Proposed survey on divine manifestations

Introduction

This is a survey I designed and began to administer. Unfortunely, change in employment prevented me from conducting the survey. Nonetheless, the kinds of questions being asked should give researchers a better understanding of the objective/subjective nature of purported divine manifestations.

Survey Introduction

This survey has been designed to better understand the experiences of those who have had visitations with divine messengers/beings (for example, a visitation with Jesus Christ, an angelic messenger, or perhaps a demonic messenger)

The survey is anonymous (no email addresses are collected). You are under no obligation to participate, and you are free to withdraw from the survey at any time you like.

I was an academically trained professor (no longer in academia) who is interested in studying divine visitations. The study is strictly informal (unrelated to my employment or any other affiliation of mine) and is being conducted simply because I am interested in better understanding the nature of people’s experiences. There is no compensation provided for participating, but when I have completed the survey I plan to post all raw results and analyses to [site].

Thank you for your participation.

Basic demographics

If you have had multiple visitations, please answer the questions regarding your most significant visitation experience (i.e., the longest, the one where you were most able to observe the visitor, or the one with the highest ranking visitor). If you believe that you visited with Jesus Christ, please focus on that visitation.

1. How old were you at the time of the visitation?

    A. 1-19 years of age
    B. 20-29 years of age
    C. 30-39 years of age
    D. 40-49 years of age
    E. 50-59 years of age
    F. 60-69 years of age
    G. 70-79 years of age
    H. 80 years of age or older
   

2. Roughly how many years have lapsed since this visitation?

    A. 0-5 years
    B. 6-10 years
    C. 11-20 years
    D. more than 20 years
   

3. What was your gender at the time of the visitation?

    A. Female
    B. Male
    C. Prefer not to say
    D. Other
   

Details regarding the Visitor

1. Whom did you identify the visitor as being? (e.g., “Jesus Christ”)

2. How did you know with whom you were visiting?

    A. They identified themselves with their name.
    B. I simply knew who it was.
    C. They appeared similar to pictures I had seen.
    D. Other...
   

3. Please describe the clothing the visitor was wearing in as much detail as you remember (including color, cut, type of material, etc)

4. On what was the visitor standing?

    A. The ground
    B. Floating just above the ground
    C. Floating high above the ground
    D. Do not remember or could not tell
    E. Other
   

5. In what manner did the visitor enter and exit from your presence? Please describe in detail.

6. Please describe the visitor’s face in as much detail as possible.

7. Which color matches most closely the eye color of the visitor?

    A. Blue
    B. Brown
    C. Amber, light brown, or hazel
    D. Gray
    E. Green
    F. White
    G. Red
    H. Clear or transparent
    I. Could not tell or do not remember
    J. Other...
   

8. Which color most closely matches the visitor’s hair color?

    A. Black
    B. Brown
    C. Light Brown
    D. Blond
    E. White
    F. Reddish
    G. Could not tell or do not remember
   

9. Which accent most closely matches that of the visitor’s speech?

    A. American
    B. English/British/Australian
    C. Scottish/Irish
    D. Boston/New York
   

10. In what manner did the communication enter your mind?

     A. The being spoke words by moving their mouth, and I heard the words with my ears, much like normal speech.
     B. The being spoke directly into my mind while their mouth moved.
     C. The being spoke directly into my mind WITHOUT their mouth moving.
     D. Other ...
    

11. How highly pitched was the voice?

     1 Very Low pitch (bass)
     2
     3
     4
     5 Very High pitch (soprano)
    

12. Please describe any other traits of the voice or communication (was the voice raspy?, lisp?, unique enunciations?, was the tone varied or flat?, close mouth or exaggerated mouth enunciation, very loud or very soft, etc.)

13. If you observed scars from the nails on the hands, were the scars:

     A. Raised
     B. Recessed
     C. A distinct hole
     D. No scars
     E. Could not tell or did not notice
     F. Not applicable
     G. Other ...
    

14. Which skin color best describes the visitor’s skin color?

     A. Brown
     B. Tan
     C. White or pale 
     D. Emanating light
     E. Could not tell or do not remember
    

15. Please describe the body hair of the visitor (was chest hair showing, peach fuzz, arm or hair on the hands, feet or toes, shaved, etc.)

16. Which most closely describes the visitor’s facial hair?

     A. clean-shaven (or no facial hair)
     B. very short bear (< 6 mm in hairlength)
     C. medium length bear (Chuck Norris)
     D. bushy beard (modern hipsters)
     E. long beard (ZZ top or Lorenzo Snow)
     F. Could not tell or do not remember
    

17. Please describe the skin of the visitor (could you seen skin pores? skin creases? freckles? moles?)

18. Please describe the hair on the head of the visitor (was it short, faded, bushy, thin, balding, sharply trimmed edges, hanging over the ears, etc)

19. Please describe the visitor’s feet, if visible, in as much detail as you remember (Did they have Morton’s toe [a longer second toe than the big toe]? Trimmed toenails? cuticles, etc)

20. How closely did the visitor match this representation? [red-robe Jesus picture]

     1 Complete dissimilar
     2
     3
     4
     5 Virtually Identical
    

21. Please share as much of the communication between yourself and the visitor as you are willing.

22. Was the message you received different from the kinds of things your main religion at the time typically teaches?

     Yes
     No
    

23. What else about the visitation would you like others to know?

Your state at the time

These questions ask about your state of being leading up to and during your most significant visitation.

1. Which best describes your mental state in the time before the visitation

    A. Calm and serene
    B. Agitated
    C. Depressed or sorrowful
    D. Normal
   

2. Please list any substances you may have consumed within the previous 24 hours that might have influenced your mental state (alcohol, prescription medication, psychedelics, significant amounts of caffeine)

3. Were you fasting during or just prior to the visitation?

    Yes
    No
    Other...
   

4. In the 2 to 3 days leading up to the visitation, how much prayer had you been engaging in? (choose the closest)

    A. 0 minutes or a negligible amount
    B. a few minutes to a half hour a day
    C. an hour or more a day
    D. Other...
   

5. What activities had you been engaged in within the previous 24 hours?

6. Was the visitation best described as an event mediated in your mind or as a physical event that a third party in the room could have observed?

    A. The event was mediated through or by my mind
    B. The event was a physically real event, observable by a third party (or could have been recorded by a cell-phone)
    C. Other
   

7. Please rate your level of confidence that the event was physical in nature

    1 Not at all confident
    2
    3
    4
    5 Very confident (a 3rd party could have observed it or I could have recorded it with my cell-phone)
   

8. Please discuss the reasons for your level of confidence that the visitation was physical (or not) in nature. For example, did you touch the visitor?