|
Media Watch for August 2008 (Issue 81)
Near-Death Experience Causes Change: The NDE does seem to produce profound and positive personality changes. This is backed up by a thirteen-year study into NDEs led by Dutchman Pim van Lommel and published in the medical journal, The Lancet. In their research, the team noted significant differences after the event between people who reported NDEs and those who didn’t. “NDErs had become much more empathic and accepting of others since their NDE, than had the non-NDErs. And NDErs had become both more appreciative of the ordinary things of life and much less afraid of death than the non-NDErs.” From: Hearld Sun, “Crash landing,” by Milissa Deitz, www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23592269-5006012,00.html Elizabeth Taylor’s NDE: Actress Elizabeth Taylor has talked about her near-death experiences (NDE), and how she has used the experience to help those suffering from AIDS. Interviewed on Larry King Live, she said, “I was pronounced dead once and actually saw the light. I find it very hard to talk about because it sounds so corny. It happened in the late 1950s, and I saw Mike (Mike Todd, Taylor’s third husband, who was killed in a plane crash). I’d been gone for about five minutes–they had given me up for dead and put my death notice on the wall.” “I shared this with the people that were in the room next to me. Then after that I told another group of friends, and I thought, ‘Wow, this sounds really screwy. I think I’d better keep quiet about this.’ For a long time I didn’t talk about it, and it’s still hard for me to talk about. But I have shared it with people with AIDS because if the moment occurs and you’re really sharing, it’s real. I am not afraid of death, because I have been there.” From: Hearld Sun“Crash landing” by Milissa Deitz, www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23592269-5006012,00.htmlSydney Archbishop Says the Occult is Dangerous: In his Easter message the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, warned of the occult and expressed particular concerned about people using the supernatural to contact deceased loved ones. “From the biblical and Christian point of view, this universe has within it spiritual forces, many of which are evil or occult and which will be quite keen to open us up … If we’re prepared to dabble in occult things, then we will open ourselves up to these evil forces … But there is also something there that is true and spooky and a person who dabbles in that area is doing something very dangerous; dangerous to their own stability and health I think, and dangerous spiritually.” From: ABC News, Sydney Archbishop warns against occult forces, by Barney Porter, www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/22/2196687.htm
Stop Shoping and Prepare for the Afterlife: Dr Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, told worshippers at Canterbury Cathedral in his Easter service to let go of “selfish, controlling, greedy habits” and instead prepare for the afterlife. Telling parishioners that the “comforts and luxuries” being taken for granted could not be sustained forever, and that we live in a culture where thoughts of death are “too painful to manage.” The Archbishop went on to say that, “Individuals live in anxious and acquisitive ways, seizing what they can to provide a security that is bound to dissolve, because they are going to die … Societies or nations do the same. Whether it is the individual grabbing the things of this world in just the repetitive, frustrating sameness that we have seen to be already in fact the mark of an inner deadness.” From: Inthenews.co.uk, “Archbishop of Canterbury warns against greed for power,” www.inthenews.co.uk/news/archbishop-canterbury-warns-against-greed-power-$1214787.htm
Lack of Religious Belief: A recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that about sixteen percent of American adults have no particular religious belief, including about four percent who identify themselves as atheists or agnostics. A 2007 Pew survey showed twenty percent of adult’s ages eighteen to twenty-five have no religious affiliation, almost double the percentage of that in 1986. From: The Ledger. “Despite ‘New Atheists,’ 82% in U.S. Think There’s An Afterlife,” by Cary McMullen www.theledger.com/article/20080323/NEWS/803230424/0/FRONTPAGE Many Scientist Believe in God: After interviewing 1,646 faculty members at elite research universities and asking thirty-six questions about belief and spiritual practices, sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund of Rice University, found that two thirds of the scientists questioned believed in God. Thirty-eight percent of natural scientists, those in disciplines like physics, chemistry and biology did not believe in God while only twenty-one percent of those in the social sciences said they did not.From: Canada Free Press, “Scientists and God; not so incompatible as first thought,” By Joshua Hill http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/1853 God Grant: Researchers at the University of Oxford have received £1.9 million grant to investigate why people believe in God. They will try to find out whether belief in a deity is a matter of nature or nurture. They will not attempt to solve the question of whether God exists but will try to find out whether belief in God gave mankind an evolutionary advantage. They will also consider the possibility that faith developed as a byproduct of other human characteristics, such as sociability.
The research will look into other areas, like the conflicts that have been associated with religion and whether they are the result of human nature. The project will also examine whether belief in the afterlife is something that needs to be taught or is a product of natural selection. From: Timesonline, “Why do we believe in God? £2m study prays for answer, by Ruth Gledhill www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3393198.ece Digital Farewells: A few in the traditional funeral industry are now starting to use the latest technology and Internet tools to help the dead and those who grieve their passing. Some funeral mourners who are unable to attend the actual service can now watch it as a streaming video online and visit a tribute page produced by the funeral home. The video also allows family members to later watch a replay of the ceremony giving them a chance to remember things that they may have been numb to on the day of the service.
Poignant memorial videos are increasingly common on sites such as YouTube and MySpace. A new site called Otrib was stated last year. Its creator calls it a “TripAdvisor for the afterlife” that helps people create a tribute page for their loved one, plan the logistics of a funeral and connect with others who share their grief.
Another trend that you may hear more about in the future is the idea of a “Green Funeral.” These services don’t include cremation which produces greenhouse gases, embalming fluids which are toxic pollutants or metal coffins which don’t biodegrade. Instead caskets are made from cardboard, wood, recycled newspaper, papier-mâché, wicker and bamboo. From: Herald Tribune, “The funeral industry increasingly goes digital,” by Carolyn Johnson and the Baltiomoresun.com, “Green if life green afterlife.”
Graveyard Inflation: Facing the fastest inflation in eleven years, Chinese consumers are finding that the rising cost of living has reached into the afterlife as well. Buying a graveyard plot has become more expensive than the cost of an apartment. Five of Beijing’s major cemeteries charge as much as 30,000 yuan ($4,273) per square meter for a standard plot, compared with an average of 20,000 yuan per square meter for an apartment in the city center. From: Bloomberg.com, “Cemetery Plot Prices in Beijing Overtake Apartments,” by Dune Lawrence, www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=ahSgBMY_YR9M&refer=asia
|
|
|||||||
 |
|
|
Donate to ATransC | Pledge | Top | Contact the Association TransCommunication |
|
|
| |
atransc2009-banner.gif){kind=spacer}
