As you know, I’ve decided to write a series on “Why I Come From A Christian Perspective.”
In this article, I’d like to share the eighth answer that comes to mind:
An argument can be made that the Christian worldview is in many ways potentially compatible with and supported by research surrounding NDE’s or near-death experiences.
I don’t know if you’ve looked into it, but NDE’s – or near-death experiences – are quite fascinating. I’ve listened to a number of testimonies and even discussions by scientists and doctors about NDE’s.
While research on this was sparse many decades ago, there has been an increasing interest in the research surrounding these phenomena in the last fifty years or so.
Whereas these phenomena were often easily dismissed before as things like the brain hallucinating due to a lack of oxygen or something to that effect, there are a number of scientists and doctors who have studied a number of NDE’s in detail and many have come to the conclusion that these experiences cannot so easily be explained away as neurological phenomena.
Many report things such as an “out of body” experience, encountering a bright light or warm presence such as a transcendent being, sensing unconditional love and peace, moving through a tunnel, meeting entities or loved ones, vivid consciousness, and a life review. Many also come back radically changed after these experiences.
“Veridical perception” is perhaps one of the most interesting phenomena to be aware of. This experience entails a person reporting something that they saw or witnessed during an NDE that they could then be independently confirmed or verified.
I find this to be a very compelling potential argument for consciousness extending beyond the material realm.
One last thing I want to share is that not all people report positive NDE’s. There are a number of people (thought it’s more the minority) who report very negative NDE’s where people have experiences such as darkness, alienation from love/God, moral judgment, fire, and evil entities.
Which I find even more interesting given that Christianity -according to the Bible – posits that there is a good place – Heaven and a bad place – Hell.
What I’m not saying is that NDE research somehow definitively proves Christianity because there are different reports that are not necessarily clearly correlated with Christianity or may even seem to contradict it.
But what I am saying is that when looked at as a whole, many aspects of NDE’s are consistent with a theistic (which would include Christian) worldview (vs a materialistic worldview) as it relates to:
–the idea of a loving God
-the idea of God being love and light
-the idea of a good place (Heaven) and a bad place (Hell)
-the idea that moral accountability and judgment are real
-the idea there are consciousness and life beyond the grave (afterlife)
In summary, an argument can be made that the research surrounding NDE’s supports many elements of a theistic (including Christian) worldview. And that’s reason #8 why I come from a Christian perspective.
Let’s thrive together!
