An Atheist in Heaven: The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?

496 Pages·2016·9.03 MB·English

by  Davids

AN ATHEIST IN HEAVEN
The Ultimate Evidence
for Life After Death?
Paul J. Davids and Gary E. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Contributions from John Allison, Ph.D.
Yellow Hat Publishing, a Division of Yellow Hat Productions, Inc.
AN ATHEIST IN HEAVEN
The Ultimate Evidence for Life After Death?
www.atheistinheaven.com
www.lifeafterdeathproject.com
Cover Designed by Julie Dwyer Brody
Cover Concepts: Rhonda Eklund Schwartz Photography: Paul Davids
The cover image of Forrest Ackerman is adapted from the L. J. Dopp painting,
“Blue Forry” (2004), which first appeared as the cover of the DVD of The Life
After Death Project from Yellow Hat Productions, Inc.
An itemized list of over 140 anomalies connected with the Forrest J
Ackerman “After Death Communication Case” and related phenomena
discussed in this book is included as an Addendum, as Chapter 27. There
are chapter references to each anomaly.
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the
publisher.
ISBN #978-0-9890242-2-8 (EPUB Version) Yellow Hat Publishing
A Division of Yellow Hat Productions, Inc.
5605 Riggins Court #200
Reno, Nevada 89502
First Edition, April 2016
Copyright © 2016 by Paul Jeffrey Davids and Gary E. Schwartz All Rights
Reserved
In the 1993 Star Wars book, Prophets of the Dark Side, I wrote the following
dedication:
To Forrest J Ackerman (Mr. Sci-Fi),
Creator and editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.
Thanks for raising us on such a robust diet of primordial beasts
and automated robots, so we were ready to fasten our space belts
when George Lucas pointed the way to the stars.
23 years have gone by since I wrote those words. Forry, you died in
December, 2008, at the age of 92. As with Prophets of the Dark Side, I
dedicate An Atheist in Heaven to you. You were the atheist. However, when
you passed, strange things began happening that made me feel you were not
far away. Scientists have tried to explain these phenomena, and they have
not found answers…
Paul Davids
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge the contributions of many people who helped us, both in
the writing and research. To our two chemists, Dr. Jay Siegel and also to Dr.
John Allison, who contributed writing and editing, we are indebted for your
contributions to the research and analyzing the data. We thank Jack Kelleher,
who wrote a chapter – and Ian Paul Johnston, who also contributed editorially.
The seven gifted mediums (Catherine Yunt, Orit Ish Yemeni Tomer,
Glennys MacKay, Lisa Marie, Molly, Susanne Wilson and Jamie Clark)
connected for us with realms we can scarcely comprehend. We also thank
Russell Maynor, Joe Moe, Sean and Silke Fernald, Richard Matheson, Bob
Rotstan, Scot Johnson, Greg Bishop, Stanislav O’Jack, Deborah Painter, Ron
Waite, Mark Rollings, the Steklis family, Phyllis Galde, Rosemary Guiley, Mark
Macy, L. J. Dopp, Julie Dwyer Brody, Paola Harris, and our patient and
collaborative wives: Hollace Davids and Rhonda Eklund Schwartz. All these
people dedicated themselves to helping with this work and participating where
circumstances enabled them to be a part of the quest. We thank Dr. Michael
Shermer, who surprised us greatly with his Scientific American article about a
skeptic’s assumptions being shaken to the very core. To these names, we add all
those who were part of the film The Life After Death Project who are listed in
the credits, and in so doing, enabled this book to take shape. We also thank the
late Anne Strieber, wife of author Whitley Strieber, who believed in a life
hereafter – and who introduced the authors of this book to one another.
Finally, we wish to acknowledge Professor Charles Tart, Ph.D., the
distinguished research psychologist and author of many books, including The
End of Materialism: How Evidence of the Paranormal is Bringing Science and
Spirit Together. It was Charley (as he is known fondly to his friends and
colleagues) who challenged and inspired us to embark on the (very) time
consuming process of writing this fact-filled book. Charley felt the documentary
film, The Life After Death Project, was important and highly interesting but not
sufficient to encompass fully this complex and substantive case for an evidence-
based mind. For that, a book was necessary, and this is the result.
Preface: Atheists and Heaven?
by Gary E. Schwartz, Ph.D.
I can see how it might be possible for
a man to look down upon the earth and
be an atheist, but I cannot conceive
how a man could look up into the
heavens and say there is no God.
Abraham Lincoln
If you really believe that death leads to eternal bliss,
then why are you wearing a seatbelt?
Doug Stanhope [Stanhope’s italics]
Atheists and heaven? Seems like a contradiction in terms, yes?
As a general rule, people who believe there is no God also believe that there
is no such thing as heaven or an afterlife. The brilliant scientist Stephen
Hawking states this quite succinctly:
“I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the
universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization that
there probably is no heaven and no afterlife either. We have this one life to
appreciate the grand design of the universe, and for that, I am extremely
grateful.”
Forrest J Ackerman was a lifelong atheist. He did not believe there is a
God. He did not believe there is a heaven. He did not believe there is an afterlife.
He did not believe humans have spirits or souls.
Yes, like Doug Stanhope in the quote above, Forrest (or Forry as he was
usually known) wore a seatbelt, and he did so proudly. In spite of his firm
opinions about what he would stake his life on (the steak or meat of existence)
and what was baloney (the bunk of fiction in tall tales and short stories about
ghosts and vengeful spirits), and though he was quite science-minded, Forry
realized that science, and even logic, were sometimes wrong.
As you will read, Forry left a little bit of space in his mind for the door of
doubt to remain open, and he promised some of his favorite people – including
Paul Davids – that when he died, if he woke up to some big convention in the
sky and discovered he had been wrong about life after death (which he sincerely
doubted would ever happen), then he would drop a line if he could. In life he
sent special delivery letters, which he called spacial delivery letters because he
was a major proponent of space travel. What kind of notification would he send
from the so-called “Other Side” – if it turned out he could confirm such a thing
is not delusion or fiction? You will soon learn about this, and the evidence
indicates that he has done so many times. He was a man who always called a
spade a spade, and since he died in 2008, he has been letting some people know,
in spades, that he is still around, although they cannot physically see him.
As this book documents, there is overwhelming evidence that not only was
Forry wrong about the afterlife, but all indications are that following his death he
is having the time of his life. He is doing things that he long thought were
impossible. Forrest J Ackerman’s continued creativity and playfulness strongly
suggest that he has been having one hell of a good time – and that this current
adventure is heavenly for him.
Concepts like God, heaven, afterlife, spirit and soul may seem simple on
the surface, but they are actually quite complex. Consider this statement from
Albert Einstein, arguably humanity’s most brilliant scientist:
“I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his
creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own – a God, in short, who is but
a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives
the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or
ridiculous egotisms.”
There are two key points worth pondering here:
First, Einstein fervently believed in God (though this quote does not make
that fact clear), and yet he did not believe in life after death. Einstein was not an
atheist, yet he still disbelieved in life after death.
One of my favorite quotes was when Einstein was asked if he believed in
immortality. He said “No, and one life is enough for me.”
When Einstein was physically among us, he looked down upon people who
believed in an afterlife. Einstein could be quite caustic and arrogant at times. He
said such people were “feeble souls” – which is funny, since he did not believe
that people had souls – and that they harbored such thoughts through “fear” or
“ridiculous egotisms.”
The problem with this statement is that Einstein’s beliefs are not consistent
with the facts. As a 21st century scientist investigating the nature of
consciousness, people who know me do not label me as “feeble,” and they know
that I do not harbor these thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotisms. I harbor
these thoughts because of the evidence conducted in research laboratories as
well as the laboratory of real life. The same facts apply to many other
contemporary scientists working in this controversial area.
I find it most amusing, and you may as well, that some of the strongest
evidence for life beyond death comes from a lifelong atheist who believed that
there is no God or heaven, and he changed his mind after he died.
For the record, based on the evidence reported in this book associated with
Forrest J Ackerman (and other post-physical persons), I have come to the
“evidence-based” conclusion that people like Einstein and Hawking are
mistaken about the non-existence of an afterlife.
At the same time, and for the record, I always wear a seatbelt. So too do
most genuine mediums (as well as fake mediums) whom I know. Having
extensive knowledge about the reality of life after death and the “heaven
hypothesis” (discussed shortly) does not mean that we should be stupid and risk
damaging or destroying our physical bodies while we have them. Spiritual
people are not the only people who sometimes say stupid things; atheists do so
too. We all need to learn humility, especially when it comes to such deep
questions as the existence of life after death and heaven.
What is Heaven?
Heaven is an exceptionally complex and emotionally laden word. Many
people have very strong opinions about what heaven is, and their opinions vary
tremendously. Just as some people believe that God is an angry old white man
with a beard and a cane (a stereotyped Old Testament view of God), some
people believe that heaven is a blissful place in the sky where God sits on a
pearly throne (a stereotyped New Testament view of heaven). Just as ideas about
God are hugely different across (and within) religious traditions, so too are ideas
about heaven. Hindus, Jews, Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Fundamentalists,
Mormons, Muslims, Baha’is, Jains – the different ideas about heaven often hide
many of their underlying similarities.
Some people believe that heaven is a single place; other people believe that
heaven is hierarchical with many levels containing different kinds of spiritual
beings. There are many different “Heaven Hypotheses.”
It used to be that people had to base their beliefs on the mystics and clerics
of their respective religions. However, today there is mounting evidence that
people who have had documented near death experiences (NDEs) often report
having experiences which include some of the commonalities connecting the
diverse ideas about heaven. For example, the majority of people having NDEs
report experiencing brilliant light, deep love, being greeted by deceased loved
ones and other people, etc.
Moreover, today there is mounting evidence from after death
communication (ADC) research as well as laboratory research with genuine
mediums (as this book documents, not all mediums are fakes), that “spirits” (a
term used by mediums and spiritual people) or “discarnates” (the term scientists
prefer) can choose to “travel” between “heaven” and “earth.” Although the
spirits/discarnate entities now live “on the Other Side,” they can choose how
much time they spend “upstairs” or “downstairs.”
Many spiritual mediums today use words or terms such as “afterlife,”
“Other Side,” “upstairs,” “higher dimensions,” and “heaven” as synonyms.
These words are used loosely; they are not defined precisely.
You may be wondering, if the word heaven can mean so many different
things, how are we, the authors of this book, using the word? We are not using it
in any specific religious way. We are using the word “heaven” in its more
abstract, generic and spiritual meaning – a “higher place” of existence that is
typically more loving, joyful and peaceful than what we experience on the earth.
Notice that this definition does not specify level or judgment or divinity. It
leaves specifics open. In doing so, it honors our current scientific understanding
of the existence of a higher/greater reality.
The totality of the evidence indicates that it doesn’t matter whether you
believe in God or you are an atheist. After you die, you discover you are still
alive and great adventures await you.
Also, the totality of the evidence indicates that it doesn’t matter whether
you believe in life after death or not. It makes no difference. After you die, you
discover you are still alive and great adventures await you.
And finally, the totality of the evidence indicates that it doesn’t matter
whether you believe in heaven or not. Once again: after you die, you discover
you are still alive and great adventures await you.
At the same time, the evidence indicates that the more open-minded and
adventurous you are in general, the more creative and richer your adventures are
after you get to the Other Side. In some respects, Forry is the poster child for the
lifelong atheist who discovered he was wrong and set his mission to awaken not
only the special people in his life, but humanity in general. If any visionary
disbeliever can awaken us to the reality of an evidence-based heaven, it is Forry.
It is time to buckle your seatbelts, but slow down a moment and take few
deep breaths, because we won’t be blasting off until you’ve been properly
warned. So imagine me speaking to you in my most serious voice – and it can
sound stern when I set my playful nature in the storage compartment and get
behind the pilot’s controls. And please pay very close attention to this warning,
which I might as well post in bold type and capital letters, while I’m at it, just to
be certain that I have your undivided attention:
WARNING – THE BOOK YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ IS
ABSOLUTELY TRUE.
This may sound like an odd warning, and I can state for a fact that I have
never read (or written) such a warning before. However, in this instance, the
warning is advisable and completely justified.
What you are about to read is factually true, historically accurate, and
should be taken very seriously.
Though at times what you are about to read may sound like a combination
of science and literary fiction, and it will stretch your imagination and credulity
far beyond where most of us ever go, it really happened – and even continues
today.
How do I know this to be true? You will soon learn that answer, but please
be aware that at the outset, I was initially concerned that Paul Davids’ accounts