German Boy,3, tells how he 'saw grandmother in Heaven'

[Liffrea]

Originally Posted by Aequoreus
What is more logical.. that everything appeared out of nothing on its own power or that everything appeared out of nothing by the power of God?

It’s more logical, I believe, to suspend judgement. The question why is there something and not nothing is, quite simply, a mystery beyond the human capacity to answer.

But we can speculate. I enjoy asking the question and looking at possibilities, definite answers are rarely my goal, which is probably a good thing.

And if it is more logical to believe God created the heaens and the earth is it also not logical to believe in His revelation to man?

Well that’s something of a different issue but on the issue of life after death does it necessitate a deity of some kind? Can it not be a “natural” process, albeit one we don’t understand? Of course a naturalist would say there is a form of life after death….our body decomposes and the nutrients are absorbed into the earth but if we posit that there is some form of trans-physical nature to human being (dependent probably on how we view mind) does that essence become absorbed into something else?

[Psychonaut]

What is more logical.. that everything appeared out of nothing on its own power or that everything appeared out of nothing by the power of God?

Wouldn't it be most logical to assume that the first law of thermodynamics was never violated and that the universe has neither appeared nor was created ex nihilo, but has, in some form, always existed?

[Liffrea]

Originally Posted by Psychonaut
Wouldn't it be most logical to assume that the first law of thermodynamics was never violated and that the universe has neither appeared nor was created ex nihilo, but has, in some form, always existed?

Perhaps, but only if one accepts a physicalist view that the matter/energy (really just energy) universe is all there is.

Of course there is speculation within cosmology that inflation leads to multiple “big bangs” and a continual process of universe creation. These “pocket universes” answer the question of the existence of our universe but, of course, they still beg the question.

[Murphy]

Wouldn't it be most logical to assume that the first law of thermodynamics was never violated and that the universe has neither appeared nor was created ex nihilo, but has, in some form, always existed?

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05422a.htm

[Solwyn]

One reason I’m sceptical about all the NDE is that no sod ever comes back saying Satan was waiting to stick his fork up my arse when I was at the gates of Hell….

Actually, there are incidences of people having NDEs who reported very negative and frightening scenes in their visions/experiences. I was watching a show about this a couple of years ago, I can't remember what it was called. I'll try to look it up over the weekend because I won't be near the computer much til then after this morning. At any rate, some of the respondents that were interviewed claimed to have been in a place of suffering, with demons and such, and it terrified and confused them because they didn't believe they were bad people and of course, they automatically associated this with a descent into hell. Now whether or not this was because perhaps their bodies fought death and a different neurotransmitter than those who had pleasant visions was secreted, I do not know, but they definitely didn't have the Oprahfied version of the gates to happy slumberland opening up with illuminated family to greet them.

One of the things that was mentioned in this show was the difficulty they had in getting anyone to listen to them. Those with happy NDEs were given privilege over those with negative experiences. No one wants to hear that death might be a scary and unpleasant experience since most in this culture fear it anyway, so those who paint a less than ideal picture would be brushed under the rug according to current New Age ideals about the "other side".