Christian Out of Body Experiences
QUESTION: Christian out of body experiences - Is it possible?ANSWER:It's not always easy to make a clear distinction between what is a Christian thing to do or not do with our lives. Definitely there are some issues that are on one side or the other and then, as in this case, there are those that are less easily categorized. Out of body experiences certainly exist and none can deny the blatant fact of such possibilities; the only question is whether or not this is one of those activities that Christians should not participate in.
As humans, it is our natural inclination to know more than we do and to search beyond our limits for that attractive knowledge and information. The earliest example of this instinct is documented in the Bible, in Genesis 3:4-6: "'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."
Eve had that inner desire to become more familiar with things otherwise unfamiliar to her and to delve into reaches deeper than her normal expanse of wisdom. God had given her all she needed and yet she was confident that her curiosity was worth pursuing. And as the rest of the verses conclude, bad things followed when Eve and Adam succumbed to the serpent's temptations.
Out of body experiences can be compared to the fruit in the garden. They promise a good time, an air of experience and knowledge, a sense of deeper accomplishment, arrival, contentment, and solace. An interesting note to make is the fact that Eve would not have reached the level of understanding and knowledge without the enticements of the devil. The same is true with such things as out of body experiences because it is necessary to realize that the hunger and thirst for more eye-opening experiences stem from the devil as well.
The reason for this is as follows. God wants to protect us and give us only what we need. He has promised in the Bible to provide everything we ever need-like Eve and Adam had all they truly needed. Anything that we seek for is a sign that we are striving for what He does not deem necessary in our lives. If it were necessary, he would have given it to us already. An out of body experience is only Satan's lie to us that there is something else in life we need, but that God has failed to supply us with it. We can honestly believe that God never changes. He has promised: "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). We will quickly discern the temptation as a lie and turn from it.
God never meant for us to enter into other realms or become familiar with the spirit world connected to out of body experiences. He gave us minds to study His words and use logic in pursuing His will for our lives; to ignore such privileges and to reach in other directions for knowledge and feelings and insights we were never meant to take hold of is, in essence, to reach for the forbidden fruit. And that, my friend, is definitely not a Christian action!
