I have not read, “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven” or
“Heaven is for Real”, but when I was a teenager, I read a book on various
people’s near-death experiences (There are many such books and I do not remember the exact title). The
stories in this book each contained similar elements of at first being an observer of what
was happening in the physical world (as if floating above it), the experience
of moving towards a great light and a feeling of peace. I liked reading these stories because it gave
me a sense that my faith in a life after death and the existence of my soul as
eternal were not misplaced. I felt I had
some “proof” for what I said I believed.
I actually wanted that assurance because faith has never come easy to
me. Anyone who knows me knows I have
struggled with matters of faith. It
would be so much easier for me if I had concrete evidence that all the stories
of the Bible were factually true. So, I
loved it when they found a boat high in the mountains of Turkey that could
possibly be Noah’s Ark. There have been
other such discoveries that give me hope that my faith is not misplaced.
However, since the period of scientific discovery known as the
Enlightenment, there has been discovery after discovery that has raised
questions about issues of faith. Some
saw such discoveries and tried integrate them with their faith. The Deists saw that the world operated with certain
natural laws and saw in that the hand of God.
While this led them to question God’s direct intervention the daily
lives of people, they had a way of understanding God at work within the
framework of new scientific discovery.
However, with the subsequent work of Charles Darwin to the relatively
new discoveries in biblical archeology of various unknown gospels and
alternative understandings of the person of Jesus, there are new questions
being raised about matters of faith. As
we have seen through history, this has caused great conflicts and hostility as
some people of science dismiss ideas of faith because of these discoveries and
people of faith deny the veracity of scientific discovery. There are those that continue to try to find
a way to put these two schools of thought together in some way.
As a person who already lives in a place of questioning, I
guess my way of integrating these things is to affirm that all truth is God’s
truth and scientific discovery is not in competition with matters of faith, but
are complementary to them. While there
is definitely room for overlap, these two schools of thought are talking about
various aspects of experiencing and understanding the world. Richard Rohr writes, “Religion knew the truth
of metaphor and symbol for almost all of history until… [The
Enlightenment]. Then we started
confusing rational and provable with real.
We actually regressed and went backward.
In trying to defend its ground in the face of rationalism and scientism,
religion tried to become ‘rational’ itself and lost its alternative
consciousness…” (Immortal Diamond). Sometimes the historical, the factual, and
the provable line up with the things that help me make meaning, but sometimes,
I must make meaning separately (in a different way) than what is “scientifically
provable”.
My own personal search for meaning is not grounded in the
historicity of every single element of the biblical accounts, but is grounded
in an experience with God – transformation.
What I “know” for sure is that my life is different now because of an
experience of unconditional love that I experienced as the love of God for me. What I see in the life of Jesus and read of
the apostles resonates with my experience of love and meaning. That is “real” to me. Whether Jesus was born to a virgin or
whether I will spend eternity are matters that I take on faith. Faith, for me is the place that bridges that
which I can see with my own eyes and that which I have experienced in my
heart. While I would like to believe
that the “near-death” experiences of others proves the existence of an
afterlife, my faith is not shaken because a boy now says his near-deathexperience was fabricated. The “truth”
for me is that what happens after death is fundamentally unknowable from a
scientific standpoint. There can be no
scientific study on this because “near-death” is not actual death and once you
are dead, you cannot report on your experience.
Do I wish I knew for certain? Of
course I do, but that which I know for certain ceases to be a matter of
faith. Jesus said to Thomas in his time
of doubt, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:29) After all, “Faith is the assurance of
things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is not he “Proof” of things not seen,
it is an assurance and a conviction of that which we cannot see (prove).
So, I will continue on my path of seeking to follow Jesus as
best I can, but my faith will not be shaken when something is disclosed or
discovered that seems to raise questions about the historical or scientific
basis of things because my faith was not based on that to begin with. The meaning that I make in my existence is
based on relationship, love, and connection with God, myself, and with those
around me. These things are intangible
and invisible, but very “real”.
