Supernatural Experiences

I guess my life is boring because I've only had two supernatural experiences in my life. I am now entering them into my log, perhaps in the hope of one day figuring out what they mean and if they were real.

Experience 1: Spiritual being rips wall apart and turns me into a liberal

I was 15-years-old and attending a summer church camp at Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center in central Florida. It was in the early evening and still daylight. I was walking through an empty building — I believe it was a building where they kept the archery stuff and craft supplies. As I was walking through there was like a tear in the wall and the opening was cloudy. I could almost make out a white face, which was made of clouds. Then I heard an audible voice that said, "What you know is only a small part of what it really is."

Now, granted, I was pumped up emotionally from all the guest pastors and lakeside bonfires, where we stared into the night and got "Jesus in our hearts." So, maybe I just imagined the whole thing, but it has stayed with me for life (I'm 57 now, and people tell me I'm an "old fart.")

Experience 2: Dad tries to come back to tell me something

Fast forward 19 years and my dad has just died from cancer. I'm grieving bad. One night I fell asleep on the living room couch. Suddenly, I open my eyes and I see a ramp going up to a door, and the whole thing is floating in front of me. I see my dad looking at me, and he looks terribly sad, and he's trying to tell me something, but he can't communicate.

I've always believed that my dad went to great lengths to get back to me, to contact me, but couldn't quite do it. I don't know why. What's weird about this experience is that it just wasn't visual, but I also felt something. I can't describe it other than to say it was a cold feeling. I'm thinking that my dad was extremely worried about me and just wanted to reassure me that he was okay, or maybe he had a message to give me but couldn't. Either way, it was sort of weird.

Conclusion

So, I've always been openminded and will consider all options. If these experiences were just my imagination they wouldn't have stayed with me my entire life. In both cases I think I saw another realm, dimension, different universe, or perhaps the spirit world. In the 15 billion years of our evolution —way before our solar system was born — it's quite possible other, invisible, phenomena developed as well.

The first experience sort of went to my head. For years I always felt that I had some special purpose in life. I loved writing and figured I'd become a famous author. I had this crazy idea that one day I would write THE BOOK. From ages 12 to 25 I wrote all the time, mostly short stories and five uncompleted novels. Somehow, I felt the experience tied in with my calling to be a writer.

As far as what the statement means, I always took it to mean that Christianity just covers a narrow sliver of what's really out there in the cosmos, dimensions, and realms. Or, I took it to mean that there is so much more to our existence than what we know, or think we know.

If I imagined the experience, or made the whole thing up, I don't know what would make my brain come up with such deep, profound wisdom. Honestly, it did not come from the conscious me and I would have never thought of saying that. So, it had to come from somewhere.



Photo credit: gratisography.com

Religion Revisited

As I grow older my opinion on religion keeps changing. I do find theology and our enslavement to it very fascinating.

I will make a few observations:

• Physics - I do not believe any being can break the laws of physics. If the laws are broken that just means we didn't fully understand them or there are more laws to be discovered.
• Technology - For a being to do some super power cool thing, like read our minds, there must be some sort of technology in place. Perhaps it's so advanced we don't understand it. If a supreme being is not using technology, then maybe he's listening to us from another dimension.
• Magic - If you tell me your god can do amazing things, like heal sick people, and he can do it without physics or technology, then, by default, he's using magic. When I was a child I went to my friend Neil's birthday party, and his parents hired a magician to entertain us. I was absolutely amazed at the tricks. But, that's just it — the magician was just doing tricks, so it's not magic. Perhaps our entire existence is just a clever trick.

Jesus Christ Superstar

I've read most of the Old Testament and have read the New Testament several times. I went regularly to church most of my life. I was a youth leader, Sunday School teacher, Christian camp leader, church newsletter editor, and ministry leader. In 1996 I was ordained as a lay leader and still have the paperwork. So, I can tell you that I know the Bible pretty well. I can say that the Jesus of the New Testament and the typical conservative evangelical are a complete mismatch. The Jesus I believe in was a cool hippy who hung out with the outcasts of society and fought against the establishment. He was a good socialist who lived communally with his followers. The American version of Christianity is obsessed with a certain version of morality, which is more aligned with the dominant white culture. It's a big culture war between overeducated urban dwellers and minorities against good American country folk. Strangely, the Christians in America have become the establishment. They have built complex religious institutions and have jumped into politics, where they try to force their moral values into public policy.

Anyway, I'm not sure if Jesus ever existed or if he is a composite of several characters. But the Jesus as depicted in the Bible is an overall cool guy, and I believe in him. 

Ultimately, I have to go with whatever Dr. Bart D. Ehrman says, as he is the most distinguished and respected scholar on the New Testament. I've read some of his articles and watched some of his lectures on YouTube. If he says that Jesus Christ is a fictional character, then I must go with that.

Intellectual Dishonesty

I wrestle with the pros and cons of religion all the time. One the one hand, religious groups are doing great good in the world. But, ultimately, their whole premise is built around a lie, and I don't believe any good can ever come of that. Most religious people simply perpetuate the belief system that was drilled into them as a child. I look forward to the day when American churches are like Scandinavian churches. I've seen a few times where ministers in Denmark and Sweden are asked if they believe in god, and they respond "no." But they continue to do great work in their communities. Hopefully, U.S. churches will soon be like that, and also more into helping and less into politics.

Mythology Packages

I know that my post here will offend some people. But please don't be offended. Just show me the slightest proof that your god exists and I'll become your most zealous member. Everyone carries with them what I call "mythology packages," which are a collection of stories. Religion is weird to me because it simply stamps certain belief systems as "legitimate," and then the leaders of those belief systems are given a license to lie. If I told you that Zeus would save your soul, some people would throw their drinks in my face. But if I say "Jesus Christ will save your soul," well, that falls under the "religion" package, and I become a cool guy.

As one famous skeptic said, "Religion does some good and does some bad, but it does more bad than good." I think eradicating these primitive belief systems from the planet is important to humanity's forward progress. Ancient goat herder religions have tied us down long enough. Let's move forward!

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com

My Uncompleted Novels

I've loved to write all my life and at age 8 I wrote my first short story.  All I remember is that it was about a guy in jail. Starting in middle school I took all the creative writing classes I could, and I spent the 7th and 8th grades in an independent studies program, where I wrote for an hour each day. Throughout middle school, high school, and college I served on the yearbook staff and campus newspaper.

I was editor of my college newspaper and after graduation I became a newspaper reporter and then editor of a small town newspaper. From there I worked as an editor for most of my career.

I did most of my writing in my teens and early 20s. Once I got married I was eager to settle into a routine and write every evening after work.

Now, here I am, 30+ years later, and unemployed. The extra time has given me time to reflect, and I've been thinking about how much I loved to write. During my peak writing years I started 5 novels, but never finished them. I would write passionately for a while and then run out of steam. Each time I would be determined to complete my work, but the plot became boring or redundant, or whatever.

Here are the uncompleted works. I'm thinking about picking one and finishing it. Gosh knows I now have the time. I have most of the manuscripts lying around somewhere.

War Without A Cause
Time Period: Ages 12-16
Summary: It's a theme that's stayed in my head all my life. A group of people want to create a new world government that would fix all our global ills. They secretly built a fleet of 10-story tall robots and hid them in underground silos. The elevators lifted them to the surface and they began their invasion of Europe, Russia, and eventually the USA.

Winter Days & Weary Nights
Time Period: Age 16
Summary: A sequel to the first book, but this one gets more into the battle with the USSR. Americans raise two volunteer divisions that are stationed on the border with the Soviet Union. This book deals with feeding the troops, the new world government, and the famous General Larson, who was too cool to wear a military uniform, and instead walked around in a trench coat.

Rebellion in the Judi System
Time Period: Age 23
Summary: I was just out of college and thought I'd take a stab at sci-fi. The book was a play on the Roman Empire on a galactic level. I didn't realize it at the time but I think Star Wars influenced me more than I realized. Those little crappers stole my idea! I did study Latin for two years and was totally into anything Roman, so it was fun to write.

The Trashcan Novel
Time Period: Age 24
Summary: In college I was editor of my college newspaper and I had a guy and girl on the staff who were always together. The guy was a little geeky, so I already suspected he was doomed to be "just friends." Sure enough, one day he came into my office with his hair messed up and looking like a train wreck. His heart had been broken and he proceeded to tell me his story. One of the things he said stayed in my mind forever: "I was so upset last night that I wrote a 50-page poem and then threw it in the trash." I've always thought there was something particularly beautiful about a love you can never have. It's like the knights who said goodbye to their damsels and rode off into battle. Even if they survived, they would never have the woman's heart. Some baron or lord would get it instead. Hey, it sucks, but at least you get to experience that feeling of love, even if it's one way. So, anyway, it provided a great theme for a novel that centered on the beauty and intensity of a totally vain and hopeless love.

The Battlefield Life
Time Period: Age 25
Summary: Okay, this novel was a rip on St. Elmo's Fire and The Big Chill, which both came out around the time of my writing. But, hey, wait a minute, I think they stole MY IDEA. Anyway, the book is about a gang of friends who go through their contentious lives, and occasionally they get together to play a creepy board game with magic powers that takes them through screwed up lives. It's like the game of Life, with a twist of Jumanji. Hey, wait a minute, Jumanji stole my idea as well.

I also wanted to write a book on saving the world, but again, someone beat me to the punch. In 1992 Daniel Quinn wrote the book Ishamel, which drastically changed my life. More on that in a future post.