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April 25th, 2011
12:52 PM ET
How one boy met Jesus11-year-old Colton Burpo says he met Jesus eight years ago when the boy almost died from a burst appendix. His father, Todd, chronicles it all in the book, "Heaven is for Real," a New York Times paperback bestseller. CNN's Don Lemon spoke with Todd and Colton, who describes what Jesus was like. Watch CNN Newsroom weekdays 9am to 3pm ET and weekends. For the latest from the CNN Newsroom click here. |
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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This would be much more believable if his father was not a pastor...no actually it wouldn't be. It sounds like the boy is describing heaven just as he has been taught in Bible School and it's funny to me that he sees his grandfather (whom his parents wondered whether he went to heaven or not) and a sister whom his mother had miscarred. Does he not see anyone else? Maybe it's his parents' suggestion that he saw these angels to give them some kind of closure. And who's to say he hasn't overheard his parents talk about losing a child either between themselves or to others grownups. Just not buying it.
What an absurd headline, totally insulting to everyone's intelligence
I often wonder why God even toils with the likes of men..But then again, I think of my earthly father and he NEVER gave up on me when I was in the dumps of life...I Love you Dad...And Thanks.
Not all people who believe in heaven do so because they are greedy as was previously stated. Many people want to see and be with the people they loved in this life again. Also saying all Christians are all anything is a lot like saying all Muslims, or any group are anything, and it's bigotry. We are all just people at different levels of understanding. Jesus is not Santa or Hitler, he doesn't demand works, he exemplified superhuman forgiveness in a very unforgiving world. Try spending one day not acting out in any way because you feel "justified" being angry or upset about something.
Deb Shea-
"Many people want to see and be with the people they loved in this life again."
Which is a 'want' for more than one should rightly expect out of life, in other words, greed.
"Jesus is not Santa"
Not Santa, but very very close in many ways.
"He watches from afar, though you never see him, and he apparently visits from time to time rewarding you if you've been good." You can order the "Jesus, like Santa but for grown-ups" t-shirt at this site
http://www.8ball.co.uk/FunnyT-shirts/Jesus-LikeSantaforGrownUpstshirt.html
Don't get me wrong, I generally do like the character of Jesus as portrayed in the gospels. It's some people's rendering of him into the paradoxically vengeful figure of Christ that I find distasteful. Jesus was a nice guy that you'd want to hang out with, Christ is like the scary post office employee that everybody is waiting to see snap.
To all those non believers out there- I know what your going to say after I post this because it was a dream( actually3 dreams) but I too saw Jesus in my dreams(visions). I did not see the color of his eyes but I do know that he exists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shame on anyone who does not believe in the Lord. And most of all, Shame on their souls. God bless all!!!!
I dreamed (had a vision) of Santa once...
Terry ..Why should we be sorry for not sharing the same delusions as you..I bet your vision was a man in white robes with arms out stretched..lots of lights and such? What colour was he? you say he exists.. pity he did not pass on some info for you to prove it to the rest of humanity.. like a cure for a disease or something..
NL
I have a strong faith in God. I know all will not be saved, but that will not stop me for praying for the unsaved. And by the way even Satan can quote scripture to twist it and trick someone.
And how, exactly, do you know that your reading of scripture isn't some devilish twist? There are a great many Christians, like Rob Bell, who feel the opposite and believe God to be far more compas.sionate than you imagine him to be. Perhaps it would be prudent to spend some time praying for forgiveness just in case you have been deceived, or has that thought ever crossed your mind?
And would never considering the possibility of you're being wrong not be a sign of the vice of Pride?
"it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind." -C.S. Lewis,
What exactly am I supposed to be praying for forgiveness for? Having a strong faith in God or praying for the unsaved?
Jesus made it clear that he is the only way! Someone can try to tear down everything that is said, but just know that I pray for these people, love thy neighbor. I pray that God's will be done.
You are right about God being compassionate. Even though we are sinners God gives us a detailed plan on how to get forgiveness. So Yes, God is so good and I thank God for his compassion.
April-
"What exactly am I supposed to be praying for forgiveness for?"
Hypothetically, you might want to ask forgiveness if you happen to be mistaken about who you consider sinful. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, as they say, so isn't it possible that some of your intentions may actually be leading you down the wrong path?
Say, for example, your reading of the Bible leads you to believe that God disapproves of same-se.x marriage and you, in turn, oppose moves to make it legal. If you happen to be wrong in this belief (and for the sake of argument please entertain the possibility that you may be wrong) then you caused harm to the gay community by obstructing a right they ought to have been able to enjoy, correct?
So, wouldn't it be prudent to pray for forgiveness just in case you (inadvertently) made some such mistake or, better yet, just keep your nose out of issues that Jesus never took a stand on in the first place? Better safe than sorry, right?
April-
A compassionate being would not sentence a person to eternal torture for a thought crime, and I doubt that the worse sadist on Earth would either.
I'm sorry if you think it is wrong to pray for people. But I will continue to pray. And when I do say or do something wrong only I will answer for it. I am not perfect and I don't claim to be. We as humans are all sinners. But I do believe what the bible says, so as for my family and I, we will serve the Lord.
@April
Hi -April...
You Said: "But I do (believe) what the bible says, so as for my family and I, we will serve the Lord."
You certainly have the right to (believe) what you wish. It just seems that from your postings with my friend, -NL that you are acting as if your 'beliefs' = facts.
Keeping it intellectually honest here, your 'beliefs' are just that...'beliefs.' Yes, of course, I in turn, must concede that you 'may' in fact be absolutely right in your 'beliefs.'
However, since we don't really know, you may be right, and you may be...'wrong,' and that, in 'true reality' is the bottom-line, yes...?
Peace...
April wrote: "Jesus made it clear that he is the only way! "
Didn't Jim Jones make it clear that he was the only way?
April-
"I'm sorry if you think it is wrong to pray for people."
If by praying you are thinking of people's sorrow and wishing them good will, then more power to you, but if you are being judgmental of people in your praying then it's not really a true act of compassion.
"We as humans are all sinners."
Or, we as humans are all just humans, prone to making mistakes. I make mistakes, you make mistakes, so why is it so difficult for you to admit that you could be making mistakes in your interpretation of the Bible? It's either you, or other Christians, or even all of you who are wrong. So, why can't it be you who is wrong?
"so as for my family and I, we will serve the Lord."
And my question to you was how you can be so sure that your understanding of how best to serve is the correct one because plenty of other bible readers have very differing opinions. There are no clear guidelines then. So, wouldn't it be prudent to pray on your own behalf, or at least give some thought to the possibility that not all of your ideas of what proper Christian belief is may be correct?
"Every knee shall bow and tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST is Lord!" Rather you believe it or not, one glorious day you WILL bow and you will speak those words. I just pray that you can believe it. You don't have to be "evil" to go to hell, you can only get to the Father through Jesus. You can be a great person who does great things but if you don't accept Jesus into your heart, being great here on earth not serving Him does you no good.
If you don't have to be evil to go to hell, and getting into heaven has nothing to do with how good you are, then your brand of Christianity isn't really about morals, is it? What it's really about is servitude to Jesus, but what you describe seems more like the kind of personal loyalty that cult leaders and megalomanic dictators demand of their followers than the relationship Jesus had with people as described in the gospels.
You don't have to be believer to know that what you're preaching doesn't match the gospel character in the least. In fact, it would be difficult to imagine a polar opposite to Jesus that even comes close to the Christ you describe.
To lie to me is evil, and all of us do it sometimes, but this pastor would have had to lie a lot and plant lies in a 4 year old's head. By the way All Christians are not creationist. To judge anything or anybody is missing the point. We have to
discern, but hopefully that comes from a generous place. If we are honest with ourselves we're all pretty f'd- up and that to me was the whole point of Jesus. He was the example of ultimate forgiveness and being non judgmental, a teacher of the hardest lessons we can ever learn. That's why I believe I need him. After believing it for awhile it opened my mind to something more than this, beautiful like I said before. I pray good people on both sides of belief can find common ground, cause destructive forces get enough assistance in this life if you ask me.
You all will be the ones to answer to him in the end. Your comments mean nothing to those who believe except more prayers sent your way. I feel bad for you. I will pray for you that someday you would accept him as your savior and live eternally.
Your comment was right on. The thing to do is pray that all will accept Jesus as their savior. Why
would I question on Gods decision to show this young boy what he showed him. I think it was a
wonderful book. All not saved will have to stand infront of God and Jesus and be judged. So I will not
judge, just pray for the unsaved.
April-
"The thing to do is pray that all will accept Jesus as their savior."
Revelation says that that will never happen, so your praying for such a thing could be interpreted as a lack of faith in God, right?
In his glory.. have you any idea how long eternity is ? You want to prey and worship to a supernatural being for eternity..and you really think it is a possibility. Think of it this way... imagine the longest time you can, and that is not even close to eternity, in fact it is closer to zero.. and still you would be worshiping.. good luck with your prayers...hope your knees are in good shape.
I think its really sad tha ppl who don't believe in tha Lord n the ways He choses to do things. His ways r not our ways, n if He can make a rock cry out to give Him praise, I'm sure He could use a child. Is a matter of fact, in tha Bible It says to come to Him as a little child. Children don't second guess their Father. They just BELIEVE Him. The book is totally awsome and unless uve read it, please don't judge it. It was so touching that I had to get a box of tissue before I got through tha 2nd chapter. How could that child know he had a sister that died before him n had never been told that? He knew she had died in his mommas tummy. He said he met his sister in heaven. WOW!! If anything this book increased my faith n made me not b scared of death. It was a total faith builder, n I pray for tha day I am united with my Savior n my family n friends that have gone on before me. 🙂
I completely agree!
Crystal Bickerstaff-
"His ways r not our ways,"
It always amazes me when believers state this and then seem to forget it when it comes to finding reasons to actually trust God.
If God is so completely alien to our way of thinking as humans, then how can you or anybody else know that what he defines as 'good' is actually what people would consider good? His idea of a perfect heaven for us could be slowly digesting our souls for his own nourishment.
"He said he met his sister in heaven."
Seriously, how do you meet a fetus?
NL wrote: ""He said he met his sister in heaven." Seriously, how do you meet a fetus?
That's the miraculous part... Behold!!!!!! The lard truly works in mysterious ways....
PraiseTheLard-
It goes beyond that. A Christian I knew as a teen once told us all that she knew for a fact that God 'restored' the brains of the mentally retarded (sorry, but it was a long time ago) once they died. Sadly, it never occurred to me at the time to ask why he couldn't do this while they were still alive. It's all pink skies and beer waterfalls in their little fantasy world.
Hallucinations are quite common in religions. Christianity is no exception.
I followed the original story that broke from the father. Of course we read the (very) short version of what they claim transpired (lest mommy & daddy not have a story to sell) This prodigal childs delusional state is on a par equal to that of his parents greed.
If the parents are not lying, and if as the boy states, he experienced these things I would be cautious of spending the night, (or the day for that matter) in their home.
Eccl. 9:5, 10: tells us exactly (down to the finite point) what happens when we die. Otherwise we are doomed because that would mean our heavenly father is a lier. So, whose telling the truth, the God of truth, or the child?
“The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all . . . All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, (grave) the place to which you are going.”
J, in eccl 9:10 it says there is no work, thought, knowledge or wisdom in the grave. What if this world requires those things, but the next doesn't? A world with no pain no worry no sickness or death that was naturally beautiful and creative might not. Just a thought I had after reading what you wrote and looking at that verse, thanks for comments, Deb.
Yet, don't you Christians also believe that Jesus' decent into the grave changed all that OT finality in death? Just asking!
Lol and people believe this kids story? I mean really why would Jesus come to one kid out of the thousands of other people in the world? I would say this was more than likely a kid with a big imagination, whever believes this BS is one of the most gulliable people I know
No... it was truly a miracle...
Seadra, I read the book and I'm always skeptical, but I still believe there has to be something more than this. Have you read it? I think someone would have to be really evil to be a pastor like this kids dad was and completely lie about all of it. I know some misguided religious people but only a few really evil ones.
Deb Shea-
Although I'm not dismissing it as a possibility, there was no need for either of them to lie. Kids are smart, and this one could have easily picked up enough of the Jesus talk in the household to imagine that's what he saw during, or after his trauma. His young mind trying to make sense of it all, and with a bit of encouragement from his dad, and the whole thing could have been born out of both their enthusiasm.
But, if you're interested in how far parents could exploit their children for religious gain watch this video about a boy named Marjoe.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-178629120699935619#
> Seadra, I read the book and I'm always skeptical, but I still believe there has to be something more than this. Have you read it? I think someone would have to be really evil to be a pastor like this kids dad was and completely lie about all of it. I know some misguided religious people but only a few really evil ones.
You're not including the possibility that the boy had a really good guess. How many near death experiences occur in the US? Probably thousands upon thousands. Where their claims aren't predictive or wrong, what happens? They are dismissed and not reported on.
Odds are that with thousands upon thousands of experiences, one person would get something right whether it actualy did occur or not.
Plus, I doubt a 3 year old could give an accurate description of what was going on. "Mommy and daddy were sad" is not an accurate description of what was going on. Who was in the room, where they were sitting, what was being said, those are actual descriptions of what was going on.
The parents coloured this event with their own beliefs and indirectly convinced their child of it.
So, is he "telling" the story, or "selling" the story.
@Deb Shea
You said: " I think someone would have to be really evil to be a pastor like this kids dad was and completely lie about all of it. I know some misguided religious people but only a few really evil ones."
Believers who lie, don't have to be evil. Many believe they are protecting their Lord or saving souls.
Cheers!
David Johnson-
Where does it say in the Bible "Thou shall not bear false witness UNLESS it's for an intention you consider good"?
"The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful."
Proverbs 12:22
Yet, show some creationists where they are mistaken in their ideas about evolution and they will continue to spread the lie. This just shows the depth of their delusion for, even if God's being real or not were not the issue, they have deluded themselves into thinking that he will be OK with them lying for him. Sad, truly sad, eh?
If God doesn't exist this short life of crap is all there is. If this is all there is, it wasn't worth much anyway so why not believe in something, Your not losing anything except a lot of bad habits and giving people grief. And if it is true, holy crap just let yourself imagine a life with no worry, no pain, no death and creativity and beauty everywhere
Deb Shea-
"If God doesn't exist this short life of crap is all there is. If this is all there is,"
Have you ever considered that you have this atti.tude because you were taught it in church? I'm an atheist and I love this life. However short and crappy parts of it is, it can still be pretty terrific. The trick is taking each and every day as a gift, and making the absolute most out of it.
"Your not losing anything except a lot of bad habits and giving people grief."
Funny, some Christians just swap their old bad habits and adopt new ones, like being judgmental and bigoted, and end up just giving different people grief.
"holy crap just let yourself imagine a life with no worry, no pain, no death and creativity and beauty everywhere"
Come now, we all know that just because we can imagine something and we want it to be real, that doesn't make it so.
On another note, you wouldn't happen to be married to a guy named Berkley, would you?
What you're describing is Pascal's Wager, and it doesn't work. Not to mention, that if there was a god, would he be more likely to reward honest reasoning than blind faith? Someone who asks questions and seeks the truth over someone who says, "I don't know, but I don't want to maybe go to hell, so I'll believe." Think about it.
Smart investors would never invest in something in which there is no evidence to suggest that it actually works, but claims of fantastic returns on investment generally do tend to attract the gullible and the greedy. That's the nature of the con: Play to a person's greed and desire for what you claim to be true, and they will filter out all doubt for themselves. Now, the promise of eternal life in paradise sounds like the ultimate of all things to be greedy for. Is that any coincidence, you should ask yourself?
I know you are; but what am I 😉
As a Christian, even I find some of the stories like this hard to believe. But what I don't understand is why people feel as thought it's their job to inform anyone and everyone that it's fake because they don't believe in God and how they like to ridicule people who do believe it. Find something more worthwhile to do with your time because you're never going to convice the believers otherwise.
Seeing as atheism is on the rise in America I 'm pretty sure that they are succeeding in convincing believers to think rationally and abandon their fantasies and myths.
> As a Christian, even I find some of the stories like this hard to believe.
Do you
But what I don't understand is why people feel as thought it's their job to inform anyone and everyone that it's fake because they don't believe in God and how they like to ridicule people who do believe it. Find something more worthwhile to do with your time because you're never going to convice the believers otherwise.
> As a Christian, even I find some of the stories like this hard to believe.
Do you? Are you saying you discount stories of personal experience and happenstance? Like, do you discount claims of "Grandpa had cancer and we prayed and it went into remission!"
> But what I don't understand is why people feel as thought it's their job to inform anyone and everyone that it's fake because they don't believe in God and how they like to ridicule people who do believe it.
The reason you don't understand it is because you cannot see the other side. It's not atheists who are going around trying to prevent gay marriage. It's not atheists who try to prevent stem cell research on the basis of their belief. It's Christians. Beliefs inform your actions. And from what I've seen of US politics, Christians are not happy unless they have forced you to live the way they have decided. And they are successful at doing so.
> Find something more worthwhile to do with your time because you're never going to convice the believers otherwise.
I'm not trying to convince people who have closed their mind. I'm trying to sway the people who have not. There is no rational reason to believe in a God. There is no evidence for the supernatural claims of Christ. None. But some people are so ingrained that they literally cannot consider any other position that is not their own.
Are you one of those people?
DMT, naturally occurring chemical in the brain
I have see atheists in a foxhole but NOT because of DMT, they usually live there.
@MarkinFL
Good point. If the little guy had said he saw Santa, everyone would have patted him on his head and ignored him. Because he said he saw Jesus, he is getting tons of attention. LOL
Cheers!
If it was Santa, he would still get tons of attention. Should it was just an atheist in a foxhole, everybody could careless.
"Should it was just an atheist in a foxhole, everybody could careless." Good work! That was almost English!
"11-year-old Colton Burpo says he met Jesus eight years ago when the boy almost died from a burst appendix."
So a 3 year old had a vision and people think this is worthwhile to report on?
He is actually older than the three children whose "visions" the Catholic Church accepted as legitimate at Fátima. When you are desperate, you will find "miracles" anywhere. Pathetic.
Their whole belief system is akin to believing in Santa Clause, so three-years old is just about a perfect.
I read the book. Colton was almost four at the time of his near death experience. What is amazing about it is that after the experience, he knew things that he had no natural way of knowing, such as where his parents were when he was in surgery, and what they were doing. His supernatural knowledge about certain things is what convinced his parents of the validity of his experience.
It's because children 3 yrs. old and below don't lie and it was Jesus whom he saw, NOT an atheist in a foxhole. That's why "it's wothwhile to report on".
Person of Faith-
"His supernatural knowledge about certain things is what convinced his parents of the validity of his experience."
He's a witch! In the old days, his parents would've known what to do. 😉
He could be a (male version of witch) warlock, but no, it was Jesus whom he met, not the marked beast and his Atheists minions.
D' Babblenator-
"He could be a (male version of witch) warlock, but no, it was Jesus whom he met, not the marked beast and his Atheists minion"
I was only kidding about his being a witch but, if you believe in a Satan who can deceive people on a pretty regular basis why is it that said devil cannot be the author of anything you personally believe in?
"It's because children 3 yrs. old and below don't lie and it was Jesus whom he saw, NOT an atheist in a foxhole."
Or, or.....like all three year olds he was incredibly open to suggestion from conniving adults who groomed him into believing he had seen Jesus and coached him into the "knowledge" of where his parents were and what they were doing. Let's see....3 y.o. saw Jesus OR parents coached 3 y.o. into thinking he saw Jesus...
> It's because children 3 yrs. old and below don't lie and it was Jesus whom he saw, NOT an atheist in a foxhole. That's why "it's wothwhile to report on".
Either you're a moron or a troll. Whether the former or the former or the latter, rational discourse is impossible.
> D' Babblenator
Ahh, that lets me know I'm doing my job well. Thank you for that. I feel invigorated.
I would be more convinced that these so called near death experiences did not just exist in the victims' heads if, for once, a devout Hindu, Buddhis, Muslim or Jain saw Jesus. Guess what, they never do. They are busy seeing their own sky-god(s). Says it all.
Preach on! :p
I read about a Muslim woman who made a journey to a particular city which she assumed to be a holy city. I believe it was Mecca. When she got there, she began to pray. As she began to pray, she unexpectedly heard a voice telling her to pray in Jesus name. She was shocked because she didn't even know who Jesus was, but she decided that she would find out what she could about him. Eventually, she became a Christian because of having heard that voice.
Oh, wow, you read about it. Must be true then. Come on man, don't give in quite that easily.
@ Person of Faith
Try again stupid... "She was shocked because she didn't even know who Jesus was". That, right there is the lie in your tale... All Muslims know who Jesus was (supposed to be... if he was really a man at all)... to the muslim, Jesus is the second last prophet, a VERY important prophet to the muslims.
Your story would have been more believable if you stated the person was an American Indian in the 1300s.
@ fimeilleur
A Muslim in the heart of any Islamic state and only speaking their native tongue (not English) wouldn't know the name of Jesus, but would know of the name 'Isa. Though it must be told His name is not Jesus, but rather Yahshua.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"
So the belief of this is based upon only the individuals ability to believe in something not seen......the ability to remain open minded and the humility to admit that no human knows everything....or should pretend to........Perhaps the gift of faith should be considered in proportion to the gift of life and the overwhelming mystery of that which is unseen.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
"Faith is believing what you know ain't so." Mark Twain 😉