Posted on 01/21/2010 6:27:18 AM PST by marshmallow
In new book, he says that near-death accounts transcend cultures and ages
The near-death experience story is so common that it has become a bit of a cliché: A medical patient, hanging in a murky limbo between life and death, is drawn through a tunnel of bright light, meets their maker, and is told they must return to the land of living.
But that scenario played out letter-perfectly for Mary Jo Rapini. And her story is getting firm backing by a doctor who has studied some 1,300 near-death experiences. Medical doctor Jeffrey Long chronicles Rapini’s story, along with his own research, in a new book: “Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences.”
In the book, Long contends his study shows that accounts of near-death experiences play out remarkably similarly among the people who have had them, crossing age and cultural boundaries to such a degree that they can’t be chalked up simply to everyone having seen the same Hollywood movie.
Through a tunnel
Appearing with Dr. Long on TODAY Wednesday, Rapini related her near-death experience to Meredith Vieira. A clinical psychologist, Rapini had long worked with terminal cancer patients, and when they told her of their near-death experiences, she would often chalk their stories up as a reaction to their pain medication.
But in April 2003, she faced her own mortality. Rapini told Vieira she suffered an aneurysm while working out a gym and was rushed to the hospital. She was in an intensive care unit for three days when she took a turn for the worse.
“All of a sudden [doctors] were rushing around me and inserting things into me, and they called my husband,” she told Vieira.
“I looked up and I saw this light; it wasn’t a normal light, it was different. It was luminescent.
(Excerpt) Read more at today.msnbc.msn.com ...
What? Same as he is in his present existence?
“...or no coming back, just the welcome matt.”
As in Chris “Matt”hews? He will likely be there...
(Not a judgement call. You will know them by their fruit...)
koine Greek used punctuation marks?
Hmmm, I don't read Greek, but have never heard that from people who can read it - can you provide source-data for that?
I have a friend whose house caught on fire and whose 3 year old died from smoke inhalation. The firemen got to her and brought her back.
Later, she told her parents about talking with Jesus, and that he gave her cheerios to nibble on while they were talking. (she loved them as finger food). She also talked about how beautiful it was. They had never asked her about anything, she just volunteered this information one day.
Interesting story on MSNBC.
82% of MSNBC’rs don’t believe in the afterlife, according to the unscientific poll.
A “Clinical Psychologist” should know better than this...
Amazing story. I am so sorry for the pain you have suffered.
"....if we put it after "today"? It would match the information about death in the rest of the Bible. The dead know nothing, for instance."
Out of context. If we belong to Him, we go to heaven when we die - we know nothing about what is happening on earth, because earth is sinful and we have already been washed clean, which is why the saints cannot pray for you - Jesus intercedes directly for us - He is our advocate in Heaven.
"...Jesus was not in Paradise that day, but rested in the tomb until He was resurrected, and He would not have lied to the thief."
Again, Heaven is outside the box of space and time - it is not like here
I see them too. They’re called children and grandchildren. Obla di Obla da.
Hm. I have to disagree and, moreover, I would say that you're allowing what seems like a very confined view of Scripture to limit the very nature of what God can do.
In particular, I reject the suggestion that only the "born again" could have this experience. You might recall that St. Paul wasn't born again until after he had been in the presence of God. Many, many conversion experiences follow that pattern, though usually not so dramatically.
I happen to believe these stories. They're beautiful, and they're absolutely faithful to the idea of a loving God.
What is your resistance to the possibility that this really is God at work in these people's lives?
But stuff like this could bring people to faith in God.
Comma not misplaced; http://www.wcg.org/lit/prophecy/comma.htm is a good starting point. And since Eternity transcends space and time - Jesus’ whereabouts over 3 days? UNIMAGINABLE (though we are also taught he ‘Descended into Hell’ perhaps to bring news of the Great Salvation? Most people have a poor concept of Eternity since mathematics fails ordinary folk at or near infinity. Assuming it is at least a million years you are here on this planet for about .00008 of it. Love one another!
Bump for later.
"Descended to the dead" or "to the place of the dead" might be a better translation of that. Sheol <> Hell
Ok then. :) As long as i understand you and I think I do now. Anything that takes you back to Biblical proof that you don’t like or can’t wave away, you just state that Heaven is outside of space and time. That’s fine, but don’t pretend it’s from the Bible.
Christ came to live in our box of space and time.
Watch out! They’re setting the stage to make the case for putting Teddy Kennedy’s corpse back down in the Senate to finish his term!
And I was hittin' them all.
And it was GLORIOUS. My NDE was NUDE.
But then God said I gotta come back to Earth. :(
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