Excerpt

It was late in the 1930s when an incredible event took place. The appearance of a spiritual entity changed my life forever. The details are firmly imbedded in the depths of my memory as vivid today as on the day it happened.

For several decades after that memorable experience, little if anything describing spiritual encounters was published.

Then, in the 1970s, one widely-accepted book, Life after Life, by Raymond Moody, was published describing near-death and out-of-body experiences. In the following decade, Dr. Billy Grahams book, Angels: Gods Secret Agents, appeared in bookstores nationwide. In the early 1990s, a multitude of angel books became available. Among those were: Sophy Burnhams, A Book of Angels; Joan W. Andersons, Where Angels Walk and Where Miracles Happen; Hope Prices, Angels; and Guideposts, All Night, All Day, Angels Watching Over Me.

So many books were published with an angelic theme that in one, Meetings with Angels, Dr. H.C. Moolenburgh includes the following humorous remark by his son in his foreword. Well soon have Return of the Angels and The Angels Strike Back.1

So why should I write yet another book pertaining to the spiritual realm? Why not give the account of my spiritual encounters to someone already engaged in that endeavor? The answer is really quite straight-forward: my primary objective goes beyond just telling the story and having the reader arrive at conclusions. Some thought-provoking questions directed toward the philosophical and scientific perspectives of both the material and spiritual universes should also be addressed. Perhaps the reader will be inclined to probe a little deeper into the mysteries of both realms.

The discipline of science includes theoretical, experimental and conjectural science. In their work, experimental scientists use the empirical method in a cause and effect world and through experiment validate their conclusions. Philosophers, on the other hand, pursue wisdom through logical reasoning in intellectual investigations to arrive at their conclusions. The intellectual reasoning of philosophers encompasses the entire universe - both material and spiritual.

Scientists have questioned the existence of a spiritual realm in terms of proof. Philosophers have pondered the question of the existence of God through strict intellectual reasoning. Science is limited to the material domain, whereas philosophy is free to roam the entire universe.

But there are other key questions to be considered within the material universe: Why do scientists, and in particular experimental and theoretical physicists, believe as they do with regard to the material realm? Where is modern research headed in the study of particle physics? What is the essence of matter?

In the pursuit of these questions, it will become clear that the word- proof- may not apply to either material or spiritual reality. If one cannot prove that an event involving material or spiritual reality happened, then one alternative is to confirm that the event under discussion has happened. Of course, confirmation of an event requires trust in another individual, or individuals, that have witnessed the event. We should carefully consider the role of the words proof and trust in our daily lives.

As we continue to probe more thoroughly into proof versus confirmation of events or information, it will become evident that the majority of information available to you is confirmed rather than proven. And so it is with witnessed spiritual events that can only be confirmed - but not proven - by the participants.

It is my intention to show that positive spiritual encounters can be considered a stepping stone toward the spiritual realm. Spiritual encounters through credible attestations can viably link the material and spiritual realms.

In this book, we will take a close look at material and spiritual reality.