Re-Creating Easter VIII: Conclusion – Easter Dawns

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 12 November 2015 1 Comments
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Question

I admire and respect your work and I accept your skepticism about the metaphysical and paranormal. Reared as a Southern Baptist Christian and trained as a scientist (pharmacist), I was a lifelong skeptic of anything that challenged either my Christianity or any reality I could not physically sense until my beloved wife’s illnesses threatened to take her from me forever. My increasing anxiety while caring for her at home spawned new questions about my Christian faith. What now seems like providential synchronicity attracted my attention to what some scientists now call “the unknown.” I fondly remember your answer to a lady in Bloomington, Indiana, years ago who asked your opinion about near-death experiences. It took me fifteen years and the demise of my wife to find what I wanted, a firm yet incredible reassurance about death and souls.

So I read the Part I introduction to your new series on resurrection with great interest. If I may add to your wonder about Jesus’ appearance to the disciples in the locked upper room and to others, he also “vanished before their eyes after eating with them” in at least one verse. I now believe these claims were possible. In discussion with my Methodist pastor, he said I could assume that Jesus’ resurrection was the return of his soul to heaven. (Could Jesus’ intended message have been that mortal life is not final?)

I recognize that you are flooded with calls for your attention so I offer below a brief anecdote from one of the eminent Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s speeches entitled: There is No Death. It appears in my book Souls are Real! Death is Not! I think you will agree that her integrity is beyond doubt. For anyone willing to consider honestly the increasing multidisciplinary examples of experiential evidence for which scientific materialism has no defensible explanation, perhaps the “transcendent dimension of reality” in your introduction includes the humanly imperceptible “Almighty” and its realm, Heaven, and souls.

“She (Dr. Kubler-Ross) describes an unearthly experience that may illustrate the soul’s unlimited creativity. Kubler-Ross had decided to quit her demanding work with death and dying patients. A woman approached her in the hall and asked to talk with her. Dr. Kubler-Ross, the psychiatrist, had a strange feeling about this visitor. This person resembled a Mrs. Schwartz whom Kubler-Ross had known in her work, but that lady had died ten months earlier.

As they entered the office, the doctor touched the woman’s skin, which seemed tangible enough. The visitor pleaded with Kubler–Ross not to forsake her work. Wisely, Kubler-Ross said: “Do you know that the Reverend Mr. Gaines is in Urbana now? He would just love to have a note from you. Would you mind?” She handed the woman a piece of paper and a pencil. After writing the note, the visitor frowned as if to say: “Are you satisfied now?” as she handed it back to Kubler-Ross. When the woman stood up to leave, she repeated, ‘You promise?’ Kubler-Ross’s book reads, “And the moment I said, ‘I promise.’ She disappeared. We still have the note.”

With utmost respect and best wishes for your marvelous work!!

 

Answer

Dear Bill,

I have great appreciation for Dr. Kubler-Ross, but I do not want to spend much time examining the “paranormal.” I do not deny the reality of those experiences, but I also do not want to base my work on anecdotal experiences that cannot be otherwise documented.

When I wrote my book on why I believe in life beyond death (Eternal Life: A New Vision- Beyond Religion-Beyond Theism-Beyond Heaven and Hell), I spent some time on near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences and the work of the world’s best para-psychologists. I even worked with the late Democratic senator from Rhode Island, Claiborne Pell to produce a conference held at Georgetown University on this subject. I have a deep interest in this matter, but it is not compelling enough to cause me to devote the time it would take to make me competent to speak publicly about these topics, so I simply do not do it. I encourage those who do have that interest to do so if this is their desire. My doorway into this subject has been to study the development and the dimensions of human consciousness. Even here, however, there is no time left in my life to develop the necessary expertise to talk or write about this subject beyond what I have done in my book on why I believe in eternal life.

I feel confident that life does not end in death, but always transcends it. I believe that in some manner this was also the insight of Jesus of Nazareth. I walk the Christ path into ever-expanding dimensions of consciousness. I have more questions than I have conclusions, but I nonetheless believe that life is so deeply interdependent that it must participate in eternity.

I salute you for your work in this area and I urge you to press on. I may not be walking beside you but I do applaud your efforts.

John Shelby Spong

 

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