Most People Believe in Life After Death, Study Finds

ALien · 04-14-2009, 12:06 AM

Quote:

The majority of people in the UK believe in heaven and life after death, according to the findings of new research.

A survey of 2,060 people showed 53 per cent believe in life after death, 55 per cent believe in heaven and 70 per cent believe in the human soul.

The study carried out between October and November last year for the public theology think tank Theos also showed nearly four in 10, or 39 per cent, believe in ghosts and more than a quarter (27 per cent) believe in reincarnation.

A further 22 per cent believe in astrology or horoscopes and 15 per cent believe in fortune telling or Tarot, the research revealed.

Half of people in London, the highest proportion in the UK, believe in ghosts, the survey showed.

Scotland had the highest number of people who believe in fortune telling or Tarot at 18 per cent and Wales had the highest proportion of people who believe in reincarnation at 32 per cent.

Theos said the comparison with the 1950s was "especially striking".

In 1950, it said, only 10 per cent of the public told Gallup that they believed in ghosts, and just 2 per cent thought they had seen one.

In 1951, only 7 per cent of the public said they believed in predicting the future by cards and 6 per cent by stars.

But the organisation said the latest research showed an increase in scepticism about certain aspects of the supernatural.

In a 1998 Mori poll, 18 per cent of the public said they believed in fortune telling and 38 per cent in astrology. A further 40 per cent said they believed in ghosts, and 15 per cent said that they had personal experience of ghosts.

Theos director Paul Woolley said: "The enlightenment optimism in the ability of science and reason to explain everything ended decades ago.

"The extent of belief will probably surprise people, but the finding is consistent with other research we have undertaken.

"The results indicate that people have a very diverse and unorthodox set of beliefs.

"Our research may point to a slight increase in scepticism about aspects of the supernatural over the last 10 years."

kidflash2008 · 04-14-2009, 09:49 AM

Since I had my out of body experience (OBE), I can attest that there is a soul. I still don't have all the answers, but I am not afraid of death.

okirun · 04-14-2009, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kidflash2008

Since I had my out of body experience (OBE), I can attest that there is a soul. I still don't have all the answers, but I am not afraid of death.

Cool, how? I'm envious, was it strange?

kidflash2008 · 04-14-2009, 10:18 AM

I have written about this before on another post, but yes the feeling was incredibly strange yet very calming. I have had dizzy spells before, and also did go back and ask the doctors and medical personnel if I had any drugs administered to me. The answer was no, and I also did not get pure oxygen, just the usual air (Nitrous oxide) we all breathe.

When I started the experience, I felt quite strange and thought to myself: "Oh, shit! I'm dying!" I was looking around, yet my body was limp. I started to rise toward the ceiling and was wondering where my journey would take me. I then realized how much I would miss my family, and then went through a wall and back into my body. It went from clear and calm noise to very loud noise and bright lights. It is very hard to describe what happened to me. My body itself did not die, nor did my heart stop. I think souls can leave the body, and the body can stay "alive" without them. This could explain people in comas who are brain dead. Their souls are no longer in the bodies, and the bodies are just empty shells.

holeg2212 · 04-19-2009, 04:34 PM

Does anyone know if they have medically tried to induce OBE'S? I assume they probably would have but with any success or inconclusive results? I think it may be something which would be very hard to induce... and very rare to happen with entry back into the working body, perhaps a better understanding of what happens to someone in a coma would be beneficial?

kidflash2008 · 04-20-2009, 10:51 AM

When the medical people give a drug to knock them out, the brain also stops many of its functions and goes "dormant". People do not hallucinate or dream during surgery as those functions do not work. That is why people usually wake up and not remember a thing.

The OBEs of people in the OR where they remember what the doctors are joking about and what kind of music is playing are part of the mystery. The brain is shut down, so the soul has left the body and the person is aware of what is happening. This does not get discussed in the medical journals, and it is not a hallucination or dream.

I would not know of any safe way to induce an OBE through medical procedures. The drugs would immediately make one unconscious and shut down the brain. Since there is no real trauma, the soul would probably stay where it is at. That is my thought on the possibility of trying to induce OBEs.

04-19-2009, 04:34 PM	#5
holeg2212 Investigator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Western Australia Capitol City 'Perth' Posts: 437	Does anyone know if they have medically tried to induce OBE'S? I assume they probably would have but with any success or inconclusive results? I think it may be something which would be very hard to induce... and very rare to happen with entry back into the working body, perhaps a better understanding of what happens to someone in a coma would be beneficial? __________________ All evil needs to succeed. Is for the good to stand by and do nothing.

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04-14-2009, 09:49 AM	#2
kidflash2008 Senior Investigator Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,699	Since I had my out of body experience (OBE), I can attest that there is a soul. I still don't have all the answers, but I am not afraid of death.

04-14-2009, 10:18 AM	#4
kidflash2008 Senior Investigator Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,699	I have written about this before on another post, but yes the feeling was incredibly strange yet very calming. I have had dizzy spells before, and also did go back and ask the doctors and medical personnel if I had any drugs administered to me. The answer was no, and I also did not get pure oxygen, just the usual air (Nitrous oxide) we all breathe. When I started the experience, I felt quite strange and thought to myself: "Oh, shit! I'm dying!" I was looking around, yet my body was limp. I started to rise toward the ceiling and was wondering where my journey would take me. I then realized how much I would miss my family, and then went through a wall and back into my body. It went from clear and calm noise to very loud noise and bright lights. It is very hard to describe what happened to me. My body itself did not die, nor did my heart stop. I think souls can leave the body, and the body can stay "alive" without them. This could explain people in comas who are brain dead. Their souls are no longer in the bodies, and the bodies are just empty shells.

04-20-2009, 10:51 AM	#6
kidflash2008 Senior Investigator Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,699	When the medical people give a drug to knock them out, the brain also stops many of its functions and goes "dormant". People do not hallucinate or dream during surgery as those functions do not work. That is why people usually wake up and not remember a thing. The OBEs of people in the OR where they remember what the doctors are joking about and what kind of music is playing are part of the mystery. The brain is shut down, so the soul has left the body and the person is aware of what is happening. This does not get discussed in the medical journals, and it is not a hallucination or dream. I would not know of any safe way to induce an OBE through medical procedures. The drugs would immediately make one unconscious and shut down the brain. Since there is no real trauma, the soul would probably stay where it is at. That is my thought on the possibility of trying to induce OBEs.