by Cowboy Bob Sorensen
It seems that people began speaking freely about near-death experiences (NDEs) after the book Life After Life by Raymond Moody was published in 1975. There are numerous books, documentaries, personal anecdotes and more about NDEs. The subject is also very controversial — especially among scientists.
A large number of natural scientists are materialists — essentially, they are atheists because nothing exists to them except material things such as molecules and atoms. Some tried to find a place in the brain where consciousness or the soul resides (those that admit that such things exist, that is) or try to find other explanations that don't conflict with their materialism. There are a few, however, that admit that consciousness exists, and perhaps NDEs are an indication of it.
Many experiences are dismissed as the brain having hallucinations at the time of death, but certain experiences are not so easy to reject because of details reported. Most of the accounts of the great beyond are pleasant, but there are some about going to Hell.
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| Climbing stairs to Heaven, Pixabay / Tumisu |
My beloved Charlene had a "cardiac incident" that resulted in severe brain damage, and I had to give the order to terminate life support. When I was saying my goodbyes before life support was removed, I was telling her I love her, made some jokes, read the Bible out loud, and simply talked to her. Her eyes were open a bit, and a time or two I thought I saw a "flicker" there. A doctor said not to make anything of it, she could not respond. Other people agreed with me that she heard. Perhaps the doctor did not want me getting my hopes up, but from his words and manner, I suspect he is a materialist. Still, I believe a part of her was there and she heard me.
It has been suggested that NDEs are similar to people getting high on drugs. That smacks of desperation to preserve the materialistic paradigm. Many people have had their lives changed because of NDEs. Drug trips last longer, but do not have positive results.
Another absurd attempt to excuse away NDEs and consciousness is the idea that dying people are essentially "playing possum." Certain brain activities are shut down and others come to the fore.
Dr. Sam Parnia specializes in cardiac arrest and has written a book titled Lucid Death. He is convinced that death is not the end, but part of a process. (Interestingly, some Buddhists believe in the Bardo state, a transition between death and reincarnation. Yet they don't believe in the soul.) Death does not occur the instant the heart stops. Indeed, during the guillotine craze of the French Revolution, there were reports of severed heads showing signs of awareness.
Parnia saw reports that cells from the brains of slaughtered pigs were showing some activity. At one point, they were able to communicate! Pigs are of interest to scientists and the medical community because of what is learned may be applied to humans. For that matter, a human brain also displayed activity when it should have been completely inactive.
This is all interesting, but how useful is it to the Christian? Our faith is not based on materialistic, evolution-based science views, but on the Word of God. We don't need anecdotal evidence or secular speculations to support it. (Did you ever notice that while some NDE experiences have commonality, but there is no uniformity? There is a great deal of variation.) Also, Satan is a deceiver. He is a spirit being, as are the demons he directs. People can be deceived by NDEs. We should be willing and able to explain the gospel message to them.
Everyone wants to know what happens when we die. As the Christian fabric of our society continues to unravel, many are reaching for answers beyond the grave in areas where the Bible spoke in former times. The interest has been met by many interviews, studies, and articles about near-death experiences (NDEs). The European Academy of Neurology analyzed participants from 35 countries who reported something like a near-death experience. They found that 1 in 10 people have experienced a near-death experience. There are many stories to tell.
To read the rest of this extremely interesting and useful article, see "Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and the Christian." For reference, some of the above material came from Mind Matters, which is not a Christian site: