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2976
NDERF 3982 Joschua B NDE 7737
21
Moderate Evidence
8
Incompatible
Reincarnation, past lives, pantheistic view of God
Joschua's experience directly contradicts core Christian doctrine on multiple fronts. Most significantly, his belief in reincarnation and having lived many times before directly opposes the biblical teaching that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). His statement about being tired of "going back so many times" indicates belief in multiple incarnations. The pantheistic teaching that God experiences itself through creation and that we are all expressions of God simultaneously contradicts the biblical distinction between Creator and creation. While the experience includes some elements found in Christian NDEs (out-of-body experience, encountering other souls, being of light), the theological framework is fundamentally New Age/Eastern rather than biblical. The dreams of past lives, including being a woman in Eastern Europe during WWII, further reinforce the reincarnation beliefs. This worldview is incompatible with Christian salvation through Christ alone and the resurrection of the body. The experience promotes a universalist, pantheistic spirituality that undermines core Gospel truths.
During summer 1995, young Joschua was at a public pool in a youth program. Being one of the youngest, he went under a barrier to join older kids at the deeper end. Unable to feel the bottom, he slipped underwater and felt fear while reaching toward sunlight. Suddenly he was above the water, seeing his body underneath with no attachment to it. He floated higher, seeing the city below, having a ghost-like form. He was then transported to a space-like darkness where he became a small yellow orb of light, able to see in all directions. Other orbs appeared - people who had died, glowing in different colors. Their thoughts flowed between them simultaneously. He knew a pink orb was a woman in her 30s who died in a car accident but was at peace. A great light appeared like a smooth sun, emanating the greatest love he'd ever felt. Moving toward it felt like home. A force stopped him, saying without words that he needed to return, hadn't accomplished what he needed. He protested, saying he was tired of going back so many times. He tumbled through darkness back to his body as the lifeguard performed CPR. Reconnection was painful and confining. The experience taught him that God experiences itself through creation and we are all expressions of God simultaneously. He believes in reincarnation and has had dreams of past lives.
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