Boy Who Came Back From Heaven’ actually didn’t; books recalled

Washington Post ^ | January 16, 2015 | Ron Charles

[MeshugeMikey]

Tyndale House, a major Christian publisher, has announced that it will stop selling “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,” by Alex Malarkey and his father, Kevin Malarkey.

The best-selling book, first published in 2010, purports to describe what Alex experienced while he lay in a coma after a car accident when he was 6 years old. The coma lasted two months, and his injuries left him paralyzed, but the subsequent spiritual memoir – with its assuring description of “miracles, angels, and life beyond This World” – became part of a popular genre of “heavenly tourism.”

Earlier this week, Alex recanted his testimony about the afterlife. In an open letter to Christian bookstores posted on the Pulpit and Pen Web site, Alex states flatly: “I did not die. I did not go to Heaven.”

[Boogieman]

I’m as honest as the day is long. The longer the daylight, the less I do wrong!

[steve86]

Because they’re made up, like this one.

[Boogieman]

Moses and Elijah did not come back.

The Apostles simply saw a vision of them, along with Christ in his glory. They never set a foot on earth. This is clear from verses 8-9, where Christ specifically calls what they saw a “vision”:

“8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.
9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.”

“John tells us he saw heaven in Revelation 4”

Again, John was given a vision of Heaven,and several other prophets/apostles were as well. They never went there, at least not while they were living.

[SunkenCiv]

Generalissimo Francisco Franco already posted it:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3247382/posts

[DesertRhino]

The media is probably trying to confuse people. But really, how is one much different than the other?

[DesertRhino]

“Don’t ever believe protestant accounts of NDEs.”

Or Mexican indian accounts of Mary in a cave in the hills. These magic shows all lead to really bad theology, and steer us all away from the truth.

[steve86]

We have physical proof of Mary’s presence in Mexico.

[DesertRhino]

What? Like a tortilla?

[steve86]

Be careful, Jesus and His mother don’t look so kindly on smartasses, but being as ignorant as you are, will undoubtedly will have a chance to repent.

[DesertRhino]

LOL,, I will -never- repent for not believing that Mexican nonsense artifact from the Conquistador era. I reserve the right to point out the obvious when someone tells me Mary, 1500 years after the crucifixion, appears in a cave in Mexico. Such shenanigans leave us defenseless against scam theology.

If you accept that, what is your defense when a Mormon says Jesus was hanging out with the American Indians? What if I tell you Jesus appeared to me in Great Basin national park and told me that it was a scam?
It is hearsay and nothing more. Jesus was pleased that Thomas demanded proof, and I am allowed the same skepticism for fantastic claims that defy reason.

Show your “proof”.

[DesertRhino]

“Jesus and His mother don’t look so kindly on smartasses”

One time in the desert,, I walked up and saw Lance Corporal Willingham alone, doing flutter kicks. I asked what he was doing. He replied, “Well Staff Sergeant, what some call candor, others call a smart mouth.”

And I know for a fact Jesus appreciates a robust sense of humor.

[neal1960]

This is really strange. My wife has had that book for months. She read a few chapters and said the dad was promoting himself as a “father of the year”. She didn’t believe the story. She left the book on a bench outside a store just yesterday for someone else to pick up and read.

[Lazamataz]

by Alex Malarkey and his father, Kevin Malarkey

Well heck, they were TRYIN to tell ya!

[Jan_Sobieski]

I believe that a good dose of scepticism is needed for all "come back from the grave" experiences...

Hebrews 9:27 - And as it is appointed unto men once to die , but after this the judgment:

[MeshugeMikey]

that makes it very hard to die once...and come back again ...

The child was clearly not familiar with the scriptures.

the parents...may have been.

Id like to know more about their orientation

[MeshugeMikey]

there are no coincidences more startling that those like this one.

the Malarkey family...hmmm

I wonder if this tendency to make up tall tales is somehow genetic?

[MeshugeMikey]

The Dad, Mt. Malarkey...has some answering to do.

[MeshugeMikey]

I’d suspect that if they have a moral compass...this would do the trick.

[Jan_Sobieski]

Good explanation of Our Lady of Guadalupe

In Catholicism, Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico, pictured as a woman in a blue mantle. Her hands are folded, her eyes are cast downward, and she is surrounded by a radiant glow. She is standing on a crescent moon supported by an angel underneath. This image is based on a series of five supposed appearances of the Virgin Mary in Mexico in the sixteenth century.

There are many different accounts of the Lady of Guadalupe, but what follows are the aspects of the story that appear most consistently. On December 9, 1531, a man named Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Catholicism, was walking on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City when he saw an apparition. Before him was a young Aztec girl. In the native Nahuatl language, the girl requested that a church be built on that hill in her honor. According to Diego, the girl was the Virgin Mary. When Diego told his story to the archbishop of Mexico City, Diego was instructed to return to the hill and ask for a sign to prove that she was indeed the Blessed Virgin.

When Diego returned to the place, the same girl appeared again and instructed him to gather flowers from the hill. The hill was normally barren, but at this time Diego found Castilian roses, which are not native to Mexico. The girl took the roses and placed them in Juan Diego’s cloak. When Diego returned to the archbishop and opened his cloak, the flowers fell to the ground. To their amazement, the inside of the cloak bore an image of the girl. Diego claimed he was visited by the girl three more times. She is now known as the Virgin of Guadalupe. The image imprinted in Diego’s cloak is on display now in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

The veneration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is widespread. Various popes since 1531 have declared her the patroness of not only Mexico but of all Latin America and then of all the Americas. Every year millions of faithful Catholics visit the basilica in Guadalupe to view her image enshrined there. Her feast is on December 12.

The apparitions seen by Diego have been questioned many times throughout history because of the lack of any documentation of the event prior to 1648. Critics also point out that the archbishop who spoke with Juan Diego failed to mention the accounts in his writings. Catholic tradition relays many accounts of Mary, angels, or saints appearing to people. It is possible that some of these people did in fact witness supernatural events. It is the true source of these visions that is in question.

It is important to note that just because an apparition is authentic does not mean it brings a message from God. Having a genuine spiritual encounter does not mean the entity encountered was actually Mary, an angel, or a saint. Demons are called “lying spirits” (1 Kings 22:23), and one thing they do well is lie. Second Corinthians 11:14–15 says, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.” A possible explanation for apparitions of Mary, such as the young woman Juan Diego saw, is satanic deception.

We also know that a genuine message from God would not contradict the Word of God. Did the Lady of Guadalupe say anything that was inconsistent with the Bible? We have no exact quotes. However, one thing is sure—the Lady of Guadalupe asked for a church to be built in her honor.

Here is a Christian evaluation of the apparition:

• Juan Diego said that the young girl looked as if she was of Aztec descent. Mary was Jewish, from the line of David.
• Many accounts claim that the girl said, “I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God.” Catholics believe Mary to have an exalted place in heaven, with the most direct access to Jesus and God the Father. They also believe Mary was a perpetual virgin. Such a concept is nowhere taught in Scripture. Also, the Bible never calls Mary the “mother of God.”
• The young girl that Diego saw asked for a shrine to be built in her honor. The biblical Mary would never ask for anything to be done in her honor. Rather, she would instruct people to honor and worship God (see Luke 1:46).
• In some accounts of the story, the lady says she would answer prayer. This is also unbiblical. God alone answers prayer.

Did something supernatural occur on Tepeyac Hill and witnessed by Juan Diego? Yes, probably. Did Mary actually appear to him? No. Was the message from God? Based on its disagreements with the Word of God, no. Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/Lady-of-Guadalupe

[RegulatorCountry]

Don’t ever believe protestant accounts of NDEs.

You'd do well to question all of them, not just those from fellow Christians with whom you have theological differences.