Introduction

Post by **DennisMe** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:13 am

Hi there everyone,
Thought I'd give you all a brief introduction to go with the Avatar.
I'm Dennis, married, two children, born in the good year of 1970.
At the moment I'm employed as a computer programmer, but I am also a registered Pastor (Protestant Christian).
Please don't be alarmed that I am a Christian, I'm very open minded!

I had a Spiritually Transformative Experience when I was 12 and this has always functioned like a light to guide me. This experiential connection to God has caused me to examine and reject most if not all church dogma's and concentrate on what I believe to be the real essence of Jesus' message. To me this is the real holy trinity; Love God above all and your neighbor as yourself. God, being love, its easy to love him back for that alone (I resent the fact that I know of no gender neutral term that does not refer to an object!). Loving our neighbors and ourselves is the hard part. This means that I'm quite liberal as far as theology is concerned. The bible to me is extremely valuable because its like a portal, an invitation to walk with God. But its not meant to be taken literally, in fact it starts off with two different creation accounts which are written as poetry. Its an account of many people's reactions to God through hundreds of years and radically different circumstances. To me the bible should be taken as descriptive, not prescriptive.

I started seriously researching NDEs about seven years ago and even held a couple of public talks on the subject in the church where I was working as a pastor back then. These were well received by the regular attendees and also by caregivers and experiencers who attended. To me the NDE truly reveals what lies beyond the veil and can help to battle the ignorance caused by reductionist materialism that is stifling hope and causing massive amounts of pain and suffering among the elderly and people in general who are left with the (literally) hopeless message that "this (the gross material world) is it".

From the above you can hopefully see that I have a real passion for showing people that they are loved unconditionally and that death (and other such dogmas) are dangerous and painful lies. They need have no fear because we are all in Gods loving 'hands' and there is literally no better place to be.

Dennis

Post by **Garry** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:46 am

Thank you Dennis

I do so hope that you have the time needed to join in some of the lively discussions that happen here on the board and please invite any others you know who are interested to log on and join in

Garry

Post by **Marguy** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 12:06 pm

Hi Dennis,

Welcome at the forum. Nice to meet you.

Marguy

Post by **Natalie** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:35 pm

Hello Dennis,

Very exiting to have you join this forum. I look forward to sharing and reading about your views and comments whenever you find the time.

Natalie

Post by **LifeReview** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:51 am

Hi Dennis,

Welcome!

Post by **ano1** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:08 pm

Dennis, welcome.

They need have no fear because we are all in Gods loving 'hands' and there is literally no better place to be.

I live by that. This place is only one aspect of our lives.

Post by **DennisMe** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 2:39 pm

thanks everyone,
the forum seems a little slow but I like whats been posted up to now. Very interesting and a great mix of insights, emotions and interesting thinking.

Dennis

Post by **Garry** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 5:43 pm

DennisMe wrote:thanks everyone,
the forum seems a little slow but I like whats been posted up to now. Very interesting and a great mix of insights, emotions and interesting thinking.

Dennis

Hello Dennis

If you mean the amount of participation , regarding being a little slow ,I do agree with you 100 % but we really cnt force people to participate .

We find a lot of people log on and read the various topics and posts but we don't get a lot of people posting. Maybe its because its a subject that is a private issue to these people . We are not sure ..

We are certainly open to any suggestions , new topics or any new members you may be able to help us with .

We dont believe in cramming stuff at people such as advertising and are trying to have a place where people are comfortable visiting

Garry

Post by **LifeReview** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 2:45 pm

Ten free pizzas for anyone who posts stuff!

No seriously, I think a lot of the regulars here have read many many NDEs and have absorbed them into their worldview already. Once you 'get it', it's hard to look at anything the same way again, and maybe you feel that you don't need to discuss the insights b/c they're so personal and individual. I'm still surprised, though, that I am meeting many people who know little about NDEs or think it's nonsense.

We set up the Cafe structure here so that people who have already absorbed NDEs into their life can go ahead and talk about other stuff. Pretty much anything, except suicide/politics -stuff like that, is OK.

Post by **ano1** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:30 pm

The old forum was hopping. Maybe this one will get going too.

Post by **CathyK** » Fri Aug 22, 2014 6:10 pm

Hi Dennis

Nice to meet you! Don't be deterred by slowness of the forum, some regulars maybe have other things to to take care of during the summer and will filter back in the autumn.

In your introduction you said you hoped that you would not alarm anyone by saying that you are a Christian, (and a Pastor at that). I think that everyone here, whether Christian or not, recognises that the NDE transcends all religions and, as you say, loving 'God' and loving one's neighbour as one's self, are the most important aspects of our earthly lives.

Cathy

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