Judith said: “I too wish Don would be more careful in his choice of words that he has directed at others. I appreciate his well-researched posts; I just wish he wouldn't fall into the trap of lashing out at others. Having said that, I also know that others have lashed out at Don and that's not right either.”
I, too, appreciate the work Don puts into his posts. And he has some very good things to say as well. An example of this is his answer to Roger’s two questions. This is the kind, loving and gentle person I see in Don. This is who Don really is.
Roger,
Now I guess I'll tackle your two questions posed on p. 3 , reply #45 of this thread:
(1) "Why do you suppose Jesus chose Storm to receive all this sacred information? Storm is no St. Peter."
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In the Gospels, Peter often puts his foot in his mouth. For example, when Jesus approaches the fishing disciples by walking on the Sea of Galilee, Peter brashly assumes he can do the same, but immediately panics and sinks. When Jesus finally announces His mission of death by crucifixion, Peter draws a rebuke for refusing to accept Jesus' destiny. Peter fails the ultimate character test when he is confronted in the high priest's courtyard after Jesus' arrest. To escape, Peter throws a vulgar tantrum and denies having anything to do with Jesus. Jesus has predicted this denial, and yet, still chooses to label Peter "the rock" on which He will build His church.
Christianity is a religion of grace and gratitude, not merit. Prior to his NDE, Howard Storm was a shallow, selfish atheist. Storm was militantly anti-Christian. Who could better serve as a flawed instrument of Christ's grace--like Peter. Storm needs a lot of time to grow in grace just like the rest of us. I love the way Paul illustrates this principle in his description of the church as the corporate body of Christ:
"Some of the parts that seem weakest and the least important are really the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. . .So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among all the members, so that all the members care for each other equally (1 Corinthians 12:22-25)."
I'm reminded of a turning point in my life. As a teenager, I wanted to be a lawyer. My father sang in the choir; so I had to go to church an hour early. A retarded man named Bernie was in the same predicament; so he and I talked a lot. I never realized how much Bernie appreciated this until one evening when he approached me with tears in his eyes and exclaimed, "Don, I've been praying for you and God has shown me that you are destined to become a theologian!" I was dumbfounded by his sudden display of uncharacteristic articulateness. It was as it the voice of God was speaking to me through this retarded fellow. I think Bernie's prophetic word to me changed my life.
I'm also reminded of Brother Hart. He was a minister that no church seemed to want as a speaker. So he had to speak at a smelly rescue mission in my home town (Winnipeg, Canada), where drunks had to sit through a service to get fed. Yet he was more gifted as a healer than far more famous Christian preachers.
My mother and brother attended one of his services. He picked my mother out of the crowd and announced, "Sister, you are in pain from calcium deposits in your shoulder." [true] "The Lord has just healed you." [also true]. Then he turned to my brother and said, "You have pain from kidney problems." My brother was just about to deny this when Brother Hart added: "The symptom of this is a stabbing pain in the small of your back." [true] "Well, God has just healed you." [also true.]
After the service, my Mom approached Hart in the parking lot. He turned to her and said, "You are worried about your son back in the States." [true! it was me!] "You think he's gotten too liberal!" [Sigh! Oh how true!] Hart then paused, smiled, and added, "Well, I think he's just fine. Don't worry." Hart had never met any of my family before. When I came home that Christmas, my mother lectured me on my liberal tendencies. I reminded her of Hart's prophetic assurance. Mom replied, "Oh, what does he know?!!!"
(2) "Did you learn any lesson from Storm's book? have you changed any behavior as a result?"
I was most affected by the role of angels after his NDE in saving him from certain death. Storm was badly neglected in that Parisian hospital. U.S. doctors would later tell Storm he should have died within 4 hours of his stomach rupture. Yet in the darkness, his hospital room would suddenly light up and an angel dressed as a young doctor would assure him that he'd be taken care of. Then the room darkened again. An angel eventually encourages Storm to get on a plane and go home, though he is still in critical condition and should not survive the long flight. Then he is overwhelmed by the angels he sees in his first church service. When he visits the cemetery where the famous Catholic mystic, Thomas Merton, is buried, Merton returns from the dead and hands Storm a book of his poetry in full view of Storm's new pastor who is seated on a nearby bench. Then Merton vanishes. Additional angelic apparitions follow and infuse Storm with a profound experience of heavenly love.
So what difference does all this make in my life? I don't know. But I have a new reason to practice with my Gateway tapes. I no longer care whether I experience a genuine OBE. But I'd love to enter an altered state where I can receive a loving angelic encounter. My life has been saved by inner warnings and I've had many death premonitions that came true. But none of these experiences filled me with the kind of love that Storm receives from his visual angelic encounters.
Don
The only problem I see is ego working here. Letting go of ego is what we all are working on. I equate ego with the old saying… “The Devil made me do it.” Ego is the part of us that makes us believe we are separate from God and leads us to creating all of our fears. Fear leads us to think, do and say some awful things.
Don, whenever you feel threatened, (and this is true for all of us) you lash out at the whole board by bringing up the Moen/Monroe thing. I think you have done this three different times since I’ve been frequenting this board. And each time you pretty much start a war. You do this intentionally when someone says something that angers you. Anger covers the pain that is caused from a deeper fear. Your fear in this is a fear of rejection. Because of this fear, you interpret something someone says as rejection and perhaps even before you feel the pain of being hurt, you lash out and immediately cover the pain with viscous anger. You feel pain; therefore you are going to make everyone else feel pain as well. In this way, you make yourself feel powerful, but it is a false power.
The true power is the power of God, which is love. As a biblical scholar, you intellectually know what Jesus taught that love is. You even feel this love in your heart to a certain extent. This extent is only to the degree that your ego will allow you to feel it. This sweetness is within you and you truly can multiply it in such an awesome way. You told Roger that you’d love to enter an altered state and have a loving, angelic encounter. Yes, this is a truly wonderful experience, but the truth is that you and everyone else can experience this same angelic love within their self each and every single day.
Why? Because God’s love is within each of us. We have only covered it up with our fears and our pain. When we (and we do this slowly) release our fears and the pain these cause us, we begin to feel this sweet, sweet love all of the time.
Don, I say this to you with all the love in my heart and hope that you can feel this in my words. You are one of us here on this board in which each of us has chosen as a vehicle of learning. You are one with me and with everyone and everything else. To see and feel this in our everyday relationships… all we need do is reach beyond the duality of this world.
With much love,
Kathy
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Swedenborg: Father of Astral Projection (Read 198824 times)
