experiences/reincarnation08.html A long list of extraordinary coincidences between the lives of Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy.
Electronic Voice and Instrumental
Communication:
AA-EVPWhitePaper.pdf
http://evp-itc-australia.org/