Jeffery Long, a physician practicing
radiation oncology in Tacoma, Washington, sits on the board of the Near Death
Experience Research Foundation. That group has collected over twenty-five
hundred extensive accounts of people who have had various supernatural
near-death experiences. These people come from all walks of life, various
religious backgrounds, and many different nations. Dr. Long concludes, “Medical
evidence fails to explain these reports and … there is only one plausible
explanation—that people have survived death and traveled to another
dimension.” So many people have had
near-death experiences with such remarkable similarities that it is logical to
conclude that something exists on the other side of death.
Supernatural experiences do not just exist on the other side of
death. Miraculous events also happen in our lives all the time. According to a
Pew Research Center study published in February 2010, “Nearly 80 percent of all
Americans, in fact, say they believe in miracles.” This staggering belief in
the miraculous cannot just be coincidence or imagination. The sheer number of
people who testify to having experienced miracles in their own lives leads to
the logical conclusion that there must be some supernatural power at work in the
universe.
We know this supernatural being is still involved in the lives of individuals
because this being listens to and responds to prayer on a regular basis.
Numerous scientific studies on prayer show that prayer actually works. Because
prayer can be a very subjective experience, double-blind tests were used. In
double-blind tests neither the people being tested, nor the administrators
controlling the tests, knew who was being prayed for until the test results
were tabulated. This ensures that no one’s personal bias for or against prayer
can impact the outcome of the experiment. In these double-blind tests, people
who were prayed for healed faster than those who were not prayed for. Studies
conducted in a number of ifferent settings showed the same results:
the people who were prayed for healed faster.
In any other field, such a staggering amount of evidence would be
adequate proof, but people who hold to an anti-God worldview refuse to accept
the evidence. Those who really want to be logical, though, must conclude that
the supernatural exists.
If the universe has a Creator, that Creator must have made the
universe for a purpose. Each part in that creation, including mankind, must be
a part of that purpose. If people can discover what their part in the purpose
is, they can fulfill that purpose more completely. Though there might be many
ways of discovering that purpose, the most direct way is to learn and
understand the Creator who initiated the purpose. Therefore, the most logical
course of action for people to take is to search for a relationship with and
understanding of the Creator and make it a key priority in life. Though some
faith is required to accept that the Creator is God, instead of space aliens or
some other intelligence, it is not blind faith; it is informed faith based on
logical presuppositions.
Adapted from Dr. Dorsett’s book, Mission Possible: Reaching the Next Generation through the Small Church, published by CrossBooks, a
division of Lifeway Christian Resources.
Tony, you've touched on a subject over which most Christians are inconsistent or "hypocritical". We claim to believe in miracles, but we either won't acknowledge them when they happen, or we limit them to internal invisible things we can't see. This is in spite of the fact that miracles were evidence of the Kingdom's presence and message, and an indicator of the "Last Days" leading up to Christ's return. Good word.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob.
ReplyDelete