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afterlife
June 2009 
What Happens to Suicide Bombers in the Afterlife?
metgat
There are very extreme views as to what should happen to suicide bombers in the afterlife. At one extreme, they are seen as heroic martyrs in the service of God and should be richly rewarded. At the other extreme, they are nothing but savage murderers who should "burn in hell" for eternity. Emotionally, at least, there seems to be no middle ground.
As discussed in the last blog post here, suicide is one subject on which spirit communicators all seem to agree. They condemn it. At least, that is so with traditional suicide. However, there is very little in the many communications that have come to us from the spirit world in recent centuries relative to non-traditional suicide, more specifically to what we call suicide bombers. Of course, we are talking murder as well as suicide, which further complicates the matter.
Leaving emotion aside, the rational person can struggle in attempting to reconcile the act with the motive. If the suicide bomber truly believes that he (or she) is sacrificing himself and taking the lives of those he kills for a greater good and is doing God's will, it is difficult to believe that he will be judged harshly by a benevolent God. If we judge ourselves, as many modern spirit messages seem to suggest, rather than standing before a tribunal of judges or before God, why should we think that the suicide bomber will suddenly realize the error of his ways and judge himself harshly?
In their 2006 book, Suicide: What really happens in the afterlife? Pamela Rae Heath, M.D., Psy.D., and Jon Klimo, Ph.D., recognize the dilemma and the lack of material on the subject. "What ultimately lies behind the terminal behavior of a suicide bomber does not lend itself to simple analysis," they point out.
Indeed, underneath their supposedly idealistic objectives, some suicide bombers may be driven by hatred, anger, envy, pride, fear, frustration, even lust in the case of those who expect to be greeted by 72 virgins. If they see their afterlife as being better than their current squalor, it would seem that their reasons are more self-serving than altruistic.
At the same time, there may be some altruistic motives mixed in with the egoistic motives. There may be some suicide bombers whose motives are predominately altruistic while the egoistic motives control to a much lesser extent. In effect, it is not a black and white situation. There are various shades of gray that must be sifted through in analyzing the mindset of the suicide bomber and we should not expect them to be all of the same mindset. Further, there is the issue of whether the seemingly altruistic motives are spiritual or material. If the objective is to make one's relatives and friends better off materially rather than spiritually, then it may be misguided altruism.
It is difficult to believe that the Japanese kamikaze pilots of World War II were driven by hatred, anger, and rewards in the afterlife. At least history has been kind to them in that respect, suggesting that they were driven, to the extent they had any choice, by a sense of honor and loyalty to their emperor and country. If the kamikaze pilots and the modern suicide bombers were all victims of "brainwashing," should they be punished severely in the afterlife for having been "simpleminded" and for not having been stronger in resisting more powerful minds?
Because of the various shades of gray running through the minds of the suicide bomber, it seems reasonable to assume that they do not meet with equal "justice" in the afterlife. Of course, the orthodox religionist who believes in only a dichotomous afterlife, i.e., the traditional humdrum heaven and horrific hell, may struggle to grasp that idea or totally reject it because it is not consistent with established dogma and doctrine. Those not so fettered have come to see an afterlife with as many states as there are degrees of goodness and evil in this life. As Christ said, "In my Father's house are many mansions."
Heath and Klimo attempted to get an afterlife perspective on the situation by having several reputable channelers contact some of the suicide bombers or their guides in the afterlife. While recognizing that channeled messages can be distorted, misinterpreted, or otherwise may not be what they are said to be, Heath and Klimo presented their findings for whatever they are worth.
"...in one channeling session, the guides that came through insisted that all terrorist souls are met by an entity, if only to make sure that their emotion does not contaminate the astral realm," Heath and Klimo write, going on to point out that one of the guides communicated that they are dealing in terms that do not exist in our realm and therefore it is difficult to describe. But, generally, most of them seem to be bewildered and slow to recognize they are dead.
All terrorists spirits appear to undergo a life-review, as do all other spirits who pass over. However, as with many other spirits, this life-review is not so much about judgment as it is about learning. "This may be a long and difficult period, as the spirits have to review not only their own life, but that of those they had harmed, along with the impact their actions had on others," Heath and Klimo point out. "Their progress appears to be slowed down by the strength which terrorists hold on to their own belief patterns (and may not be helped by their argumentative nature). Only one terrorist spirit claimed to have finished his life review (which could not be confirmed through other mediums); some appeared to be in the midst of it, while many did not appear to have started the process."
In effect, most of the terrorists contacted by the channelers still seemed to be floundering in the "ethers," what one guide referred to as the "gray area." Another guide communicated that they appeared to be in a drugged state and slow to adjust to their new environment. In some cases, the terrorists seem to be placed in something of a "holding pattern" until the guides feel they are capable of learning and advancing. One guide pointed out that they can be in this state from a month to a thousand years in linear time. The channeled messages also suggested that relatively few suicide bombers express regrets compared to traditional suicides.
The bottom line seems to be that the suicide bombers do not realize the rewards they are told to expect, but neither do they experience the fiery hell of orthodoxy. They may experience a "fire of the mind," especially if their motives were more self-serving than altruistic, but all are given the opportunity to learn from the experience and eventually advance.
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Very interesting column, Mike.
Let me add a few words to what you've written. I welcome your comment on my comment.
By way of puzzling out this interesting case, I notice myself tempted to telescope the postmortem life of someone like a suicide bomber.
Let us say, for the sake of argument, that there was no such thing as a suicide bomber before 1950. We are then looking at the afterdeath lives of suicide bombers from, at the earliest, say, some sixty years ago.
I might be tempted to speak about them as if they arrived on the spirit planes and then more or less began their period of instruction, the learning experience known popularly as “the judgment,” etc.
But I would want to keep in mind that most of them would spend a considerable time in the “grey area” or misty regions, as you point out, in more or less a cocoon of unconsciousness before even having a glimmer of the fact that they have survived. Some scholars suggest that that time may approximate the date of their natural transition; others say that is not so. But the adjustment time will nonetheless be fairly long.
I would want to remind myself also that, once they even achieve a degree of consciousness of their surroundings, it will still take some time to be aware of any action they can take to initiate any help for themselves or relief from their situation.
Once they get the notion that help can be sought, help will probably arrive, if they have done any actions in life that make them merit help or if anyone takes an interest in them. Admittedly I am aware that an organization exists on the other side that keeps track of everyone, but the speed with which help arrives will vary.
Having reached this point, they would then encounter the problem of their own belief and desire system, which would cause them to gravitate to the level their actions have created for them (like attracting like), whatever that might be. As you have pointed out, Mike, motive plays an important part here. But, as you have also pointed out, their “suicide bombing” is another's “murder.”
The fact that they have murdered others is probably something that motivation probably could not mitigate, I would imagine. That having been said, the most likely place for them to find themselves, once they have achieved consciousness of their surroundings and have been helped, is on the Dark Planes or Winterland.
How soon they will proceed from there to “the judgment,” the experience during which they review the events of their life in detail, would probably vary, would you agree? Most people on the Dark Planes are not ready to review their lives. That experience comes, as far as my understanding goes, when they pass to a higher plane, after what on Earth might perhaps be centuries.
Meanwhile, on the Dark Planes, they would be condemned to endlessly relive their crime.
So I am obliged to puzzle out the time perspective in relation to someone like a “suicide bomber.” The events I have described here could take centuries to transpire. I can understand that the guides that Heath and Klimo refer to might be able to contact kamikaze pilots, who gave their lives in wartime, but I would be more surprised to hear that they could contact suicide bombers if, as I have fictionally postulated, they killed themselves in a time frame as recent as the last 60 years.
But everything depends on circumstance. There is no general rule for complex events captured in a term like “suicide bomber.” As I understand it, the law of cause and effect would take into account the whole of a person's life.
Thank you for a very stimulating and illuminating column on an issue that I personally have never encountered before.
Very interesting thoughts Steve.
Steve,
Thank you for the interesting comments. I am adding some comments made by e-mail from Yvonne Limoges, a Spiritist medium:
FYI-
A few months ago we had a the spirit of a suicide bomber communicate spontaneously and he said that the second he detonated his device he knew it was wrong and had tremendous regrets….He said that he had not thought when he was alive about the extent of what he was going to do. It seemed, based on some of what he said, that he got wrapped up into a desperate somewhat brainwashed situation.
When he communicated, he knew he was “dead.” He also saw the devastation he had inflicted and was full of terrible remorse. He was Palestinian and now he tells us must reincarnate as a Jew next time. He did not find this distastful but felt it was necessary to make amends. H also realized he would have to atone for all the deaths he had caused. Meanwhile, he is helping (educating them and making them realize the error of their ways) some of those who have committed these atrocities as they arrive in the spirit world.
He also told us how useless such killing was and how terrible the situation in that part of the world was. He asked our forgiveness and of God's.
This spirit may not be the norm….yet one thing to consider is that spirits tend to have quite different perspective once they are in the spirit world than when they are here. This spirit did not say how long ago he had “died”…
A message from a medium (all things being equal) trumps an opinion from a thinker. Too bad we don't know when he died.
The fact that he already knows that he would have to be born next in a Jewish body implies that he has done some of the examination of his life that the “judgment” entails.
I wonder if Yvonne would consider continuing her discussion with the man. My impression was that he would spend years in unconsciousness. Depending on when he died, I'm interested in the fact that he appears not to have.
The starting point could be showing where the scenario as I painted it is mistaken.
There's much room for greater understanding here and the bomber could provide a great service to his fellows here in the body who are considering the same course of action. That would offer him another way of making amends. (Of course he risks being considered a traitor to the cause by those left behind, etc.)
I stand happily corrected.
Great subject, Mike, Thanks.
I just stumbled upon something Sir William Barrett communicated to his wife, Lady Barrett, aka Dr. Florence Barrett, shortly after his death. It seems to apply here. I will quote Sir William as he communicated through the renowned medium Gladys Osborne Leonard:
“As we often tell you, motive is not everything. Principle is more important than motive.. A madman may have a strong motiv, a good motive for comitting a crime of violence, but we must look for the principle behind the motive. That is the first lesson we learn when we arrive on this side. A man may commence from a good motive founded on a bad principle. Most wars are – each country justifies itself by its motive, but the principle of each is wrong – we have destruction. War is of no benefit or blessing to anyone.
Very interesting insights specially the ones coming from the several spirit communicators. In this regard I would recommend the book Courageous Souls by Robert Schwartz about pre-birth planning process. The book contains ten stories of people who planned the challenges they would experience in their next reincarnation, one of them is about a terrorist bomber and his victims. The conclusions correlate very well with what we know about the Law of Cause and Effect (or Karma) from many other sources.
I am not sure a message from a medium does trump an opinion - depending on what the basis of the opinion is. With no disrepect intended to the lady in question simply passing on a message which she believes to be from a suicide bomber with no indication of how this person's identity was validated can surely be of only limited value. It seems to me that messages passed to us from mediums and guides in the past regarding suicide itself have varied from severe punishment to lots of tlc and help to a period of disorientation (of varying lengths). Whatever the case surely deliberately killing oneself along with a number of other unsuspecting people could never be considered acceptable - worrying about the precise fate of people who do this kind of thing appears to me to be somewhat academic.
Yoda, thanks for your comment. You're right in saying that it is all academic. What else can it be?