n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 4
“Ms. Marcus wrote the ‘bygone’ rules such as not allowing members of
the opposite sex in students’ dorm rooms are relics. Respectfully, they are not.
I’m a freshman at Brigham Young University, and these relics are our rules,
which I enjoy. These rules protect the dignity of each sex and also respect the
powerful attraction between the genders. This attraction is perfectly acceptable
and wholesome, except when it is misused. Intimacy is sacred, and I believe it
should be reserved until marriage.
“Does Ms. Marcus also consider this belief a relic? It is one of the most
freeing truths I know. I respect her for recognizing the degradation of society,
especially in sexual mores, but a secular culture provides no framework for
sexual chastity. If physical immorality is not a sin, why should our physical
passions be bridled?
“Our culture is degraded, but sex wasn’t the start; it is only a symptom.”
This young man may not speak for the majority of his generation. But
because he dares to speak out for his beliefs, he gives us all hope.
(BMH)
‘proof’ of heaven
Dr. Eben Alexander, the neurosurgeon whose life and faith were dramatically
transformed by a near death experience, was in Bryn Athyn on April 6 to talk
to a crowd of 1,100 about his acclaimed best-seller, Proof of Heaven. His specific
topic was: Religion and Spirituality in the 21st Century – How They Complement
Modern Science.
Here was a man who had been a confirmed scientist and confirmed skeptic
about faith and spirituality – a lapsed churchgoer who did not believe in life
after death. His science told him that matter – what we see and experience – is
the core of reality; our thought and consciousness are just products of it. He
considered himself the least likely candidate to be converted to profound belief
in the soul and God and heaven.
Several years ago he was stricken with a rare form of meningitis and
fell into a seven-day coma that all but killed him. He revived with powerful
memories of visiting the spiritual world and of an indescribable awareness
there of unconditional love. He knew the part of his brain that could produce
such images and memory had completely shut down, so these were not
illusions. It had to be real.
Much of it was beyond his ability to put into words – what Swedenborg
calls “ineffable.” But he was profoundly affected by an “angel guide” who
assured him that he was deeply loved and had nothing to fear. That was the
central message of his book and his talk – that God’s love for us is constant and
unconditional, and is a model for our own lives.
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