Near-Death Experiences

I wanted to post something on Near-Death Experiences (NDE's), to help add another piece of the evidence not only that naturalism is false, that a 'soul' or 'mind' exist, but also as evidence for God and the possibility of the afterlife. There is a good summary here that talks about some of the current understanding of NDE's. Here are some of the basic points:


-There are approximately thirteen to fourteen million people in the United States, (2% of the population) and at least fifteen million more around the world that have had an experience defined as a “near-death experience”


- There are eleven basic elements in NDE's. Nobody experiences all of them, but people usually experience six to seven.


-Numerous people have told of hearing or watching their doctors or other spectators, declare or pronounce them dead. Often they feel like they are another person in the room somewhere, watching the whole thing like a spectator, but being unable to feel anything associated with their own body. 


-The existence of light is probably the most common and dominant element in the accounts of NDEs. It is this, which has the most profound effect upon the individual being.


-The love and warmth which ‘emanate' from this light are beyond words.


-Astonishingly, many people describe the light as having a personality. People recount it having a sense of humor, and it being fun to be around. A little girl who died in a swimming pool, and who then told about her experience simply said, “You'll see, heaven is fun” 


-When one dies, reviews ones are commonly recounted. The review is usually in the form of a ‘movie' which will show some irrelevant and some significant things about one's life. Watching the review is just like being part of it, standing there in the scene as a spectator. 


-In many cases, various unusual sensations are reported to occur at or near death; sometimes they are extremely unpleasant. Often it is a really loud, uncomfortable buzzing noise that rings, or other times it is the experience of intense unpleasant feelings. “I had the feeling of being lonesome… I was completely alone, by myself… I really felt a fit of depression then."

-This could be a form of what many religions call ‘hell'. These experiences seem to be much rarer, but maybe they are just so uncommon because people feel uncomfortable talking about them since they are hell-like and may indicate that the person has lived a bad life.

-“In the presence of the light, the thoughts or words came into my mind: ‘Do you want to die?' And I replied that I didn't know since I knew nothing about death. Then the white light said, ‘Come over this line and you will learn.'… As I crossed the line, the most wonderful feelings came over me - feelings of peace, tranquility, a vanishing of all worries."

-This experience shows how life and life after death are separated, and how the experiences people have, are just an inter-phase to life after death. 

-The people that had NDEs also get a totally new picture of what death is like! Most of the time they enjoy it so much that they are not even afraid of dying - not a single bit. 

What I find most impressive about all these experiences are the number of persons who experience them, and also just how convinced they are themselves that what they've seen is real. I think it's foolish to say that all of these millions of people are simply 'making it up.' It's possible it's a type of hallucination, but given the similarities between the experiences, as well as how convinced the people are of what they've seen, I'd say this is all remarkable evidence. Here is an archive over on SubmersiveThinking that has NDE's in video, if you want to judge for youself. Also, here is a list of quotes from persons having NDE's and what they've meant to them. 

It's also important to note that the afterlife has been a common aspect in religion for a long time. Although it's been depicted differently from religion to religion, it usually revolves around common elements that seem to transcend religion. Perhaps NDE's, as has been suggested, have inspired and helped evolve not only past religions, but religions perception of the afterlife, and what's in store for us. Perhaps these images of light have helped humankind throughout history modify their image of God to one closer to reality. 

Dr. Kenneth Ring, perhaps the most respected of all near-death researchers, and the one who did most to put the subject on the academic map, says:

"Any adequate neurological explanation would have to be capable of showing how the entire complex of phenomena associated with the core experience [that is, the out-of-body state, paranormal knowledge, the tunnel, the golden light, the voice or presence, the appearance of deceased relatives, beautiful vistas, and so forth] would be expected to occur in subjectively authentic fashion as a consequence of specific neurological events triggered by the approach of death ... I am tempted to argue that the burden of proof has now shifted to those who wish to explain NDEs in this way."

Furthermore, there are many books written on out-of-body experiences, and you can read sample chapters of some material here.

And perhaps best of all,  here  is a report which outlines NDE's, what happens during them, and goes over why all other skeptical explanations simply fall short of adequetly explaining this phenomena.