We can't know--for sure--but there is plenty of evidence not only of a level of existence and self-awareness that continues after our bodies die, as well as of a higher power that controls access to it. You can call that level of existence "Heaven" and that higher power "God". Other faiths have other names. But the general idea is always the same.
I'm no great God guy. My wife, on the other hand, is a person of great faith. Some years back we were at a seminar. While there, I sprained my thumb. Pretty painful, as well as discolored and swelled up. My wife asked if she could pray for me. I agreed, figuring I had nothing to lose. So she did. Right before my eyes I watched the swelling go down. In a matter of minutes it was completely back to normal. I know all about psychosomatic conditions but there is no way a sprain can be classified as that. Higher power?
About 20 years ago my dad died. He and Mom were living in Las Vegas at the time. We lived in Minnesota. On morning when I was out mowing the lawn, I felt my dad's presence. There was no vision. No miraculous manifestation. It was just "you can make your rows straighter than that", a quiet laugh and he was gone. A pleasant experience on a beautiful May morning. But in that instant I knew he had died. The phone call came about an hour later, confirming it. He had died about an hour earlier--at the precise time I felt his presence. I told Mom about the experience some time later and she remarked "that's EXACTLY what he would have said". Life after death?
About the only thing we CAN know for sure is that there is an overwhelming amount that we DON'T know.
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