The 19th centurians believed as fervently as we do in NDE that they could communicate with the dead. We in the 21st believe in the near death experiences, which have managed to become legitimate enough to earn an acronym. If it’s got an acronym it must be true. Tunnels of light, and few details beyond that. Gimme some details. Is it as boring there as it sounds? Why haven’t the dead communicated back to us? Did they communicate to Jesus? This skeptic’s view is let’s first find an explanation for the human (and animals’) dreams. One of these days perhaps we’ll understand it all, and I’m not saying that science will help us because science is as blind as we all are, but these days aren’t here yet.
Above is not a flame, just another question.
If you do some searches you will find some medical documentation that the tunnel is nothing more than your optic nerves shutting down, from outside to inside—creating an illusion of a tunnel. The great feeling is nothing more than endorphins.
The documentation describes a pretty consistent experience across the board. That is what is interesting.
And, if it is really as great there as folks say, why would you want to come back and talk to us?
And if Jesus was God, then wouldn’t it be the same as the “light?”
You can really drive yourself nuts trying to reconcile our “religion”—created by men, with a physical and spiritual experience created by our creator.
That is where faith comes in. I think it will be OK. But, it is the one question we all have to answer on our own.
One of my favorite passages from scripture is from the 16th Book of Luke
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.* 19“There was a rich man* who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. 20And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,i 21who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. 22When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, 23and from the netherworld,* where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ 25Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.j 26Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’ 27He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’ 29But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ 30* He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’”k
“Why haven’t the dead communicated back to us?” IF you believe eyewitness accounts, there have been dead who have come back to communicate with us, not the least of Whom is Jesus Christ. There is also the case of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from a tomb where he had been dead long enough that his sisters said ‘he stinketh’. and we have the case of Elijah restoring life to a child, and the rasiing of Tabitha ... and we won’t even go into the scenes such as Daniel chapter five where a hand/arm reaches from some other realm over intot he palace party central of a Babylonian King, or the scene where Elijah and his student are running from ‘the murderous king’ and the student’s ‘eyes are opened’ to see the massive army encamped on the ridge above the murderous king, whose troops snuck away int he night, to avoid that massive army on the ridge, or ... well, you perhaps get the gist. If you choose to NOT believe eyewitness acounts, you close your mind to the possibilities of new data to consider.