Modern Research and the Afterlife: Part 5

According to Dr. Jeffrey Long, a near-death experience or NDE is ”a lucid experience associated with perceived consciousness apart from the body occurring at the time of actual or threatened death or medical compromise.”

We now have thousands of documented NDEs. And based on surveys, the estimated total number of NDEs is somewhere around 5% of the population, which means approximately 15 million Americans have had this otherworldly experience.

Deathbed experiences are visions of people or beings or places seen by a dying person but not typically seen by others who are present with the dying person.

What do we do with the NDEs and DBEs?

How should Christians respond?

From what I have seen, Christians have responded to NDEs and DBEs in one of three ways:

1. Indifference
2. Total Rejection
3. Total Acceptance

Indifference

Those who fall into the indifferent category may have heard one or two NDEs and perhaps were impressed. But for the most part, they simply shrug their shoulders and move on. Maybe they are not sure what to make of them.

Like most people, they are probably unaware of the extent of research that has been conducted on this topic. In 2009, after 30 years of research, The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences was published. According to this handbook,

Taken together, it is safe to say that between 1975 and 2005, at least 55 researchers or research teams in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia published at least 65 research studies involving nearly 3500 NDErs, addressing the experience, its aftereffects, or both. (7)

Keep in mind the following items: (1) 3500 refers to documented NDEs in the professional literature, and (2) many more could be added since 2005. I find it hard to be indifferent to thousands of people who have claimed to see things while their heart and breathing had ceased.

Total Rejection

Christians who reject NDEs tend to think along these lines: “We have the Bible and that is the only revelation we need. We shouldn’t trust these visions. They may even be demonic deception.”

That strikes me as lazy and fearful. Since all truth is God’s truth, what do we need to be afraid of? If people are reporting these experiences, we should at least carefully consider them.

First, we should consider NDEs because there are many cases. “NDEs have been reported by children, adults, scientists, physicians, priests, ministers, among the religious and atheists, and from countries throughout the world” (Science of Near-Death, 6). Dr. Greyson says about 5% of the population at large or 10-20% of those who come close to death have an NDE. We are not talking about one random experience. Doctors Osis and Erlender who conducted research on deathbed experiences in the U.S. and India write, “Jesus was equally pessimistic when saying that if Lazarus were sent from the world of the dead to the rich man’s house, ‘they would not believe him.’ But what if a hundred Lazaruses kept coming and coming, or a thousand witnesses like those in this book?” (206).

Second, these cases have many similarities with each other. Dr. Moody comments, “How is it that many people just happen to have come up with the same lie to tell me over a period of eight years? Collusion remains a theoretical possibility here. It is certainly conceivable that a nice elderly lady from eastern North Carolina, a medical student from New Jersey, a Georgia veterinarian, and many others several years ago banded together and conspired to carry out an elaborate hoax against me. However, I don’t regard this to be a very likely possibility” (131).

Here is Moody’s list of core NDE elements as found in his book Life After Life:

1. Ineffability
2. Hearing the news that they are dead
3. Feeling peace and quiet
4. Hearing distinct noises
5. Going through a dark tunnel
6. Leaving their body
7. Meeting others
8. Encountering a being of light
9. Having a life review
10. Seeing a border or limit
11. Returning to their body

Dr. Jeffrey Long studied thousands of NDEs and compiled a list that is similar to Dr. Moody’s with a couple variations:

1. An out-of-body experience (OBE)
2. Heightened senses
3. Intense and generally positive emotions or feelings
4. Passing into or through a tunnel
5. Encountering a mystical or brilliant light
6. Encountering deceased relatives/friends or mystical beings
7. A sense of alteration in time or space
8. A life review
9. Encountering otherworldly (heavenly) realms
10. Encountering or learning special knowledge
11. Encountering a boundary or barrier
12. A voluntary or involuntary return to the body

So we have thousands of accounts with many similarities.

Third, while there are always attention seekers in any crowd (see example below), in many instances people with NDEs were reluctant to share their experiences. For this reason, Moody kept all personal information anonymous in his landmark study. Thus, the people were not looking to make money or gain attention through their stories.

Fourth, intriguingly, some of the core features mentioned above correspond with biblical data. For example, Paul talks about his possible out-of-body experience in 2 Corinthians 12 (discussed below) and when Jesus told the dead girl to arise, Luke writes, “Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up” (Lk. 8:55), which sounds like the return to the body frequently mentioned in NDEs.

Fifth, NDErs claim their experiences were more realistic than a dream. Keep in mind that these people have had thousands of dreams so they know the difference. Instead of coming to an abrupt ending like dreams, these experiences have closure. Moreover, how do you get thousands of people to have the same highly realistic dream that come to a point of closure?

Sixth, we have evidential NDEs, in which after patients regain consciousness they mention a physical detail or event that was later corroborated. In part 3 I wrote about the woman who had a heart attack in Seattle. While she was unconscious she said she floated upward and saw a large blue tennis shoe with a shoelace underneath the heel on a ledge on the outside of a hospital building. The shoe was later found as she described.

Seventh, these experiences are unpredictable. Most who are near death, don’t have a near-death experience. Researchers don’t understand why some have an NDE and others don’t.

Eighth, these experiences are surprising. Many NDErs say they had never heard of an NDE before having one.

Ninth, studies have shown that these experiences encourage people to be more compassionate, more motivated to learn, and less focused on superficial things like money and possessions. They also have a reduced fear of death and a stronger belief in life after death. I think these are all good things that align with the Bible. As Jesus said, “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matt. 7:16).

Total Acceptance

Those who immediately embrace every NDE report are probably thinking, “This is incredible evidence for life after death. We need to use these experiences to encourage others to think beyond this life.”

They probably don’t know that we have a prime example of a fabricated heavenly journey in the book The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven by Kevin Malarkey. The author wrote about his son’s experience of dying, going to heaven then recovering. After the book was published, the son disavowed the book, stating “I did not die. I did not go to Heaven. I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention.”

People invent all kinds of stories. Of course, they have made up stories about seeing heaven. It is foolish to believe everything we hear. That’s why researchers don’t base their research on one account. Instead they highlight the core similarities in the various accounts.

Test then Decide

If we shouldn’t believe everything or reject everything, what should we do? I think the instructions in 1 Thessalonians 5 can be used with NDEs:

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. (vv. 19-22 NIV)

“Test them all.”

This is similar to what we find in 1 John 4:

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (v. 1)

So how should we test NDEs?

Here are some questions to consider.

First, do you know the person well and do you trust their character? (This is probably the easiest and safest test.) If you don’t know them personally, what reasons do you have to trust them?

Second, does the experience match with what has been revealed in Scripture? Obviously, if the vision contradicts Scripture, it has failed the test. John’s advice continues,

This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. (4:2-3)

Thus, if someone with a purported NDE says an angel told them that Jesus Christ did not take on a human body, that vision must be discarded. In fact, even if their experience was real—the person met an angel who told them to deny Jesus’ human nature—that vision must be tossed aside. Paul writes,

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! (Gal. 1:8)

However, this is a crucial point: When comparing an NDE with Scripture we must make sure that we are interpreting Scripture correctly. It’s possible that the NDE merely contradicts our interpretation of Scripture and not Scripture itself.

Also, we must consider the difference between an NDE and an interpretation of an NDE. It’s possible that due to subsequent readings and reflections, people with a near-death experience have added layers of meaning onto the event that were not an original part of the event.

Without going into detail in comparing and contrasting these experiences with Scripture, let me say that we have a possible example of this type of experience in 2 Corinthians, where Paul writes:

I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. (12:1-4)

This passage provides four core elements of an NDE:

1. a possible out-of-body experience or OBE
2. ascending upward
3. seeing paradise or a garden
4. ineffability—the experience cannot be described in words

Third, if the data was collected from a large-scale research study, how was the study conducted? Did the researchers seek medical verification of the participants? Did they follow-up with participants to determine the long-term effects? Do we see any emerging patterns in the hundreds or thousands of cases?

Finally, when considering an individual case, we can ask, “How does this one case fit with the pattern?” The large number of documented cases enables us to see patterns. Since Moody’s study, many researchers have focused on the core collective experience rather than going to the extremes of unique individual experiences. There are always exceptional cases in any phenomena, but if we want to understand the basic experience, it is wise to avoid placing too much emphasis on the extremes.

A Glimpse

If they pass the tests and it seems like the person did glimpse the afterlife, remember that it was only a glimpse. Both Moody and Long note that encountering a border or limit is one of the core NDE elements. These people were not allowed to proceed passed a certain point. They only had a peek.

In the book that inspired Moody’s research, Return from Tomorrow, Elizabeth Sherrill asks Dr. George Ritchie,

“‘Do you believe you’ve had an authentic preview of what awaits us after death?’

‘No,’ he said. ‘I have no idea what the next life will be like.’

He had been permitted to go, he reminded me, only as far as the doorway.” (pg. 10)

Thus, if these are genuine accounts, they can be used to support the general idea of an afterlife, but it is difficult to use them to provide detailed information about the nature of that life. Additionally, since no two NDEs are identical and they are difficult to express in words, these are first and foremost deeply personal experiences primarily intended for the individual.

While near-death experiences are fascinating, we must still live with our current limitation:

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Cor. 13:12)