{"id":67197,"date":"2018-11-08T23:13:37","date_gmt":"2018-11-09T06:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=67197"},"modified":"2018-11-08T23:13:37","modified_gmt":"2018-11-09T06:13:37","slug":"welcome-home-samaa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Welcome home, Samaa&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_19755\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-19755\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/04\/450px-New_York_Presbyterian_Hospital.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19755\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/04\/450px-New_York_Presbyterian_Hospital.jpg\" alt=\"Grand entrance to Presbyterian Hospital in NYC\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-19755\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The entrance to New York-Presbyterian Hospital<br>(Wikimedia Commons public domain photo)<br>The image is not particularly relevant to this entry, except that . . . well, it\u2019s a photo of a hospital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A strange but remarkable story that\u2019s included in John Burke,\u00a0<em>Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God\u2019s Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015):<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Eleven-year-old Jennifer was in a severe car accident and left her body. \u00a0She saw her \u201climp and lifeless body\u201d below. \u00a0The voice of a spiritual being told her she needed to help the unconscious driver. \u00a0\u201cHis nose is cut off his face; you will need to go back and help him; he is bleeding to death.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Jennifer said, \u201cNo, let somebody else do it. \u00a0He will be fine without my help. \u00a0I do not want to go back down there. \u00a0No!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">The voice said, \u201cI will tell you what to do. \u00a0You take off his shirt after you pick his nose up off the floorboard of the car. \u00a0It will be next to your feet and his right foot. \u00a0Place his nose on his face, pressing down to stop the bleeding. \u00a0It\u2019s just blood, so do not be afraid. . . . \u00a0So then, Jennifer, you will begin to walk him up the right side of the road, and a car will come. \u00a0Tell the man to take you to the nearest hospital.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">When Jennifer returned to her body everything happened as the voice said. \u00a0A car stopped. \u00a0Jennifer was able to calm both the anxious driver and the man who lost his nose as they drove to the hospital. \u00a0And there was a happy ending: a skin graft was used to reattach the nose with barely a scratch left to notice. \u00a0The astonished emergency room doctor said, \u201cI cannot explain what kind of miracle I just witnessed in this emergency room today.\u201d \u00a0(cited at 206-207)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Don Piper, it appears, spent 90 minutes clinically dead:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">I saw colors I would never have believed existed. \u00a0I\u2019ve never, ever felt more alive than I did then. \u00a0(cited at 80)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">I could feel, taste, and touch everything as if I had not five but fifty senses. \u00a0It was amazing. \u00a0(Jeff Olsen, cited at 99)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Don Piper, again:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">I was home; I was where I belonged. \u00a0I wanted to be there more than I had ever wanted to be anywhere on earth. \u00a0(cited at 80)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Samaa, in an account from the Middle East:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Then I was standing before Him. \u00a0As He smiled at me, relief poured over my soul. \u00a0\u201cWelcome home, Samaa,\u201d He said . . . \u00a0(cited at 80)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A related item that you might find of interest:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ldsliving.com\/Life-After-Death-6-Insights-into-the-Spirit-World\/s\/77329?utm_source=ldsliving&amp;utm_medium=email\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cLife After Death: 6 Insights into the Spirit World\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 A strange but remarkable story that\u2019s included in John Burke,\u00a0Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God\u2019s Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015): \u00a0 Eleven-year-old Jennifer was in a severe car accident and left her body. \u00a0She saw her \u201climp and lifeless body\u201d below. \u00a0The voice of a spiritual [&hellip;]<\/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-67197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&quot;Welcome home, Samaa&quot;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&nbsp; &nbsp; A strange but remarkable story that&#039;s included in John Burke,\u00a0Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God\u2019s Promises, and the Exhilarating\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;Welcome home, Samaa&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; &nbsp; A strange but remarkable story that&#039;s included in John Burke,\u00a0Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God\u2019s Promises, and the Exhilarating\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-09T06:13:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/04\/450px-New_York_Presbyterian_Hospital.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html\",\"name\":\"\\\"Welcome home, Samaa\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-11-09T06:13:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-09T06:13:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\"&nbsp; &nbsp; A strange but remarkable story that's included in John Burke,\u00a0Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God\u2019s Promises, and the Exhilarating\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"&#8220;Welcome home, Samaa&#8221;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Welcome home, Samaa\"","description":"&nbsp; &nbsp; A strange but remarkable story that's included in John Burke,\u00a0Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God\u2019s Promises, and the Exhilarating","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Welcome home, Samaa\"","og_description":"&nbsp; &nbsp; A strange but remarkable story that's included in John Burke,\u00a0Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God\u2019s Promises, and the Exhilarating","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2018-11-09T06:13:37+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/04\/450px-New_York_Presbyterian_Hospital.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html","name":"\"Welcome home, Samaa\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-11-09T06:13:37+00:00","dateModified":"2018-11-09T06:13:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":"&nbsp; &nbsp; A strange but remarkable story that's included in John Burke,\u00a0Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God\u2019s Promises, and the Exhilarating","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/11\/welcome-home-samaa.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"&#8220;Welcome home, Samaa&#8221;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67197\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}