A lawyer's open letter to His Holiness
Pope Benedict XVI
(Updated August 12th 07)
A MOST URGENT CHURCH PROBLEM BIGGER
THAN THE GALILEO CASE
Your Holiness. This most serious and important correspondence
has been precipitated by some very urgent spiritual matters
which concern all Catholics and others - and which need
most urgent attention. The primary concern is that
the Catholic theological explanation of what happens to
us when we die is fundamentally inconsistent with empirically
produced results.
Your Holiness has the power, the discretion, the authority,
the heavy duty and the great responsibility to ameliorate
any fundamentally erroneous theological beliefs.
It is now universally accepeted that for over one hundred
years empiricism has taken over afterlife resesarch and
the Church no longer has exclusive jurisdiction to deal
with the afterlife.
With the greatest respect it is submitted accordingly that
whenever there is an inconsistency between theology (subjective
personal authority) and science (objective authority
based on empirically elicited results), inevitably science
will always prevail. The classic example which is now not
disputed by the Catholic Church is the Galileo incident
where the Church took over 330 years to admit it was theologically
fundamentally wrong; science prevailed over entrenched theology.
It is accordingly submitted for reasons hereinafter explained,
that the Catholic theological explanation about what happens
to us when we cross over is irretrievably erroneous, is
not relevant anymore and just like the Galileo incident,
has been invalidated by empirical results.
The issue of what happens to us when we die is most urgent,
is of immediate importance, is vital to our understanding
of the meaning of life - and it is certainly far more serious
than the said Galileo case.
One most fundamental theological error is the
teaching that on dying, all people go to 'purgatory' -
a place of pain and suffering for 'purification by fire'
- before we go to 'heaven.' This is even if a person dies
in the 'state of grace'. This is fundamentally inconsistent
with what science tells us happens to us when we die.
There is also the entrenched fourth century Christian theology
taught by the Church to-day which states that Jesus,
"… will come to judge the living and the dead."
I submit these two critical theological teachings are fundamentally
wrong and are doing a great deal of immense harm to the
millions of Catholics and other Christians.
I also submit that the erroneous teachings elicit
unnecessary fear, inculcate our unconscious mind with false
expectations, mislead and misdirect us.
These create huge negative consequences for many individuals
as the more sensitive ones and some others could have serious
problems progressing to the 'Realm of the Light' on crossing
over.
Empirically elicited and validated results tell
us that many of those who cross over have a 'conscious transition'
and are met by a loved one with whom there has been a heart
to heart connection.
Millions of Catholics and millions of others have personally
experienced near death experiences and direct after death
contact with their loved ones. Information transmitted from
the other side has by way of empirically validated mediumship
consistently informed us that most people find themselves
fully conscious and functioning with all their senses immediately
after they pass on from physical earth into the spirit world.
We are consistently told by those who experienced it that
crossing over to the other side potentially is one of the
most spiritually beautiful, ecstatic experiences we will
ever have on this planet earth. And then we continue to
live, usually in the third realm where conditions are so
indescribably beautiful we call it 'heaven.'
But this empirically validated afterlife description
is fundamentally inconsistent with Christian theology. Fact
is being separated from fiction. Science is replacing superstition.
Empiricism is removing the fear, the terror and the threat
of eternal punishment - objective truth is giving us absolute
confidence, giving us hope and showing us the way.
Experience shows that most Catholics are terrified
of death and know absolutely nothing about after crossing
over - or have completely wrong information about
what to expect and sadly, many plunge into serious problems
in the afterlife as a direct result of the Church's wrong
teachings.
Accordingly it is submitted that it is cruel in the extreme
for Christians to be instructed in beliefs unsupported by
objective authority and to be misled that they will stay
unconscious for an indefinite period of time and that their
loved ones who have gone before are separated from them
and unaware of them.
There have been and there are millions of Catholics in
the world to-day who could tell the world that they do get
afterlife messages from their loved ones directly and through
gifted mediums. I myself was contacted directly by three
members of my family - my grandmother who was a most devoted
Catholic and both my parents.
Many others witness apparitions of their crossed over loved
ones informing them they are very happy where they are.
My own mother had an apparition of her mother who told her
she was happy where she was and not to worry about her.
Empirical afterlife evidence is contributing to continous
spiritual refinement. All the amens, hallellulias, ritual,
hymns, confessions, masses, benedictions and religious dogmas
are meaningless unless they contribute to continuous spirituality
and clear understanding what is definitively going to happen
to us when we die.
Individual integrity, intellectual independence, self responsibility,
the fundamental right to question religious dogmas and doctrines
have replaced collective domination and religious sycophancy
and subservience. Empirical spirituality is replacing traditional
religiosity.
Ultimately, there is nothing more important, nothing more
vital and more critical than continuous spiritual refinement
and truth about the human and spiritual condition now and
on crossing over.
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACCEPTS THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FOR
AFTERLIFE COMMUNICATION.
The text of the Majority Report of the Church of England
committee (included Dr F Underhill, Dr W R Matthews, senior
lawyer P Sandlands Q.C., Professor (Canon) L W Grenstedappointed)
by Archbishop Lang and Archbishop Temple to investigate
the afterlife concluded there is evidence that those who
passed on are in a position to communicate with us. The
result of the investigation was kept secret for some forty
years because the results completely embarrassed Christendom.
The evidence for afterlife communication is unrebuttable
and irrefutable. I submitted over twentyone areas of objective
afterlife evidence www.victorzammit.com (see below for *index)
ETERNAL DAMNATION?
The other related issue for urgent consideration
by His Holiness and the cardinals is the Catholic teaching
about 'eternal damnation'. Again, empirically elicited
information through psychic mediumship shows this not to
be correct. Whilst, empiricism supports the Church's teaching
that there is a dark sphere - perhaps theologians' closest
description is 'hell' - empiricists state that those who
go to the low dark realms are NOT condemned to stay in those
horrible conditions for eternity.
Further, there is no Biblical authority for the doctrine
of eternal damnation. The problem exists because
of intentional or accidental mistranslation of the word
'eon.' Historically, the word 'eon' never ever meant
'eternal.' The legitimate definition of the word 'eon' as
used at the time of Jesus was a period of time. In Roman/Jesus
times it meant the equivalent of one hundred years. A number
of times in the Bible, 'eon' is properly translated as a
period of time: blasphemy against the Spirit, "...
shall not be forgiven either in this 'eon' or in that which
is to come …" Further, in the parable of the
sower, it is said that some seeds were choked with the cares
of this 'eon' …Further still, in the parable of the
tares among the wheat Christ explains that "…
the harvest would be at the end of this eon …"
Even in the passage from Saint Paul's Epistle to the
Corinthians "We speak a wisdom not of this 'eon'
nor of the rulers of this eon."
In all of these 'eon' was translated correctly to mean
a period of time. But whenever 'eon' preceded some punishment,
the ecclesiastic translators from the Greek version willfully
misinterpreted 'eon' and incorrectly translated it to mean
'eternal.' For example, in Matthew 18:8 where it says, "If
your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off
and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life
crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and
be cast into the eternal fire" the word that precedes
'fire' is 'Aionios' the adjective from "eon" as
it is in Matthew 25:41, "Depart from me, ye cursed,
into the eternal fire".
Strangely enough, we are informed from the writings of
a book by former Catholic priest, Johannes Greber - from
which this has been taken, the original text of Matthew
18:8 did not even contain the word 'eon' but read "into
the hell of fire" and Matthew 25:41 originally
stated, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the outer
darkness." (1970; 379).
These are most spurious alterations which must be dealt
with forthwith by His Holiness and the Vatican cardinals
because they constitute wilful misrepresentation and fraud
on a global level against mankind.
We must never accept that 'God' - where we are informed
is all loving, all forgiving, omniscient, infallible, prescient
and omnipotent, has 'inferior' morality than an informed
human being.
There will be universal acceptance that no informed human
being will ever condemn another human being to 'eternal
damnation' for what the Church calls a 'mortal sin' - even,
technically, a one off 'mortal' sin - a transgression such
as a one-off not attending Church on a Sunday or even one-off
sex before marriage or even a one-off five minute what the
Church calls 'adultery' with a divorcee.
I submit that the average intelligent Catholic is not accepting
'eternal damnation' and unless theology has substance and
unquestioned credibility it will not survive and the Church
will inevitably get deeper into crisis.
The Council of Nicea
Much of to-day's theology about the afterlife comes from
decisions made by the early Church councils starting from
the Council of Nicea in 325AD. It was at this Council that
theological beliefs emerged. As a matter of fact, as His
Holiness fully is aware, to-day whenever mass service is
held, The Creed is recited to affirm the beliefs originally
drafted at the Council of Nicea in 325AD. The Creed tells
us that Jesus will come again 'to judge the living and
the dead' after the dead have been buried for an indeterminate
period of time - theoretically thousands - even millions
of years. That theology is technically NOT correct and has
been invalidated by empirically elicited objective authority.
The decisions made at this Council nearly seventeen hundred
years ago were made by highly uninformed participants who
did not have the benefit of the vast empirical wisdom accumulated
over the last couple of centuries. There is absolutely no
doubt that these early decisions were made to satisfy the
needs of those early times. I accordingly submit to His
Holiness to allow for the 'human error' at this said Council
in the same way that theological error was made in the initial
uninspired rejection of Galileo's scientific heliocentric
view of our solar system.
We are not unaware that for centuries the Church stated
it was a 'mortal sin' to eat meat on Fridays which theoretically
meant that anyone who intentionally ate a ham sandwich on
a Friday and died thereafter was sent to hell for eternity.
Rational, logical and appropriate changes were made to make
teachings reflect the different epistemology and ontology
and changing circumstances of the time.
My expertise as an empiricist and a lawyer tell me that
with absolute certainty the afterlife consequences are enormous.
The duty for His Holiness to educate Catholics and others
is huge and traditional ecclesiastical rigidity has to give
way to empirically validated spiritual data which will give
peace and spiritual confidence to people knowing what is
going to happen to them when they physically die. It will
also give them an understanding, an inspired inner knowing,
about what is happening to them on this planet earth when
their passed-on loved ones make contact with them.
My empirical research will not allow me to accept Catholic
doctrine I know with absolute certainty to be fundamentally
wrong. A large number of other Catholics who had an afterlife
experience feel the same way. There is an enormous, most
urgent and insatiable demand for immediate theological changes
to accommodate the afterlife empirical findings in order
to avoid horrific afterlife experiences.
Theological inertia has to give way to ecclesiastical and
spiritual duty to avoid pain and suffering by those crossing
over.
I do acknowledge that the Catholic Church has beliefs which
are consistent with empirically produced results:
a) that the afterlife exists,
b) that conduct on earth will determine the afterlife experience,
c) that there is a lower realm the Church calls *hell,
d) that there is an intermediate realm which is comparable
to the empirically elicited information that there is a
realm between the lower realm (*temporary hell) and the
upper beautiful realms, theologians call heaven,
e) it is also acknowledged that the Church puts emphasis
on 'good works' - spiritual service and does not put much
emphasis on the text of the Bible itself.
My research shows that the Vatican does have this afterlife
evidence and I submit it is critically urgent in the extreme
for His Holiness to effect these stated changes forthwith.
Inevitably, any fundamental omission to remove the false,
the egregious errors, the stated misrepresentations will
mean severe and heavy negative consequences for the Pope
(and the Cardinals and anybody else who advises the Pope).
There is an inexorably very heavy burden on His
Holiness - and the Cardinals to remove the darkness from
this planet earth and to disseminate the light on a global
level.
*CHAPTERS: (2000 edition) Go to
www.victorzammit.com click on BOOK
A LAWYER PRESENTS THE EVIDENCE FOR
THE AFTERLIFE
1. Opening statement
2. Respected scientists who investigated
3. Electronic voice phenomena (EVP)
4, Instrumental transcommunication (ITC)
5, Scole experiments prove the afterlife
6. Einstein's E=mc2(squared) and materialization
7.Other psychic laboratory experiments
8. Scientific observation of mediums
9. Leonore Piper, a most powerful American medium
10. Materialization mediumship
11. Helen Duncan
12. Direct voice mediumship
13. Modern mediums who confound the skeptics
14. The Cross Correspondences
15. Proxy sittings
16. Out of Body Experiences
17. Remote Viewing
18. Science and the Near Death Experience
19. Science and apparitions
20. Deathbed Visions
21. The Ouija Board
22. Xenoglossy
23. Poltergeists
24. Reincarnation
25. Answering the closed minded skeptics
26. Closing statement: summing up the objective evidence
27. What happens when we die?
Bibliography
Victor Zammit, Attorney of the High Court and Supreme
Court of New South Wales, Australia (retired). May 2004
(Updated August 12th 07)
email address: victor@victorzammit.com
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