Matthew_Green

Greetings all,

There is something that I have known for a few years that I have extreme difficulty in explaining. I consider myself a freethinker and a skeptic of organized religion. I am the son of a Christian minister who is now retired. When my dad was training as a minister he worked as a mechanic for a company called Becton Dickenson in San Jose. During school and after graduation and ordination, my dad continued to work there as a mechanic until the company replaced all the workers with machines.

When my dad was working there, he befriended a fellow named Gene. My dad would "witness" to Gene. From what my mother told me years later about Gene was that he drank heavily, and he couldn't sleep at night because he believed that the ghosts of the dead would come into his bedroom at night and that he would hear voices ( I am not saying that I really believe any of this- only that this is what my mother told me). One day Gene told my dad that he believed that he had an evil spirit living in him and that he wanted to become a born-again evangelical Christian. My dad prayed with him and Gene accepted the faith right then and there.

My dad claims that he told an evil spirit to come out of Gene and when he went to hug Gene after Gene accepted the faith, that Gene shook with a jolt and then sighed with relief and that a very cold breeze came out of Gene, passed through my dad and went out of him and everything was normal. Gene stopped his drinking, didn't hear any voices, and claimed that no ghosts were "visiting" him at night in his room when he was trying to sleep.

I wasn't there so I am not sure what happened. Did my dad imagine the whole thing? Is there a good, natural explanation for this? I doubt it's anything supernatural but I don't know what to make of this. I don't think my dad was lying about this. Has anyone heard about anything like this before?

Anyone's two cents are welcome...

Matthew

Philosoft

What exactly is the "this" that you're having trouble understanding? Gene's behavior changes after the incident with your father?

Queen of Swords

Apparently it's difficult to distinguish the minions of the Dark Lord from a draft of air. Still, don't forget that Satan is called the prince of the powers of the air; this may explain the breeze part.

Answerer

Oh really? Please ask your dad to do the same thing to Rumsfeld and Bush.

Matthew_Green

Not at all. Not Gene's behavior after the conversion. It's that my dad claimed to have felt something pass through him. Is this sort of thing common in religious conversions or experiences?

Matthew

Viti

Believers often "feel" all kinds of things "burning in the bosom", "filled with the holy spirit"...you have seen people fall down and twitch at healing revivals?...same thing. Its a type of autohypnosis or anticipation or something. It's in their minds, there was no cold breeze...your dad wanted to feel something so he did.