One of my best friends was murdered on October 6, 2004. It is a day that I will never forget. A drug addict demanded $500 from him and when he said he did not have it, this person tortured my friend for hours before putting a revolver in his mouth and pulling the trigger.

Fast forward two years.

One night, my girlfriend (now my wife) told me on the phone that she was going to take a nap and she would give me a call when she woke up. This was in 2006, nearly two years after my friend's brutal murder. Anyway, she calls me a few hours later and she tells me that she had a weird dream. I ask her what she means, and she tells me that she is almost positive that she had a dream about my friend who had died. I ask her how that is even possible, because she never met my friend nor saw any pictures of him. I'll repeat that -- she had NEVER met him (he was dead before her and I even met) and she had never seen a picture of him.

So I tell her to get online so I can send her a picture of him. That would determine if the dream was really about him. We stayed on the phone during this time and when the picture went through, I heard her phone drop and she began to cry. After a few moments she picked the phone up, though she was silent. When she spoke again, she said, "That was him, That was seriously him." It seemed like the silence went on for a while and then I asked her what her dream was about.

She told me that he had appeared to her and thanked her. At first she did not know what she was being thanked for. My friend talked to her in the dream and explained that he appreciated everything that we were doing for him. It made sense because the next weekend, we were going to go see his kids (he had two children, a son and a daughter). I am really the only friend that he had who knew the real person he was and I wanted his kids to have someone in their lives who grew up with their dad.

My faith during this time was already strong but this sent me over the edge. I knew for a fact then and still do now that God works in very mysterious ways and He is involved in the lives of His creation. I can't answer all of your theological questions because I simply don't know. I am like any other Christian in that I have had doubts from time to time but those doubts will never be strong enough to push me away from Christ.

I have seen too much in my life and I do not need science to make my mind up for me. I am still, and always will be, a wretched sinner who deserves nothing in this life. I was as big of a skeptic as anyone here at one point but I researched and sought the truth with both my heart and my mind and that search led me to Christ. If people want to bash that, then have at it.

My friend was also a Christian and did not deserve what had happened to him, but I fully believe in my heart that he is in Heaven and I don't need to question God on why things happen as they do. I believe because my mind, heart and life experiences will not let me do otherwise. Bash that all you want; but I would ask anyone here how that dream could have EVER taken place without something else being at play?

I have no reason to lie as this happened just as I described it. Take it as you will.

millco88:

I have seen too much in my life and I[b] do not need science to make my mind up for me[/b]. I am still, and always will be, a wretched sinner who deserves nothing in this life.

If only all the athiests on this board will let the glorious light of the gospel shine on and illuminate their hearts. I praise God for ur life my brotha and I pray His love keeps you strong until the day He returns in glory.

I saw on the TV the other day as i was flipping channels a mo'slem man from yemen, who said he was taken on his sick be to the world beyond where he meet the prohpet mo'hammed who showed him the gates of heaven and hell from a distance, he described in details what he saw and was weeping profusely as he was sharing his testimony, he said he saw the angels but he was'nt allowed to see all'ah because he has'nt been chosen to enter paradise because only those that are in paradise have the previlage of seeing all'ah. the guy also said that the doctors had already decleared him dead and one of the doctors came on air together with him and corroborated his story because there were two doctors in the room with him at the time when he was sick in the hospital and they both decleared him dead, he said that he came back to life inside the car when his body was on its way home for burial(about 5 hours after he had been pronounced dead by the doctors), his brother also corroborated that story too, i have heard about christains who have claimed to have been to heaven and meet jesus and the angles, if there really is a god then which is it? christian(jehova) , mo'slem(all'ah), jewish(Yaweh), hindu(idols), buddhdist(i don't know what they subscribe to) or what? since all the religions claim that their way is the only way to life while all other ways lead to hell. it wont be suprising if there are buddhist monks or jewish rabi's who are also making the claim of going to heaven and seeing  god  and the god they saw or meet is the same god that their religion subscribes to.
@poster
Now prove to me that the mos'lem man is wrong and you are right. or why should we discard the testimonies of mos'lem,jews and hindus who might have had similar experience and believe in yours, is it because u are a christain?

Whilst it is really sad what happened to your friend, I cannot help but think that you are committing a logical error of thinking. Let me ask you the following question to highlight what I mean;


1) Assuming you reside in America (or Nigeria), why have you never had a dream about a certain Mr Chungsong who lives in a small village in South western China?

2) Have you ever had a dream about grand-parents ten generations past? If you haven't, why not?


Essentially, our dreams are drawn from things, events, people and phenomenon in our consciousness. Your dear dead friend had not been dead long and was obviously still a part of your consciousness from the great care you showed towards his children. Although your girlfriend had never met your friend, she too appeared to have been touched by the story of his death and the plight of his family. The fact that you had been planning a trip to see his children also would have reinforced his impression in your consciousness. So it is not strange that your dreams would bring up these elements of your consciousness.

My dad died nearly 20 years ago but never a month goes by without me having dreams in which he is featured. I also have regular dreams about some friends who died when I was at college more than 20 years ago.

But why have I never had a dream about Mr Chungsong in China? Well, because he is not part of my consciousness. However, am sure Mr Chungsong's close friends and family do have dreams in which he is featured.

It is inevitable that if you live long enough, there will come a point when almost everyone you dream about would have been dead. Would this mean that all these people have ended up in heaven?

What would a dream in which the following characters are features - Hitler, Sadam, Constantine, Idi Amin, mean? I wonder!

Let's not go into the question of why god would so have arranged for his child (your friend) to have met his dead in so cruel a manner. Was god not aware that he was a christian and had two young children to raised? Or was "heaven" a better place for him than his filial duties to his family?


Man - straighten up your thinking.

Nice Story. I pray your Faith in God grows stronger.

therationa/huxley/tpaine
can you not for once resist the urge to spread your fatally flawed atheist propaganda? Millico is here giving his testimony, do you really think he is about to be swayed by ur carnal and worldly method of reasoning? please for once allow a christian(s) to bless each other and praise God without interfering.

As i said in other threads, Religion holds us captive, mind body and soul. If you believe in casper the friendly ghost, then you will dream and even see visions of casper in your waking hours. If you are a strong enough catholic, you will see apparitions of Mary. same goes for the bhuddhist, Hindu, sango worshiper, etc.
That is why if you believe in anything strong enough, it will seem to work for you, that is why some religions have existed for thousands of years, it seems to work for its adherents.

Also our most innermost thoughts, fears, aspirations are also played out in out dreams and also those of others very close to us, because i know thought is transferable. That is why i always advise people to control their thoughts as opposed to letting others (priests, gurus, masters, etc) control it for them

Millco 88,

You are very Lucky to have a wife that is perfect harmony with your psyche/mind/thoughts, I am sure your friend is not the only thought, she has picked from you.
Please can you share other examples of your thoughts and past experiences being in perfect synchrony, you two must TRULY be in love.

The same thing sometimes happens between mother and child and often happens between identical twins

I am a skepti about many things in life especially when it comes to religious dogma,  however there are many things I have seen and experienced in life that  cannot be explained by logic no matter how much I try to make sense of it.

Huxley is quite accurate in his analysis of dreams and what lingers on in our conciousness as human beings, however to dimiss the "supernatural" is to be illogical in itself as anyone who claims they can explain everything within the confines of logic is saying logic is simply saying they know everything concerning a certain subject irrespective of the fact that what we know now today at this very moment may not be the same in the future.


For example energy is never destroyed but is transformed. Human beings are basicaly working living energy batteries. When we die does it mean our life force is extingushed or is there a possiblity that it is transformed into another state of energy beyond our present understanding, no one knows for now.

Which is why I say always keep an open mind on things.

Morpheus,
I love that name, i relate the Morpheus of matrix to real life, most people are helplessly lost in religious dogma.

Although everything cannpt be explain by logic, logic is still the only tool we have at understanding the universe. It was when the Greeks started jettisoning all their primitive religious beliefs and introduced us to Logic that western civilization started its progress.

The good thing about Logic is that it is very fluid, new facts displace old truths as a result of new experiments or new theories, a good example is the archaic dalton's model of the atom compared with bohr's atomic model and finally the modern quantum model of the atom.
But religious dogma's cannot be questioned or changed, one it is said to be written down then it is ment to last forever.

So what is supenatural today might not be so supernatural tomorrow. Also almost everybody has had a form of unexplainable (according to them) experience.

wirinet:

Morpheus,
I love that name, i relate the Morpheus of matrix to real life, most people are helplessly lost in religious dogma.

Although everything cannpt be explain by logic, logic is still the only tool we have at understanding the universe. It was when the Greeks started jettisoning all their primitive religious beliefs and introduced us to Logic that western civilization started its progress.

The good thing about Logic is that it is very fluid, new facts displace old truths as a result of new experiments or new theories, a good example is the archaic dalton's model of the atom compared with bohr's atomic model and finally the modern quantum model of the atom.
But religious dogma's cannot be questioned or changed, one it is said to be written down then it is ment to last forever.

So what is supenatural today might not be so supernatural tomorrow. Also almost everybody has had a form of unexplainable (according to them) experience.

I chose the pseudo Morpheus for the very reason being that he was the god of sleep in greek mythology.

in my impression Logic is not the only tool in understanding the universe around us and our place or existence in it. Spirituality is another tool. Spirituality stems from religion but is not confined to its rederick.

Spirituality is as fluid as logic in that it is not confined by Dogma and can be truly experienced on many levels and Its when man starts labeling it as this or that ,thats when we get into trouble. Until it can be explained by logical interpretations it must remain in this state of the "super" natural as it is cannot be grasped as yet by our understanding.

In other words when one can absolutely without a shred of doubt convince me there does not exist supernatural beings on different plains of existence then I'lll accept that fact and move on with life.

Till then I remain a skeptic on both sides.

morpheus24:

I chose the pseudo Morpheus for the very reason being that he was the god of sleep in Greek mythology.

in my impression Logic is not the only tool in understanding the universe around us and our place or existence in it. Spirituality is another tool. Spirituality stems from religion but is not confined to its rederick.

Spirituality is as fluid as logic in that it is not confined by Dogma and can be truly experienced on many levels and Its when man starts labeling it as this or that ,thats when we get into trouble. Until it can be explained by logical interpretations it must remain in this state of the "super" natural as it is cannot be grasped as yet by our understanding.

In other words when one can absolutely without a shred of doubt convince me there does not exist supernatural beings on different plains of existence then I'lll accept that fact and move on with life.

Till then I remain a skeptic on both sides.

I completely agree with this statement, but i will like to know if you are a believer of religion.

JeSoul:

therationa/huxley/tpaine
can you not for once resist the urge to spread your fatally flawed atheist propaganda? Millico is here giving his testimony, do you really think he is about to be swayed by your carnal and worldly method of reasoning? please for once allow a christian(s) to bless each other and praise God without interfering.

When your faulty and infantile reasoning is found out, you react by throwing tantrums. C'mon, what was wrong with my analysis of the posters account?

mazaje:

I completely agree with this statement, but i will like to know if you are a believer of religion.

Short answer. NO!

Morpheus

I see you are on your way to enlightenment as the Buddhist would say.
It starts by questioning accepted dogma and beliefs, then you learn to accept any concept that does not conform to our reasoning and our view of the world. ( no following any master, guru of priest), then finally you try and find order in the universe ( a universal order that applies to all living things).
I hope you get there.

I for one have suffered a lot of persecution, ridicule and even ostracized, for backsliding from mass appeal religions (christianity), but i have been able to find perfect harmony, peace and order in the universe.

As of you conviction about spirituality, i have been there, i have practiced astral travel, clairvoyance, meditation, etc in my searching days. I stopped all the day i asked what is the purpose and use of it all to me and the universe, and i find none. Anything that is to be of benefit to me alone, without a corresponding benefit to others and the universe as a whole is useless. I have not found spirituality to benefit societies in the past or in the present, except you tell me your definition of sprituality, where are all the so called spiritual societies of the past, the Egyptians, the vikings, the indians, the binis, the ijebus, did the societies advance. the answer is no.

sorry, i meant you learn NOT to accept any concept that does not conform to our reasoning and our view of the world.