The Briefing Room
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Rapunzel on October 26, 2013, 10:35:14 pm
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http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/26/former-skeptic-who-says-she-died-and-went-to-heaven-describes-talking-with-god/
Former Skeptic Who Says She Died and Went to Heaven Describes Talking With God
Oct. 26, 2013 2:34pm Billy Hallowell
Crystal McVea was always a churchgoer, but in her heart, she was never truly convinced of God’s existence. That changed after she says she had a near-death experience that brought her face-to-face with her creator.
Former Skeptic Crystal McVea Who Claims She Died and Went to Heaven Describes What God Said to Her
In her book, “Waking Up in Heaven,” McVea detailed her experience flat-lining as a result of complications from pancreatitis. During doctors’ rush to save her, the wife and mother of four says she ascended to heaven, met angels and interacted with God.
McVea, from southwest Oklahoma, knows her story sounds unbelievable, which is why she almost didn’t write the book. But in the end, she decided she needed to be heard.
In an interview with TheBlaze, McVea said she was once the biggest skeptic who couldn’t rectify the pain and suffering she went through as an abused child with the existence of a supposedly loving God.
But she says her experience in heaven changed all that.
How She Ended Up in Heaven
The former teacher remembers being in the hospital on Dec. 10, 2009. After accidentally overdosing her on pain medication, doctors called a code blue and worked on McVea for seven to nine minutes, all while her mother watched in horror as her daughter lay dying.
“I remember almost every detail. I remember being in the bed. My mother was at my feet and I remember starting to drift off — and I remember opening my eyes and telling her that I loved her,” McVea recalled. “I remember just closing my eyes in that bed and I opened them and I was standing in the most beautiful tunnel of light I could ever describe.”
McVea said she instantly knew she was in heaven. The difference within her was noticeably profound. Negative feelings and emotions were gone and she said it was as though all knowledge had been instantly downloaded to her brain.
“On Earth I was chained with human emotions like shame and guilt,” she told TheBlaze. “I had an abortion as a teenager. After that abortion I thought, ‘I’ve done it now — if he was real, he could never love me now.’”
But in heaven those thoughts were suddenly gone. McVea said while she knew she was dead, she was overtaken by a level of happiness she had never felt.
She also soon realized she wasn’t alone.
“I had two angels standing to my left whom I recognized as angels immediately … they took on vaguely human shapes,” she said, describing them as emitting an amber light.
She recalls communicating with the angels, but that she didn’t need to use words to do so; it was as though they all could telepathically and effortlessly speak with one another.
Meeting God
It didn’t take long to realize that there was a third figure nearby. To her right, McVea said she recognized God. After years of lamenting over his existence and wondering why he would have allowed her to suffer through sexual abuse at such a young age, as well as other challenges, she said she instantly fell before him in worship.
“What I saw and felt was just this beautiful, radiant, glowing light. That’s the only word I can even think to decide it,” she told TheBlaze. “But I was very aware that I was in front of the presence of the one true God. I’m a Christian. I believe it was the presence of the father, and the son and the Holy Spirit.”
McVea loved heaven so much in those moments that she had no urge to return to earth. But she says the Almighty gave her a choice.
“In that instance … God showed me my four children and he told me I could go back and be their mother or I could stay there,” she remembered. “For the first time in my life I chose God … I chose to stay with him. I’m so glad that he allowed me to remember that.”
As God, the angels and McVea moved toward the light, she says God told her that the decision was final and once they crossed through she wouldn’t be able to go back. At the time, she felt completely comfortable with this choice.
Former Skeptic Crystal McVea Who Claims She Died and Went to Heaven Describes What God Said to Her
As they continued toward heaven’s gate, she said God showed her something she’ll never forget: He conjured the image of a little girl laughing and playing — a child that McVea felt intensely moved by.
“My spirit could not contain all the love I had for her. When I looked back down at her, I recognized her as me,” she said.
McVea believes God wanted her to know that he never abandoned her even in her darkest hours, so he showed her herself at the age of 3 — before sexual abuse forever changed her life. The love McVea felt while looking at herself, she believes, is the same compassion and care God has always had for her. The experience allowed her to see herself through God’s eyes and, as a result, healing took place.
As they were approaching the gate at the end of the tunnel, McVea said she suddenly heard her mother scream her name. As a result, she was instantly filled with compassion and asked God if she could return briefly to tell her mother she was OK. God again gave her a choice.
“I just felt such pity (for my mom) and I turned around to find her voice — and (God) said, ‘Tell them what you can remember,’” she recalled, noting that she responded, “I’ll remember everything and I’ll be right back.”
Coming Back From Heaven
McVea suddenly opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by nurses, doctors — and her grieving mother. As they bombarded her with questions to ensure she was alert, McVea said she kept trying to drift away back to the tunnel, but was unable.
“I felt trapped,” she said of her inability to escape back to the afterlife.
Over time, McVea slowly came back into herself, but things had profoundly changed. While she didn’t remember all of the details, she said some of what happened in heaven has remained with her.
Today, despite skeptics who doubt the veracity of her story, McVea maintains that everything happened as she described. She told TheBlaze that those minutes during which she was considered physically dead actually account for the time in which she has “been the most alive.”
McVea certainly isn’t the first person claiming to die and meet God in heaven. These stories about alleged ascension have a way of sparking both debate and questions, and based on the intrigued response from the general public, it’s likely we’ll be hearing more of them.
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I love these accounts, and there are more and more of them coming out all the time. They are wonderful reminders of what awaits us when we depart this plane.
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A good friend was in a horrible car accident a couple years ago. She told me she had several out-of-body experiences, but didn't go into detail. I'm going to question her further on it. I believe the Holy Spirit is within us, so if it can leave, I imagine it can come back, as well, for the lucky few who witness it.
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There is a Presbyterian lay pastor at my church (part of our congregation) who had a near death experience last spring--she was on a respirator after a major heart attack.
She had done a lot of missionary work in the Congo in years past. She was told she could stay ior come back, and then she was given the image of all those praying for her here on Earth--including a HUGE contingent from the Congo who held all-night prayer sessions. She opted to return, but she really wanted to stay.
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There is a Presbyterian lay pastor at my church (part of our congregation) who had a near death experience last spring--she was on a respirator after a major heart attack.
She had done a lot of missionary work in the Congo in years past. She was told she could stay ior come back, and then she was given the image of all those praying for her here on Earth--including a HUGE contingent from the Congo who held all-night prayer sessions. She opted to return, but she really wanted to stay.
And then, there are the skeptics who shrug off so much evidence of God. They don't understand what faith is unless they can see and feel it up close and personal. If they had faith, they could see His love up close and personal.
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Eben Alexander was not a believer. Until he had this experience. (http://www.amazon.com/Proof-Heaven-Neurosurgeons-Journey-Afterlife/dp/1451695195)
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Eben Alexander was not a believer. Until he had this experience. (http://www.amazon.com/Proof-Heaven-Neurosurgeons-Journey-Afterlife/dp/1451695195)
Sounds like a good book. I heard about him before. My kindle is at my son's house, but when I get it back, I'm going to get it. I have a lot of reading to catch up on. It's been years since I relaxed with a good book.
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Eben Alexander was not a believer. Until he had this experience. (http://www.amazon.com/Proof-Heaven-Neurosurgeons-Journey-Afterlife/dp/1451695195)
His story is really an amazing account, too. Don't forget the other doctor who drowned in the kayak accident and came back. To Heaven and Back: Mary C. Neal Md and this little boy's story as he related it to his pastor father - Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back. Doctor all agree this little boys was, for all intents and purposes, deceased, yet he recounts meeting Jesus and describes perfectly watching down as his mother was in a room away from his hospital room praying.
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Sounds like a good book. I heard about him before. My kindle is at my son's house, but when I get it back, I'm going to get it. I have a lot of reading to catch up on. It's been years since I relaxed with a good book.
~LOL~ stick with Lipstick and I and you'll be reading a lot. BTW I love my kindle.
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Don't forget the other doctor who drowned in the kayak accident and came back. To Heaven and Back: Mary C. Neal Md
This one is one of my favorites. Dr Neal is an Elder in her Presbyterian church so her book really helped me reconcile some questions I had in my own mind about all this.
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~LOL~ stick with Lipstick and I and you'll be reading a lot. BTW I love my kindle.
I'd love a Kindle, but I pass a lot of books on, which I wouldn't be able to do otherwise. I wish Happy lived close to me--I could keep her in books for quite awhile. :read:
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This one is one of my favorites. Dr Neal is an Elder in her Presbyterian church so her book really helped me reconcile some questions I had in my own mind about all this.
Yes, I liked her book a lot for a lot of reasons.
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I'd love a Kindle, but I pass a lot of books on, which I wouldn't be able to do otherwise. I wish Happy lived close to me--I could keep her in books for quite awhile. :read:
I would read them! I'm in no where land, Ohio. The only thing good about living here is it's close to somewhere else. :laugh:
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I have my friend in CA reading a lot more now - I passed on a lot of the books I'd purchased before I was gifted with my kindle.
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I would read them! I'm in no where land, Ohio. The only thing good about living here is it's close to somewhere else. :laugh:
Happy, you can do what I do--buy the cheapo used books via Amazon. Rappy and I will be happy to suggest some really good ones for you. Once you read them, you might think "Oh! So-and-so needs to read this!" and pass them on.
Or, pay them forward, in today's parlance.(http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/10404/gag.gif)
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Happy, you can do what I do--buy the cheapo used books via Amazon. Rappy and I will be happy to suggest some really good ones for you. Once you read them, you might think "Oh! So-and-so needs to read this!" and pass them on.
Or, pay them forward, in today's parlance.(http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/10404/gag.gif)
I used to do that, but with all that's happened in the past few years, I got away from it. I would appreciate a few good books for my Kindle, though. Thanks in advance.
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I love these accounts, and there are more and more of them coming out all the time. They are wonderful reminders of what awaits us when we depart this plane.
They are coming because they garner attention and sell books. The power of suggestion is just that: powerful. Imaginations can be very creative.
If near-death experiences help people get nearer to God, good for them and for those who read about them. But, like apparitions in the Catholic Church, the experience itself tends to become the focus.
Blessed are those who have not seen and still believe.
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They are coming because they garner attention and sell books.
Ah! Thanks for setting us straight.
I guess when you're a make-believe Deacon, you enjoy that special pipeline to the Almighty that us merry widows don't.(http://www.runemasterstudios.com/graemlins/images/thumbsup.gif)
Want me to PM you a list of the NDE authors so you can contact and set 'em straight, Sink?
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They are coming because they garner attention and sell books. :silly: This guy is just unbelievable.
In any case this was a very touching story. Thanks for sharing it, Rapunzel.
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I'll go out on a limb and hazard a guess Sink never read the article posted here or any of the books written by medical doctors - like the Neurosurgeon noted in one of the books in this thread - who have actually HAD a NDE...
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I'll go out on a limb and hazard a guess Sink never read the article posted here or any of the books written by medical doctors
Or of any of the work done by Dr Elisabeth Kübler-Ross or Dr Raymond Moody. Hey, why should he? He knows everything about everything and, in any case, those two doctors only did their intensive NDE studies to sell books.
Dr Moody: I don't mind saying that after talking with over a thousand people who have had these experiences, and having experienced many times some of the really baffling and unusual features of these experiences, it has given me great confidence that there is a life after death. As a matter of fact, I must confess to you in all honesty, I have absolutely no doubt, on the basis of what my patients have told me, that they did get a glimpse of the beyond.[4]
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I'll go out on a limb and hazard a guess Sink never read the article posted here or any of the books written by medical doctors - like the Neurosurgeon noted in one of the books in this thread - who have actually HAD a NDE...
I think what Sink is saying is that, regardless of Eben Alexander's expereince (or the documentation and writings of Kübler-Ross, for that matter-thank you Cincinnatus for bringing her up) there are no such things as NDEs.
People like Sinky pretty much subscribe to the notion that faith in Heaven and our Creator can only come about through preaching, scolding and knocking on doors, and he'll butt in and take a dump on any discussion thread that suggests otherwise.
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“Dr Eben Alexander's near-death experience is the most astounding I have heard in more than four decades of studying this phenomenon. In my opinion, Dr Alexander is living proof of an afterlife. The extraordinary circumstances of his illness and his impeccable credentials make it very hard to formulate a mundane explanation for his case. For me, it is difficult to shake the feeling that his experience was somehow divinely ordained. Dr. Alexander's book Proof of Heaven deserves to be a major international bestseller, and I believe it will be.
I am confident that Dr. Alexander's story will capture worldwide interest. It will inspire many to accept that there really is life after death. I suspect his book will be a global game-changer. It has seismic implications and may help humanity arrive at a more accurate understanding of life's true meaning and purpose in the larger sense.
Dr. Eben Alexander's near-death experience stands as perhaps one of the crown jewels of all near-death experiences. The knowledge of what he experienced raises the bar for serious investigators and pundits. It marks the beginning of a new era of rational investigation of humankind's deepest mystery, life after death."
- Raymond Moody, MD, PhD, author of Life Beyond Life, 1974, and "father of the field" of Near-Death Experience studies
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I was prepared for "Heaven is for Real" to be hokey and hard to believe. Instead, I was touched to my core.
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I was prepared for "Heaven is for Real" to be hokey and hard to believe. Instead, I was touched to my core.
I was impressed with how his parents allowed him to reveal everything on his own in his own time rather than trying to put something into his head. I think you will find the Doctor Alexander and Doctor Neal books very interesting as well. The former being non-religious and the latter an elder in her Presbyterian congregation.
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I was prepared for "Heaven is for Real" to be hokey and hard to believe. Instead, I was touched to my core.
That was such a sweet account. Loved it.
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Thanks for the recommendations. As church librarian, I added "Heaven is for Real" to the stacks, but some of the others might be nice additions, too.
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Mary Neal, MD (http://drmaryneal.com/):
To Heaven and Back
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Don Piper (http://www.amazon.com/90-Minutes-Heaven-Story-Death/dp/0800759494)
90 Minutes in Heaven
I believe this is the first book I was given on this subject. Author is a Baptist Minister
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Thanks for the recommendations. As church librarian, I added "Heaven is for Real" to the stacks, but some of the others might be nice additions, too.
Do you have an active Sunday School in your church? If yes, the older kids would probably love Heaven is for Real.
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Not right now. It's a small church in transition (pastor left in a huff, took some of his groupies and badmouthed us to some of the families with children), but we hope to rebuild children's ministries as soon as possible.
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I love these accounts, and there are more and more of them coming out all the time. They are wonderful reminders of what awaits us when we depart this plane.
You do have to put these to the test however. Question with Boldness, as they say. If they are not biblically sound they should be avoided at all cost. Like the book that came out this time last year and was all the rage - Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife. I got it, read it, tossed it. It was an “all-roads leads to heaven” book. And in a TV interview the author was asked if there was a Hell, and he said no. When books like that come out and are sold to Christians like hotcakes, I wonder how many of these Christians are lead astray.
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I was prepared for "Heaven is for Real" to be hokey and hard to believe. Instead, I was touched to my core.
Even a person had some doubts about what the boy experienced, the heartbreaking frustrating story of his parents trying to find out what was wrong with him was a great read in itself.
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You do have to put these to the test however. Question with Boldness, as they say. If they are not biblically sound they should be avoided at all cost. Like the book that came out this time last year and was all the rage - Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife. I got it, read it, tossed it. It was an “all-roads leads to heaven” book. And in a TV interview the author was asked if there was a Hell, and he said no. When books like that come out and are sold to Christians like hotcakes, I wonder how many of these Christians are lead astray.
Putting aside the fact that Alexander wasn't shooting for "biblically sound" when relaying his experience, I have to admit, I don’t believe in hell anyway, so it was certainly no biggie to me. I actually admitted this to a fellow parishioner not long ago, and she assured me that many people in our congregation don't believe in hell either, which pretty well floored me. They don’t broadcast it, but they DO remain silent during that part of the Apostle’s Creed, as do I.
My minister read Alexander’s book, and thankfully didn’t toss it aside, taking issue with how “biblically sound” it was or wasn't, owing to the hell subject. He saw the value of Alexander’s messages of all-encompassing love, and instead of dismissing book out of hand, he incorporated a couple of Alexander’s experiences into our Easter sermon last spring. Yes, our EASTER sermon. (Remember when I was telling you about that at the time, Rappy?). It was a wonderful sermon, speaking about Christ’s ascendance, and then his return, to which he contrasted with some of Alexander’s present day experiences and the profound messages of love received, in a very beautiful way. This is no Silvia Browne New Age-ey church I speak of. My minister looks after some of the most staid of the elderly Frozen Chosen imaginable. He holds his Phd in Theology and his Masters in History.
Since I have also embraced spirituality, one of my favorite passages is Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” I used to take this passage in a matter of faith. Now I know it to be true, which makes my church experiences that much more meaningful-to me.
We'll have to agree to disagree on how "led astray" I am. Hell, I'm probably more led astray by my colorful language and penchant for making fun of Sinky and Co. than because of any hell beliefs I hold. :smokin:
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There is a Hell-- Jesus does mention it in one of his parables (it's in Luke, I don't remember the chapter/verse offhand)-- but it's not at all the way it is portrayed in popular culture. It's not a burning Hell yet. That isn't to come until after the apocalypse (see Revelation). Satan doesn't have dominion over it; that's a Greek theory (Hades controlling the underworld and all). Hell is simply the repository for the souls of the dead, and pretty much everything that is written about Hell in the Bible says not much happens except sleep.
The Apostle Paul might very well strongly agree with you in your view, though. Paul takes a very worldly view of sin. He talks very little of Satan and Hell, but plenty on the sinful ways of the flesh and death. For Paul, it is ultimately we who are held accountable for our actions. It is why he speaks so emphatically about seeking the grace of God through Jesus.
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There is a Hell-- Jesus does mention it in one of his parables (it's in Luke, I don't remember the chapter/verse offhand)-- but it's not at all the way it is portrayed in popular culture. It's not a burning Hell yet. That isn't to come until after the apocalypse (see Revelation). Satan doesn't have dominion over it; that's a Greek theory (Hades controlling the underworld and all). Hell is simply the repository for the souls of the dead, and pretty much everything that is written about Hell in the Bible says not much happens except sleep.
The Apostle Paul might very well strongly agree with you in your view, though. Paul takes a very worldly view of sin. He talks very little of Satan and Hell, but plenty on the sinful ways of the flesh and death. For Paul, it is ultimately we who are held accountable for our actions. It is why he speaks so emphatically about seeking the grace of God through Jesus.
There is a difference between our concept of the "Underworld" of the Greeks and ours. Zeus, God of Heavens and Poseidon, God of the Sea. Hades, God of the Underworld, as in what is beneath the Earth, what we don't see.
Thanatos was the Greek god of death. Our concept of Hades is a corruption of the Greek.
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Paul takes a very worldly view of sin. He talks very little of Satan and Hell, but plenty on the sinful ways of the flesh and death. For Paul, it is ultimately we who are held accountable for our actions.
I absolutely agree with that. I also believe there is a place for the sinful where they will go to account for and work through their own sins, but not the hell that most of us know and were taught to fear.
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I absolutely agree with that. I also believe there is a place for the sinful where they will go to account for and work through their own sins, but not the hell that most of us know and were taught to fear.
Same here.