{"id":65760,"date":"2018-09-28T16:14:10","date_gmt":"2018-09-28T22:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=65760"},"modified":"2018-09-29T12:55:51","modified_gmt":"2018-09-29T18:55:51","slug":"i-dont-care-who-believes-me-and-who-doesnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/09\/i-dont-care-who-believes-me-and-who-doesnt.html","title":{"rendered":"“I don’t care who believes me and who doesn’t.”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Helgheim kyrkje i J\u00f8lster, ved J\u00f8lstravatnet (Helgheim Church in J\u00f8lster [Norway], with Lake J\u00f8lster]
This photo, from the 1880s or 1890s, shows the little church that my grandmother, a life-long Lutheran, attended until she left for America at eighteen (i.e., during this very time). The farm on which she was born and raised, S\u00f8gnesand, is at the very end of the Kj\u00f8snesfjord, the area in the distance, enclosed by mountains, at the center of the photograph. They had to travel to the church by boat or sometimes, in the winter, by walking across the iced-over lake. I\u2019ve visited this area several times, and I love it very much. The farm still belongs to relatives of mine. \u00a0I confess that I look forward to seeing my grandmother again. \u00a0I barely remember her; she died when I was five. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A curious item from P.M.H. Atwater,\u00a0The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences: The Ultimate Guide to What Happens When We Die<\/em>\u00a0(Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2007):<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

[O]ne woman told me that as she sat next to the bed where her brother lay dying, she began to hear soft melodious music. \u00a0She looked around to see if a radio was on, and, as she did, a brilliant light filled the room. \u00a0She turned just in time to see her comatose brother open his eyes, smile, and raise his arms upward. \u00a0Then, \u201cAs real as anything I\u2019ve ever seen, a being of light reached out and took my brother by his wrists and pulled. \u00a0My brother\u2019s spirit popped right out of his physical body \u2014 snap \u2014 just like that. \u00a0I was so surprised, I jumped.\u201d \u00a0With eyes wide open, she witnessed the being of light and her brother, now in spirit, float out of the hospital room through a mist-like archway that had formed in a nearby ceiling corner. \u00a0There was a scent of roses around where the discarded body shell lay.<\/span><\/p>\n

The woman was awestruck for months afterward, unfazed by the fact that she was the only other person in the room. \u00a0\u201cNo matter,\u201d she told me. \u00a0\u201cWhat I saw was sacred and holy, and I was privileged to be there. \u00a0I don\u2019t care who believes me and who doesn\u2019t.\u201d \u00a0To say this event transformed her life would be an understatement. \u00a0(48-49)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, of course, this woman\u2019s account may be the product of imagination or hallucination. \u00a0But there are plenty of other stories like it. \u00a0And she may be lying. \u00a0But she isn\u2019t named, so she\u2019s gaining neither fame nor notoriety from it and she doesn\u2019t seem to be profiting financially by it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What interests me on this subject isn\u2019t dependent on whether this or that particular report is true. \u00a0Some may be false. \u00a0But not, I think, all of them. \u00a0It\u2019s impossible for me to believe that every such story is a cynical fabrication or the result of madness. \u00a0Then, though, we have to ask ourselves exactly what these experiences are, and what they may mean.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In further science news:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy atheists are not as rational as some like to\u00a0think\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve posted here recently \u2014 for example, in \u201cA note on Latter-day Saints and alcohol\u201d<\/a> \u2014\u00a0about a new study that finds that the benefits of alcohol consumption are genuinely outweighed by the harms of such consumption.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are some additional articles on that topic:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDo Any Benefits of Alcohol Outweigh the Risks?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIs It Better to Drink a Little Alcohol than None at All?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The two articles above actually appeared before the results of the new study hit the headlines. \u00a0But this one takes it into account:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow Much Alcohol Can You Safely Drink? A New Study Disproves The Wine A Day Theory\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And this one is worth a glance, as well:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese States Consume The Most Alcohol, According To A New Study From The CDC\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And I think that I\u2019ll throw this one in too for good measure, because some in my particular audience will likely find it of interest:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes Coffee Affect Cholesterol?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 A curious item from P.M.H. Atwater,\u00a0The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences: The Ultimate Guide to What Happens When We Die\u00a0(Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2007): \u00a0 [O]ne woman told me that as she sat next to the bed where her brother lay dying, she began to hear soft melodious music. \u00a0She looked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n"I don't care who believes me and who doesn't."<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    A curious item from P.M.H. 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