How Should Christians Think About Near-Death Experiences?

Patheos Philosophical Fragments ^ | February 14, 2013 | Timothy Dalrymple

[SeekAndFind]

This is an interesting topic for discussion in light of this recent hit movie...

[SeekAndFind]

[real saxophonist]

bump for later

[Dr. Thorne]

Anything from Hank Hanegraaff is questionable. IMHO, he stole Walter Martin’s ministry and does little but attack other Christians.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

An interesting topic for Neurological Physiology NOT for theology.

[I want the USA back]

Sorry. No one comes back from death. Death is final. If someone “comes back” he was NOT DEAD.
Really quite simple.

[Norm Lenhart]

Well we know one dude did...;)

[HerrBlucher]

It depends on how you define death. If you define it as never coming back then your argument is circular reasoning. If you define it as no brain waves or heartbeat, which is the typical standard used to declare a person dead, then yes people do come back after they “died.”

Also, there is the biblical example of Lazarus who came back to life after being dead for three days.

[plain talk]

That is why it is called “Near Death”

[HerrBlucher]

Two at least, Jesus and Lazarus.

[Norm Lenhart]

Point taken ;)

[MNDude]

people from different faiths who have had NDE experiences tend to report seeing things that is part of their faith (like a Buddhist might see Buddha).

This is one of the reasons that I don’t believe these people have really died and gone on to the other side, but I still believe these experiences are proof of humans having a spiritual side that is beyond the physical.

[Paratrooper]

I was dead....cardiac arrest...flat lined no heart beating or breathing. Only because there was an AED by me and someone who took immediate action I am alive today. Yes, I had life after death experience, was not a dream....it is real.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Two at least, Jesus and Lazarus.

I can also think of :

The Widow’s Son Raised by Elisha (1 Kings 17:17-24 )

The Widow’s Son at Nain ( Luke 7:11-17 )

Jairus’ daughter ( Mark 5:21-43 )

Dorcas (Acts 9)

Eutychus (Acts 20:7-12)

[moovova]

I’m guessing the guy that said...

“Hold ma beer. Watch this ya’ll.”

...was glad he got to finish his beer.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

The near death experiences that are the most compelling to me are the ones involving patients floating above their bodies and remembering what went on in the OR/ER when they were supposedly dead or at least unconscious.

Also, "remembering" things that they would never have seen because there might have been some sort of sheet or screen between where their eyes were and where the operating procedure was going on.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Yes, I had life after death experience, was not a dream..

Can you remember a few things you saw?

[SkyDancer]

But he never said anything about it.

[Sherman Logan]

Wiese’s notion of reptilian-looking demons commissioned to torture humans as care-takers of hell hardly squares with Alexander’s version of an afterlife in which unconditional love reigns supreme. Both can be wrong. But both can’t be right. Not only so, but the implications of such subjective predilections are profound. If Wiese is right the biblical authors are wrong.

Sure, both can be right. Bad people could go where Wiese went, good people where Alexander went.

Not what I believe, really, but the two are not inherently contradictory.