If near-death experiences show heaven, why do they change depending on culture?

[CrystalDragon]

If NDEs represent what heaven is like, I would expect all occurrences to show Jesus, the Father, Mary, angels, etc.

But sometimes, for instance, Hindus don't see any of them, they see the Hindu gods:

Near-Death Experiences and Hinduism

 

[JD16]

My guess would be, you see whichever preconceived idea of the afterlife you have, in other words, its all in your head

 

[MehGuy]

Wow, that sure is strange.

 

[timewerx]

Sounds just like a simple dream.

There's a study that the brain releases DMT chemical near death. DMT is a very powerful hallucinogenic drug (or is it???)

The brain also releases DMT when dreaming. Ironically, in one of my recent dreams. An old guy in the dream told me that DMT is more than just a hallucinogen but also forms a bridge between realities.

 

[CrystalDragon]

Sounds just like a simple dream.

There's a study that the brain releases DMT chemical near death. DMT is a very powerful hallucinogenic drug (or is it???)

The brain also releases DMT when dreaming. Ironically, in one of my recent dreams. An old guy in the dream told me that DMT is more than just a hallucinogen but also forms a bridge between realities.

If it were a bridge between realities, is there then a "custom reality" that forms each person's individual concept of heaven?

 

[JD16]

If it were a bridge between realities, is there then a "custom reality" that forms each person's individual concept of heaven?

Exactly, or your 'custom hell'

 

[Far Side Of the Moon]

I think its called near death for a reason. They didn't completely die yet and I mean Lazarus dead, door nail dead... Once the spirit is completely detached from the body, imo, that's when you either see Christ or the underworld.

 

[CrystalDragon]

I think its called near death for a reason. They didn't completely die yet and I mean Lazarus dead, door nail dead... Once the spirit is completely detached from the body, imo, that's when you either see Christ or the underworld.

What about those who seem to learn about lost relatives they never knew about but learned of in the NDE?

 

[Muslim-UK]

NDE is not actual death. Yes when you experience a NDE you are greeted in some cases by your family, and perhaps get a glimpse of the unseen, but it's temporary, and the Angel of Death knows that. If you are a completely heedless person, an Angel may be granted permission to show you punishments that await, or pass on a message in the hope you will return and reconnect your heart to GOD.

Interesting to note some in the link you provided were referred to in a 'Book':

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

Qur'an - And We have made every man’s actions to cling to his neck, and We will bring forth to him on the resurrection day a book which he will find wide open: Read your book; your own self is sufficient as a reckoner against you this day. (17:13-14)

One of the best NDE accounts I heard was from a non practising Jew. It tied everything together from the 3 faiths of Abraham pbuh. The brother returned and is a devout Jew; I have his testimony if anyone is interested to watch.

 

[cloudyday2]

The same question applies to other "spiritual" experiences too. Why does a Catholic see St. Mary and a Hindu see a Diva (or whatever Hindus might see) and an atheist see a Nordic space brother.

The psychological explanation is not satisfying to me, because there are experiences of my own and close family and friends that just don't fit that explanation very easily.

I have two ideas:

1. Maybe humans subconsciously can manipulate reality or know things - a subconscious ESP/psi ability.
2. Maybe we are interacting with spiritual things at a level that bypasses our senses.

In both cases, our brains create the missing sensory experiences according to subconscious predispositions.

 

[Muslim-UK]

The same question applies to other "spiritual" experiences too. Why does a Catholic see St. Mary and a Hindu see a Diva (or whatever Hindus might see) and an atheist see a Nordic space brother.

The psychological explanation is not satisfying to me, because there are experiences of my own and close family and friends that just don't fit that explanation very easily.

I have two ideas:

1. Maybe humans subconsciously can manipulate reality or know things - a subconscious ESP/psi ability.
2. Maybe we are interacting with spiritual things at a level that bypasses our senses.

In both cases, our brains create the missing sensory experiences according to subconscious predispositions.

Here's an actual reconstruction of what happens when someone is 100% deceased:

The surge mentioned after death is explained as the exchange between the Angel of Death and the Soul.

When someone dies, the Angel of Death comes to take the soul, no matter where they are.
The dying person sees him, hears him, and speaks to him, but not with his eyes, his ears, or his tongue. How then? We do not know exactly. All we do know is that when he begins to move to another world, he sees, hears, and speaks, by some means which we, the living, do not perceive.

 

[MehGuy]

The same question applies to other "spiritual" experiences too. Why does a Catholic see St. Mary and a Hindu see a Diva (or whatever Hindus might see) and an atheist see a Nordic space brother.

A what? Lol..

 

[ViaCrucis]

The simple answer is that NDE's aren't experiences of heaven or hell or anything except for what happens in the mind as the brain is starved of oxygen.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Muslim-UK]

The simple answer is that NDE's aren't experiences of heaven or hell or anything except for what happens in the mind as the brain is starved of oxygen.

-CryptoLutheran

How then do you explain, those patients who are wheeled in unconscious to a operating theatre, pass away and are subsequently saved, made stable and returned to the recovery ward, only to then wake up several days later and accurately describe who was wearing what, and what the theatre room looked like. I can understand the brain subconsciously recording what is being said, but the ability to describe people and objects accurately?

 

[ViaCrucis]

How then do you explain, those patients who are wheeled in unconscious to a operating theatre, pass away and are subsequently saved, made stable and returned to the recovery ward, only to then wake up several days later and accurately describe who was wearing what, and what the theatre room looked like. I can understand the brain subconsciously recording what is being said, but the ability to describe people and objects accurately?

No clue. But I'm not going to rule out a naturalistic cause or assume something supernatural without a good reason.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Muslim-UK]

No clue. But I'm not going to rule out a naturalistic cause or assume something supernatural without a good reason.

-CryptoLutheran

As a Christian you accept we have a soul that leaves the body at death though right? If so, does the soul not see and hear?

 

[JD16]

As a Christian you accept we have a soul that leaves the body at death though right? If so, does the soul not see and hear?

If that is the case for NDE, then why do hindus see hindu Gods? Does Allah disguise himself as Shiva to fool the hindus? Why so?

 

[Left]

I personally am weary of any and all NDE accounts.

Still an interesting thing to read about, though.

 

[ViaCrucis]

As a Christian you accept we have a soul that leaves the body at death though right? If so, does the soul not see and hear?

The position I usually take is that the term "soul" refers to the breath of life, fundamentally it is what differentiates a living creature from a dead corpse. Both the Hebrew word nephesh and the Greek word psuche mean "breath". I believe in a conscious existence between death and resurrection, but I'm not going to speculate what that is like since Scripture says nothing, and the teaching of the Church is quite vague (aside from the fact that, yes, there is a conscious existence between death and resurrection, a foretaste of the ultimate state). What I do reject, however, is a Platonic view of the soul--that of some sort of interior "me" that exists wholly independent from and is merely housed inside my body, a kind of "ghost in the shell"; such a notion is fundamentally heterodox if not entirely heretical. If one wants to phrase it as "My soul goes to heaven after I die" that's fine, as long as we can avoid heretical dualistic views.

-CryptoLuthearn

 

[Muslim-UK]

If that is the case for NDE, then why do hindus see hindu Gods? Does Allah disguise himself as Shiva to fool the hindus? Why so?

Because as I said earlier, NDE is not actual death.