Near Death Expierences

[Awesomegirl]

Hi, what are your takes on near death experiences? I have read tons recently from all kinds of faiths. Almost all are pleasant and have different experiences with similar stuff : blinding light, traveling in a tunnel, etc. Most come out with the most profound sense of the power of love, and how it is the most important aspect of life. That's what I have read and I would love to hear what you guys think about them.

Peace,
Sarah

 

[MtSugarloaf]

Hi, what are your takes on near death experiences? I have read tons recently from all kinds of faiths. Almost all are pleasant and have different experiences with similar stuff : blinding light, traveling in a tunnel, etc. Most come out with the most profound sense of the power of love, and how it is the most important aspect of life. That's what I have read and I would love to hear what you guys think about them.

Peace,
Sarah

To be honest, I don't know what to think.

Ironically enough, I'm more of a skeptic when it comes to such things. I was watching a show called Is There Life After Death? or something like that, but the issue was really only about NDEs. I think that it mainly has something to do with people's physiology and the way that people's brains shut-down and which parts are deprived of oxygen and blood first, etc. According to one article, people have shown similar symptoms (such as the sense of being apart from the body or dying and seeing lights) when on PCP and other drugs.

One science-based site I read said this: For every aspect of an NDE, there is at least one scientific explanation for it. And for every scientific explanation, there seem to be five NDE cases that defy it.

NDEs are complicated and I don't think that anyone can really understand it. I guess I'll just have to wait until I'm on the brink of death and possibly experience an NDE for me to fully make up my mind on it. I have questions about NDEs, but who knows where the truth lies?

All of that said, I believe that there is life after death. I'm of the opinion that you are dead (a set of beliefs generally called 'soul-sleep') until the end of all things when Jesus will resurrect all people to give an account on Judgment Day. I don't even know how accurate it is as I've read countless apologetic articles say that soul-sleep is wrong and unBiblical. Needless to say, I don't hold the soul-sleep belief close. But I've never been dead before so I obviously have no idea.

Ah, what would I know?

 

[ContentInHim]

Have you ever read about any of the negative NDE's, awesomegirl? When those people revived and recovered, they usually began an intense search for God and found Jesus.

I've a hunch that the normal peaceful NDE with light and luuuuv might be a deception of the enemy so that people think they're OK, no matter what "spiritual path" they are on.

 

[Stinker]

I had a NDE when I was 13 years old. I was inside the house and it was at night. I was fully awake and started 'going out' till I saw nothing else but bluish light. Strange, shortly after that I was A-OK. Go figure? The ambulance took me to the hospital where the doctor checked me out and released me.

I didn't understand what that medical malady was till years later. Every symptom of it pointed to a cardiac arrest.

 

[maelstrom]

I've had repeated NDE's consistently over the course of several years, due to my heavy experimentation with dissociatives. So I've pretty much seen it all, heaven and hell both. That's what led me to believe in the existence of the immortal soul.

It's not surprising that certain chemical events in the brain correspond to certain experiences of the soul. In fact, it's exactly what I'd expect. The body and spirit go together; you can't have one without the other. Even when your body dies, the physical elements of it remain because the cosmos as a whole remains--and at that point your soul is released from the limits of the body and you are brought into the presence of the divine (which is not necessarily a good thing, since evil people cannot cope with the presence of God).

Based on my experiences, I'd hypothesize that there are certain aspects of brain chemistry that are responsible for keeping the soul "tied" to the body, and that certain drugs or circumstances (such as NDE's) can cause those chemical "ties" to weaken, thus allowing Out-of-Body Experiences, or in the case of brain death, the final OBE, in which you don't come back!

The reason I think that the usual "scientific" model (which it ain't) of consciousness is wrong, the one that denies the existence of the soul, is that I've experienced access to knowledge I couldn't possibly have while out of the body. The closer I've ventured to death, the more of the mind of God I've encountered. There is some research into this (for instance, having people leave their body to remotely view an object out of their reach and then report back on it afterwards), but it's a difficult thing to subject to experiment. For those of us who have had the experiences, however, we'll remain convinced.

 

[Awesomegirl]

ContentInHim, the statistic for blissful experiences to negative ones is something like 20-1. I also find it interesting that a Buddhist encounters the Buddhist afterlife, Hindu encounters the Hindu god Krishna, so forth. Then again there are major studies that point to it being the brain going on a chemical overload trying to desperatly relax itself during the loss of oxygen, bringing up life events in memories in the process. I just wanted to know what you thought about it, just curious.

 

[tapero]

Hi, what are your takes on near death experiences? I have read tons recently from all kinds of faiths. Almost all are pleasant and have different experiences with similar stuff : blinding light, traveling in a tunnel, etc. Most come out with the most profound sense of the power of love, and how it is the most important aspect of life. That's what I have read and I would love to hear what you guys think about them.

Peace,
Sarah

Hi, I've thought on this much thru the years as many people have these experiences.

I believe that while we don't know what causes them; I believe that those who are not believers in Christ and do not become believers in Christ thru this experience (not that any would expect one to, but just stating); that they are being decieved as they, some, place their trust in that they believe such will occur to them when they do pass, which is not true, hence the deception.

That is of course if the nde is about the light and all good, heavenly scenes, etc.

satan is a murderer, deciever and liar.

As to the Christians that have them, is probably to them a treasure as they know they will go to heaven. Even though can't base on nde what heaven is like, is still a treasure I would think; as if I had one..would never forget it, I'm sure.

 

[prophecystudent]

Years ago our daughter was terribly injured in a car crash in which a drunk driver crossed the center line and hit her head on.

She spent 3 1/2 weeks in intensive care. She told us of her NDEs while in that critical state.

Without divine intervention she would have died. An incident convinced her that she had to fight because the pain of her death would certainly cause her grandmother's death. Other than to say that God provided a miracle I won't get into details.

Her statement to us was that she would lie awake and bang her hands (with IV needles stuck in them) against the steel bed rail so the pain would keep her awake.

It is important to note that she told us that the easiest, and preferable, thing for her was to "staty on the other side, as she had been there and found it to be so much better than on this side".

I have read probably close to 100 books on such things and I believe they really happen, that they are not simply some chemical breakdown in the brain.

I personally have never experienced one, but our daughter has, and I trust that what she told us is true.

We all look forward to when we will be with Jesus for eternity. In the meantime we do our best to do as Christ wishes.

Fred

 

[rd151]

The difficulty with stories of people who experience near death experiences is that they all claim to "pass through the light" see long dead relatives and a guide tells them all is alright, without being told about accepting Christ,turning from their sins and make a change in their life. In other words NDE paints a rosy picture for all, regardless if they are Christians at all. To me this is suspect and if such were true, then why become a Christian anyway, since in the end we all go to heaven anyway. I say beware of gifts of Trojan horses

 

[ContentInHim]

ContentInHim, the statistic for blissful experiences to negative ones is something like 20-1. I also find it interesting that a Buddhist encounters the Buddhist afterlife, Hindu encounters the Hindu god Krishna, so forth. Then again there are major studies that point to it being the brain going on a chemical overload trying to desperatly relax itself during the loss of oxygen, bringing up life events in memories in the process. I just wanted to know what you thought about it, just curious.

Sorry I didn't get back sooner, awesomegirl!

I understand what you've said in your post. But what if the enemy is determined to keep people from the truth - that truth being Jesus? Thus, he would give Buddhists a Buddhist NDE, etc. Anything but the truth which would be a negative NDE. What I've read about the negative NDE"S is that almost to a person, they have recovered, investigated Jesus and given their hearts to him.

 

[AllTalkNoAction]

Life is a near-death experience!
people die daily in traffic accidents, murders, accidents (eg electrocution).

Anyone why isn't right with God daily is playing Russian roulette with their soul.

Here's a near life experience for you:- Acts 2:37-39.

If you want to go there, let me know!

 

[WarEagle]

...

 

[rd151]

I wanted to add a point. In a great deal of instances people write stories to exploit the public for money or just for self recognition. We know this is always done when it comes to UFO stories and apparitions of the Virgin Mary. So remember P.T.Barnum's famous quote, "there's a sucker born every minute".