Gerhard Obermann - Testimony of Faith
How My Faith Was Strengthened 100 Per Cent (2005)
I was brought up in the Christian faith by my parents, who were very faithful - especially my mother. When I was young, I hardly ever missed a Sunday Mass and I was fine with what my parents and the Church taught me about the faith.
When I grew up, I continued to attend Mass on Sunday and also followed the commandments, but now I was a bit more critical and increasingly reflected on the subject of God and faith. When I was about 35 years old, a time started in which I distanced myself more and more from God and the Church and in which stronger doubts about faith were spreading.
When I had a serious accident in February 2002 and had to be grateful that I was not in a wheelchair, I turned more towards God again, but my faith doubts were still there. The Church or the worship service simply could not convey enough faith to me.
I always wished I could believe more deeply, but for that I needed proof that there is life after death and that the Almighty exists. It wasn't long before God sent me a decisive insight...
One day an acquaintance of my wife, a pastoral assistant from Vienna, told me about a book that reported on a near-death experience. This lady was so impressed by this book that I too became curious and finally bought this edition. When I then absorbed the contents of this book, it as if a wall of fog had dissolved before my eyes. Although this booklet is not necessarily written from a Catholic point of view, it was suddenly a certainty for me that the Church was right after all with all its teachings and that everything to be read in the book was something great. I felt it was an immeasurable grace that God had given me this insight and at first I could not believe the wonderful finding I had come across. God really does let us humans "look behind the curtain" during near-death experiences.
In the time that followed, I continued to deal with this subject and also read other books about near-death experiences. All of these books show a startling consistency.
I also talked about this subject with my uncle, who I could still remember having also had a near-death experience more than 20 years ago. He revealed to me that during that short period of his cardiac arrest, his whole life had passed before him, down to the smallest detail, and that even details of that experience were still as clear before him and as memorised as if it had been yesterday. He also made me understand that everything he experienced was not of this world. He may not have seen God face to face, but he felt that He was there. My uncle has long since put aside the fear of death, because he knows that it is a new departure to a life of glory and love. Since that time, he has been deeply believing and taken with God.
Since I have come to this wonderful realisation, there has not been the slightest doubt in my mind that Jesus is alive and that our prayers are answered. I no longer understand other people with whom you want to share your insights but who close their ears and are indifferent to God and the Church. Even if my wife and I are now laughed at by our own relatives because of our "abnormal behaviour", I stand firmly by my faith.
Gerhard Obermann
Follow-up thoughts:
Near-death experiences are so incomprehensible and fascinating that they are unthinkable and unimaginable for many and are therefore almost always labelled as fantasy. Yet there is enough convincing evidence that what was experienced was not a hallucination or dream, but reality. For those who have had a near-death experience, there is not the slightest doubt either that their experience has been reality. These perceptions cannot be compared with anything that occurs in this world. The unconditional love which is usually felt in the process is quite simply not possible in the world in which we live.
After returning, the "deceased" are no longer the same. They live in a different consciousness and see love and knowledge as the highest goods, as these are the only ones that can be taken over with them. They no longer have any fear of death.
Near-death experiences thus clearly prove that a person's soul lives on after death. It is obvious that this evidence is not acknowledged from a scientific point of view.
Near-death experiences occur more frequently than is assumed.
The following elements resp. perceptions occur in near-death experiences:
Entry into a dark zone, the tunnel, at the end of which an exceptionally bright light shines. The light is described as so bright that it would blind an earthly eye.
Encounter with a being of light, which many identify as God. Sensation of an indescribably strong love that is not possible in the world we live in.
The soul detaches from the body, rises out of it and usually hovers above one's own body for a while. Only after some time does one realise that the lifeless body lying down here is one's own. Nevertheless, one is in no way disturbed by this. You perceive the thoughts and feelings of the people in the room in a way that you have never known before. Sensory impressions and thoughts are grasped even before the person has uttered a word.
One's own body, which is now perceived as an energy body, moves through matter unhindered by the power of thoughts.
Being asked by a being of light whether one has good works or positive actions to show in one's life.
Experiencing a review of one's life, through which one is guided by the being of light or by departed souls. One sees oneself as in a film, which, however, runs three-dimensionally and at an extreme time-lapse speed. One perceives very precisely one's own thoughts and also the thoughts of other persons that occur in this retrospective. Despite the high speed of the life film, the whole life is grasped and understood down to the smallest detail.
Perception of an inner peace, balance and joy never experienced before, so that one does not want to return to earthly life.
No sense of time: one usually cannot distinguish whether seconds or years have passed, only through the abundance of what is experienced can one assign a duration of time.
Experiencing a beautiful, fascinating environment that cannot be described in words.
Perception of one's own transfigured body, which can pass through matter, space and time unhindered. The body is perceived as complete again even in invalids with missing limbs; blind people can see again.
Encounter with departed souls. One is received respectively by those who have preceded in death and whom one has loved.
Invitation to return to earthly life by deceased relatives or acquaintances.
After returning to earthly life, many have the certainty or conviction that they had all the knowledge of the universe at their disposal during the experience.
When does a near-death experience occur?
When the body is so taken by an accident, by illness or during a surgery that doctors can no longer detect any vital signs (cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, no measurable brain waves), the person's soul detaches from the body.
Some evidence that near-death experiences are reality:
Near-death experiences are very similar; only those elements listed above ever occur.
Blind people could describe exactly what happened during their surgery after a near-death experience. Even the colours and patterns of clothing and many detailed specifics could be accurately communicated. Doctors and nurses confirmed these statements. These people now possessed the ability that blind people definitely do not have.
There are many known cases of patients being able to describe exactly what happened in the operating theatre, in side rooms, along the corridor, etc. after the operation, again confirmed by hospital staff.
Death researchers confirm that near-death patients, during their encounters with deceased relatives or acquaintances, have never mentioned anyone who had not actually died.
There is one known case where a woman who was hit by a car told of meeting her father after a near-death experience. Somewhat puzzled, they investigated and found out that her father, who lived more than 1000 km away, had died of heart failure an hour before her accident.
There are many cases where the dying were kept in ignorance of the death of a family member and yet, as they testified, were welcomed by those who had died.
Gerhard Obermann
