According to William James, 19th Century Unitarian and the first American-born
psychologist, Mystical Religious Experiences are basically optimistic. He also
believed that, “The founders of every church owed their power originally to the fact
of their direct personal communication with the divine”. The contemporary
theologian John Hick bases his Universalism in part on his own mystical
experiences of God. The Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Center at
Oxford found that 94% of reported mystical experiences in their British national
sample were positive. Given this, it is hardly surprising that the great Anglican
mystic and researcher Evelyn Underhill lists so many prominent Universalists
among the great mystics. Among them are: Clement of Alexandria (160-220),
Origen (183-253), Macarius of Egypt (295-386), Gregory of Nyssa (335-394), John
Scotus Erigena (810-877), Jacob Boehme (1575-1624), and Jane Lead(e) (1625-
1704). The Carmelite Priest and mystical researcher Bruno Borchert adds these
Universalists: Gregory of Nazianze (329-390) and Hans Denck (1500-1527). In my
view, no list of Universalist mystics would be complete without Dr. George De
Benneville (1703-1793).
Jane Lead, who founded a society of Universalists called the Philadelphians in 17th
Century London, described her mystical experience in which the nature of post-
mortem punishment was revealed to her. Recorded in her book, The Enochian
Walks with God, she states that God’s love triumphs, that punishment is for
reforming, and that all are reconciled with God in the end. Her rather flowery
account can be found in its entirety at: The Enochian Walks with God
Dr. George De Benneville’s account of his mystical experience and later Near-
Death Experience is titled: The Life and Trance of Dr. George De Benneville. Like
Jane Lead, Dr. De Benneville’s experiences convinced him that Hell is for
purification and that, in the end, all will be united with God.
The following is an abstract of an article, "An 18th
Century Near-Death Experience: The Case of George de
Benneville" by Ken R. Vincent, Ed.D. and John C.
Morgan, D.Min.
This article was published in the JOURNAL OF
NEAR-DEATH STUDIES, Fall 2006, 25(1) pp.35-48, and is
reproduced here with permission.
ABSTRACT: Near-death experiences (NDEs) have been
reported since ancient times. Before the advent of
modern reporting methods in medicine and the social
sciences, the credibility of these accounts was often
compromised through editing by church authorities or
retelling by secondary sources. The autobiographical
account of the NDE of George de Benneville, an
18th-century physician and lay minister, would satisfy
the criteria of contemporary near-death researchers.
In addition, de Benneville's life is so
well-documented that researchers have confidence in
his personal credibility. The hopeful Universalist
message in his account is also consistent with the
reports of modern-day NDEs. We provide a complete
account of de Benneville's NDE and compare it with
both ancient and modern NDEs. We discuss his
experiences within the context of comparative religion
in general and Universalist Christian theology in
particular.
This complete report can be found at: An 18th Century Near-Death Experience:
The Case of George de Benneville
"Mystical Religious Experiences and Christian
Universalism" by Ken R. Vincent, Ed.D.is excerpted from Chapter 7 of, THE
GOLDEN THREAD: GOD'S PROMISE OF
UNIVERSAL SALVATION.
This chapter is an overview of research on mystical
experience from the beginning of Christianity to the
present, illustrating that such encounters with the
Divine reveal a God of unconditional love.
The complete report can be found at: Mystical Religious Experiences and Christian
Universalism
The following is an abstract of an article, “The Near-Death Experience and
Christian Universalism” by Ken R. Vincent. It was published in the fall 2003
Journal of Near-Death Studies (a peer-reviewed journal whose contributors are
primarily physicians, social scientists, and theologians). This article is also the basis
for Chapter 8 of Dr. Vincent 's new book: the GOLDEN THREAD, GOD'S PROMISE
OF UNIVERSAL SALVATION.
ABSTRACT: I explore the near-death experience (NDE) in the context of the
theology of Christian Universalism. I provide data on various models of Christian
theology, and present the model of Restorative Universalism as the one most
compatible with reports of afterlife in the NDE. I interface quotations from actual
NDE accounts with New Testament verses to illustrate these similarities. Restorative
Universalism includes a judgment ("life review" in NDE terminology), followed by
punishment for some but eventual universal salvation for all. I present an analysis
of New Testament verses supporting the theologies of "Jesus Saves,"
Predestination, Good Works, and Universal Salvation, which reveals Salvation by
Good Works to be supported by the greatest number of verses, followed by verses
advocating Universal Salvation for All. Christian Restorative Universalism is based
upon these two predominant New Testament teachings and affords the greatest
harmony with the NDE.
This complete report can be found at: NDE and Christian Universalism
NEARER TO DEATH
BY BARBARA AND TERRY ROBINSON
Barbara’s story:
The following is what I can recall of my near death experience. Terry said you might
be interested in my account of what I remember. This event took place 1 August of
1974 at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Unexpected by my
physician or myself I had just delivered twins. I had an acute post-partum
hemorrhage.
The last thing I remember was another doctor or someone asking if it was okay if
they tore the neck of my gown in order to obtain IV. access through a central line. I
thought at the time, isn't that peculiar – it’s the hospital's gown anyway.
Then suddenly I found myself looking down & from above the delivery area. All I
could see was the back of the large gray operative light and the chrome handles
used to adjust the light. I could not see myself lying below on the delivery table.
Then I became aware of the strangest feeling, like suddenly I had been released
and was floating. I then remember seeing a tunnel which had transparent sides and
the sides seemed to be undulating and at the end of the tunnel was a great yellow
light. The light seemed to be drawing me to it through the tunnel. I don't recall being
afraid at this time nor of trying to escape the light. I just had a vision of my husband
and two year old son and then I was back.
I recall only vaguely after this experience being transferred to a labor bed and
spending the night in the delivery area since I was so unstable. I do know that after
this experience I slept a deep dreamless sleep only once or twice being aware of
the nurses checking my bleeding and blood pressure.
Terry's story:
I had arrived just after delivery of the boy (the girl was first) and was dumbfounded
to find out we'd had twins. No mention of this during her 7 weeks in the hospital
before delivery.
Apparently, the placenta was not delivering properly and the Doctor went in to
manually extract it and came out with a pair of legs and another ( this one 2 lb 6 oz
) baby! Barb was white as a sheet and there was blood everywhere. I asked if he
had ordered blood. The Doctor assured me this amount of blood loss was normal
with twins, but I then observed the nurse whisper in his ear Barb's blood pressure
and there was a sudden flurry of calling for 4 units of blood with type and cross
match (none ordered beforehand) and filling her with dextran to expand her vessels
until the blood arrived as they were collapsing. I didn't fully realize it at the time, but
she was literally dying in front of my eyes...I found out later her hematicrit had gone
down to 14 (normal--45).
29 years later in Jan, 2003 AT THE SAME HOSPITAL, I had had a swimming
accident leaving me with a shattered right clavicle, 3 broken ribs, a punctured right
lung and compressed lumbar vertebra. I had entered the hospital with a hemotacrit
of 43 and discharged 3 days later with hemotacrit of 35.
About a week later, I experienced severe right posterior thorax pain and went to
bed-unable to move much for about 30 hours. When I got up, I had a huge
hematoma of the back. I was VERY dizzy and a visiting med school buddy took me
to the TAMC Emergency Room.
They took numerous tests and called several specialists. A special contrast dye
catherization radiological test was performed to find the source of the bleeding,
which was a severed vessel below one of the broken ribs.
The Radiologist Interventionist was put on call to try to stop the bleeding via
cautery / catheter if needed. They wanted to see if giving me blood would work as
the procedure had fairly grave risks at my age (MI, stroke).
By this time, I was down to a hematocrit of 16-17 ( I understand the heart has
problems functioning around a hematocrit of 15) and really felt like I was simply
drifting away from consciousness. I knew if they didn't get blood in me soon, I was
going to die. They called in 3 people to start the IV necessary for blood and the
3ed made 6 attempts before success as my vessels were collapsing. My feelings
were simply of serenity and peace. NO panic, or fear. Really, just a calm
acceptance of whatever fate beheld me.
I discussed this with my minister 2 weeks later and he asked me if I had issues still
needing to be settled, or any regrets with my life. I said I had done the very best for
those around me and myself and accomplished probably 95% of my own goals in
life. He said, then that was the reason for the calmness and peace.
So, both Barb and I have experienced a "dress rehearsal" on the final and
inevitable call to the future. It appears it happens between hematocrit of 14-16. My
experience is that exsanguination is a nice way to go.
Terrance Andrew Robinson MD Barbara Ann Robinson RN Phoenix, Arizona
psychologist, Mystical Religious Experiences are basically optimistic. He also
believed that, “The founders of every church owed their power originally to the fact
of their direct personal communication with the divine”. The contemporary
theologian John Hick bases his Universalism in part on his own mystical
experiences of God. The Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Center at
Oxford found that 94% of reported mystical experiences in their British national
sample were positive. Given this, it is hardly surprising that the great Anglican
mystic and researcher Evelyn Underhill lists so many prominent Universalists
among the great mystics. Among them are: Clement of Alexandria (160-220),
Origen (183-253), Macarius of Egypt (295-386), Gregory of Nyssa (335-394), John
Scotus Erigena (810-877), Jacob Boehme (1575-1624), and Jane Lead(e) (1625-
1704). The Carmelite Priest and mystical researcher Bruno Borchert adds these
Universalists: Gregory of Nazianze (329-390) and Hans Denck (1500-1527). In my
view, no list of Universalist mystics would be complete without Dr. George De
Benneville (1703-1793).
Jane Lead, who founded a society of Universalists called the Philadelphians in 17th
Century London, described her mystical experience in which the nature of post-
mortem punishment was revealed to her. Recorded in her book, The Enochian
Walks with God, she states that God’s love triumphs, that punishment is for
reforming, and that all are reconciled with God in the end. Her rather flowery
account can be found in its entirety at: The Enochian Walks with God
Dr. George De Benneville’s account of his mystical experience and later Near-
Death Experience is titled: The Life and Trance of Dr. George De Benneville. Like
Jane Lead, Dr. De Benneville’s experiences convinced him that Hell is for
purification and that, in the end, all will be united with God.
The following is an abstract of an article, "An 18th
Century Near-Death Experience: The Case of George de
Benneville" by Ken R. Vincent, Ed.D. and John C.
Morgan, D.Min.
This article was published in the JOURNAL OF
NEAR-DEATH STUDIES, Fall 2006, 25(1) pp.35-48, and is
reproduced here with permission.
ABSTRACT: Near-death experiences (NDEs) have been
reported since ancient times. Before the advent of
modern reporting methods in medicine and the social
sciences, the credibility of these accounts was often
compromised through editing by church authorities or
retelling by secondary sources. The autobiographical
account of the NDE of George de Benneville, an
18th-century physician and lay minister, would satisfy
the criteria of contemporary near-death researchers.
In addition, de Benneville's life is so
well-documented that researchers have confidence in
his personal credibility. The hopeful Universalist
message in his account is also consistent with the
reports of modern-day NDEs. We provide a complete
account of de Benneville's NDE and compare it with
both ancient and modern NDEs. We discuss his
experiences within the context of comparative religion
in general and Universalist Christian theology in
particular.
This complete report can be found at: An 18th Century Near-Death Experience:
The Case of George de Benneville
"Mystical Religious Experiences and Christian
Universalism" by Ken R. Vincent, Ed.D.is excerpted from Chapter 7 of, THE
GOLDEN THREAD: GOD'S PROMISE OF
UNIVERSAL SALVATION.
This chapter is an overview of research on mystical
experience from the beginning of Christianity to the
present, illustrating that such encounters with the
Divine reveal a God of unconditional love.
The complete report can be found at: Mystical Religious Experiences and Christian
Universalism
The following is an abstract of an article, “The Near-Death Experience and
Christian Universalism” by Ken R. Vincent. It was published in the fall 2003
Journal of Near-Death Studies (a peer-reviewed journal whose contributors are
primarily physicians, social scientists, and theologians). This article is also the basis
for Chapter 8 of Dr. Vincent 's new book: the GOLDEN THREAD, GOD'S PROMISE
OF UNIVERSAL SALVATION.
ABSTRACT: I explore the near-death experience (NDE) in the context of the
theology of Christian Universalism. I provide data on various models of Christian
theology, and present the model of Restorative Universalism as the one most
compatible with reports of afterlife in the NDE. I interface quotations from actual
NDE accounts with New Testament verses to illustrate these similarities. Restorative
Universalism includes a judgment ("life review" in NDE terminology), followed by
punishment for some but eventual universal salvation for all. I present an analysis
of New Testament verses supporting the theologies of "Jesus Saves,"
Predestination, Good Works, and Universal Salvation, which reveals Salvation by
Good Works to be supported by the greatest number of verses, followed by verses
advocating Universal Salvation for All. Christian Restorative Universalism is based
upon these two predominant New Testament teachings and affords the greatest
harmony with the NDE.
This complete report can be found at: NDE and Christian Universalism
NEARER TO DEATH
BY BARBARA AND TERRY ROBINSON
Barbara’s story:
The following is what I can recall of my near death experience. Terry said you might
be interested in my account of what I remember. This event took place 1 August of
1974 at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Unexpected by my
physician or myself I had just delivered twins. I had an acute post-partum
hemorrhage.
The last thing I remember was another doctor or someone asking if it was okay if
they tore the neck of my gown in order to obtain IV. access through a central line. I
thought at the time, isn't that peculiar – it’s the hospital's gown anyway.
Then suddenly I found myself looking down & from above the delivery area. All I
could see was the back of the large gray operative light and the chrome handles
used to adjust the light. I could not see myself lying below on the delivery table.
Then I became aware of the strangest feeling, like suddenly I had been released
and was floating. I then remember seeing a tunnel which had transparent sides and
the sides seemed to be undulating and at the end of the tunnel was a great yellow
light. The light seemed to be drawing me to it through the tunnel. I don't recall being
afraid at this time nor of trying to escape the light. I just had a vision of my husband
and two year old son and then I was back.
I recall only vaguely after this experience being transferred to a labor bed and
spending the night in the delivery area since I was so unstable. I do know that after
this experience I slept a deep dreamless sleep only once or twice being aware of
the nurses checking my bleeding and blood pressure.
Terry's story:
I had arrived just after delivery of the boy (the girl was first) and was dumbfounded
to find out we'd had twins. No mention of this during her 7 weeks in the hospital
before delivery.
Apparently, the placenta was not delivering properly and the Doctor went in to
manually extract it and came out with a pair of legs and another ( this one 2 lb 6 oz
) baby! Barb was white as a sheet and there was blood everywhere. I asked if he
had ordered blood. The Doctor assured me this amount of blood loss was normal
with twins, but I then observed the nurse whisper in his ear Barb's blood pressure
and there was a sudden flurry of calling for 4 units of blood with type and cross
match (none ordered beforehand) and filling her with dextran to expand her vessels
until the blood arrived as they were collapsing. I didn't fully realize it at the time, but
she was literally dying in front of my eyes...I found out later her hematicrit had gone
down to 14 (normal--45).
29 years later in Jan, 2003 AT THE SAME HOSPITAL, I had had a swimming
accident leaving me with a shattered right clavicle, 3 broken ribs, a punctured right
lung and compressed lumbar vertebra. I had entered the hospital with a hemotacrit
of 43 and discharged 3 days later with hemotacrit of 35.
About a week later, I experienced severe right posterior thorax pain and went to
bed-unable to move much for about 30 hours. When I got up, I had a huge
hematoma of the back. I was VERY dizzy and a visiting med school buddy took me
to the TAMC Emergency Room.
They took numerous tests and called several specialists. A special contrast dye
catherization radiological test was performed to find the source of the bleeding,
which was a severed vessel below one of the broken ribs.
The Radiologist Interventionist was put on call to try to stop the bleeding via
cautery / catheter if needed. They wanted to see if giving me blood would work as
the procedure had fairly grave risks at my age (MI, stroke).
By this time, I was down to a hematocrit of 16-17 ( I understand the heart has
problems functioning around a hematocrit of 15) and really felt like I was simply
drifting away from consciousness. I knew if they didn't get blood in me soon, I was
going to die. They called in 3 people to start the IV necessary for blood and the
3ed made 6 attempts before success as my vessels were collapsing. My feelings
were simply of serenity and peace. NO panic, or fear. Really, just a calm
acceptance of whatever fate beheld me.
I discussed this with my minister 2 weeks later and he asked me if I had issues still
needing to be settled, or any regrets with my life. I said I had done the very best for
those around me and myself and accomplished probably 95% of my own goals in
life. He said, then that was the reason for the calmness and peace.
So, both Barb and I have experienced a "dress rehearsal" on the final and
inevitable call to the future. It appears it happens between hematocrit of 14-16. My
experience is that exsanguination is a nice way to go.
Terrance Andrew Robinson MD Barbara Ann Robinson RN Phoenix, Arizona
Mystical Religious Experience and
Universalism
Universalism
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