Near death experiences - a question

R

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
May I say firstly, I believe people who say they experienced this. I think very few would lie about such an important matter.

Many non-religious people have a 'good' experience where they feel deeply loved and accepted by the light or power they encounter. I think that is fantastic and highly reassuring.

So, could it mean it doesn't matter if you believe in God or not? This rather leaves me puzzled as I am a Christian.
 

from everything i've ever seen on tv or read anywhere they do not hafta believe in God to have a near death experience and i think some become believers afterwords. according to the bible he is a loving God so it would make sense for them to feel deeply loved in that space. God loves us even when we are not saved. or whether we believe or not.
 
Rose, I was raised in the Baptist Church and while I no longer belong to or attend any church, I am familiar with Christianity.
I publicly confessed my sins, was baptized and saved by the Holy Spirit when I was 8yrs old.
That was quite an experience for someone as young as I was, but an experience I remember to this day.
And as such, I've had to ask myself, what does the Bible say about near death experiences?

I find no specific scriptural support for near death experiences ... but there is a whole bunch about God in the Bible.
Does that mean the two are not connected?

As a Christian, any description of a near-death experience should be validated against the truth of Scripture, right?

My NDE is the only one I can speak of and I've always preferred to refer to it as a "strange dream".
What I experienced was way beyond total comprehension by my human mind.
In fact, I had the distinct feeling that my human mind tried to put into a context, the experience as I might understand it.
There is much I still do not understand. And that's okay. Ultimately all things may be revealed.

In my NDE there were instances of profound non-verbal communication. I have no idea what was discussed.
So I guess I could say that I heard things that cannot be told. Profound things that I will never utter but which affected me deeply.
The first of the non-verbal communications was with a host of featureless robed beings/spirits that seemed to welcome and comfort me.
As though they had been expecting me.
The second of the non-verbal communications was with my higher power after He had descended from the light to guide me.

I didn't see heaven. I didn't make it that far. Only went so far as just to the other side of the light.
There He and I had more non-verbal communication and I felt as though I was being judged.

Then, He asked the only verbal question I actually heard. He asked, "Do you want to go back or go forth?"
I think it important to note that was the only spoken words during my experience and perhaps the most important.
The importance being that I understand we have choices. We have choices in all things.

My higher power did not tell me His name and that is why I call Him my higher power.
He is always with me, even when I've made poor choices and there most certainly have been umm, a few.
Next time around, I think I have a lot of explaining to do HA.

So, what scripture do I look to in order to validate the truth of my very personal, profound spiritual experience?

Well, I find the words of Jesus in St. John Chapter 14 ...

1. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

... And that's the thing. My higher power came from the light, received and guided me.
Just on the other side of the light, I felt as though I were in the room of a mansion.
A fine room of ornate wood with a podium, behind which He stood and looked into a book and considered before offering me a choice.

These are the perceptions my human mind had of things I and perhaps science don't fully understand.

Maybe I haven't answered your question Rose. I believe in my higher power. I couldn't have come from the experience in any other way.
That said, there is a commonality in living human kind and even in death, a worldly commonality for the believer and non-believer alike.
On the other side of that worldly commonality is a higher power as has been written and revealed.

I described my experience in some detail here ... Dear Diary: Strange Dream (Spiritual in Nature) 1972
 

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Naturally said:
Rose, I was raised in the Baptist Church and while I no longer belong to or attend any church, I am familiar with Christianity.
I publicly confessed my sins, was baptized and saved by the Holy Spirit when I was 8yrs old.
That was quite an experience for someone as young as I was, but an experience I remember to this day.
And as such, I've had to ask myself, what does the Bible say about near death experiences?

I find no specific scriptural support for near death experiences ... but there is a whole bunch about God in the Bible.
Does that mean the two are not connected?

As a Christian, any description of a near-death experience should be validated against the truth of Scripture, right?

My NDE is the only one I can speak of and I've always preferred to refer to it as a "strange dream".
What I experienced was way beyond total comprehension by my human mind.
In fact, I had the distinct feeling that my human mind tried to put into a context, the experience as I might understand it.
There is much I still do not understand. And that's okay. Ultimately all things may be revealed.

In my NDE there were instances of profound non-verbal communication. I have no idea what was discussed.
So I guess I could say that I heard things that cannot be told. Profound things that I will never utter but which affected me deeply.
The first of the non-verbal communications was with a host of featureless robed beings/spirits that seemed to welcome and comfort me.
As though they had been expecting me.
The second of the non-verbal communications was with my higher power after He had descended from the light to guide me.

I didn't see heaven. I didn't make it that far. Only went so far as just to the other side of the light.
There He and I had more non-verbal communication and I felt as though I was being judged.

Then, He asked the only verbal question I actually heard. He asked, "Do you want to go back or go forth?"
I think it important to note that was the only spoken words during my experience and perhaps the most important.
The importance being that I understand we have choices. We have choices in all things.

My higher power did not tell me His name and that is why I call Him my higher power.
He is always with me, even when I've made poor choices and there most certainly have been umm, a few.
Next time around, I think I have a lot of explaining to do HA.

So, what scripture do I look to in order to validate the truth of my very personal, profound spiritual experience?

Well, I find the words of Jesus in St. John Chapter 14 ...

1. Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

... And that's the thing. My higher power came from the light, received and guided me.
Just on the other side of the light, I felt as though I were in the room of a mansion.
A fine room of ornate wood with a podium, behind which He stood and looked into a book and considered before offering me a choice.

These are the perceptions my human mind had of things I and perhaps science don't fully understand.

Maybe I haven't answered your question Rose. I believe in my higher power. I couldn't have come from the experience in any other way.
That said, there is a commonality in living human kind and even in death, a worldly commonality for the believer and non-believer alike.
On the other side of that worldly commonality is a higher power as has been written and revealed.

I described my experience in some detail here ... Dear Diary: Strange Dream (Spiritual in Nature) 1972
Click to expand...
It is an honour to read your experience.
 
I suppose what bothers me is how many zealous Christians preach of fire and brimstone, acting like they are special, chosen to go to heaven while all unbelievers perish in hell.

I believe in the Bible, I believe in Jesus. However, I am questioning a great deal of how people interpret it all. NDEs indicate another aspect to the whole thing.
 
Rose, my feeling is that my "strange dream" was a deeply profound, personal spiritual experience.
No specific religion was mentioned or seemingly preferred during the ND experience as far as I know or am aware of.
But as mentioned, I was "saved" at the age of 8, so there's that. And that was pretty compelling too. As if I were being guided to do so.

I do think my mind, while making an effort to place the NDE in a context I might understand and perhaps to a certain degree, drew on worldly experiences I previously had. My human mind was desperately trying to cope with something very powerful and compelling that I'd never experienced, had no point of reference for and which was much greater than me or my capability for complete understanding.

It all happened very suddenly as if at the flip of a switch. I was conscious one moment and the next instant quicker than the snap of a finger, after lightening struck me through the phone line, was heading toward a bright light. I never heard the thunder or felt the lightening strike. Just awoke wondering why I went to sleep talking on the telephone ... and what was that strange dream?
 
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I've had one and described it to some extent here a couple of times.
Faith in specific religions not necessary to have an NDE but one's beliefs can strongly shape the initial experience.

For another perspective on it, a book purported to be true story of long term ADC (After Death Communications) Between a deceased brother and surviving sister, i recommend "The Afterlife of Billy Fingers"

i have more faith in Karma than Heaven/Hell construct. Biblical descriptions of hell are based on human fears. To me the worst punishment would be to totally lose all sense of connection to 'God', to Divine Consciousness.
 
I don't know about NDE, but a few years ago, I was in the hospital with pneumonia.
On the day I was to be released, I was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for my ride to come pick me up.
They tell me I went into respiratory arrest, but I don't remember it. What I do remember is floating through darkness following multicolored pigs with square butts.
I couldn't talk, I couldn't remember anything and all I could do was float along with the pigs.
Next thing I knew was waking up in a hospital 90 miles from where I started.
A few weeks later at home, I had what was maybe a dream, maybe not.
It sure seemed real.
I wrote it down a couple days later, and here's what I wrote:

"I had a dream a couple nights ago that I met God in person.
He was not what I expected.
Kind of hard to describe, and I'll probably make a mess of the effort, but here goes.
He was neither young nor old, but all ages at once.
He was neither male nor female, yet He was both.
Not sure where we were, but it could have been Heaven. Tall buildings that weren't really buildings, lines going at all angles, colors I knew and colors I've never even imagined. We walked and talked, His voice changing from male to female seamlessly in the middle of a word and back, or perhaps both at once but distinctly independent.
Like I said, kind of hard to describe God.
After talking to Him for a while, I knew without a doubt He loved me with all His heart, as He loves us all.
I asked him, "Lord, why do you keep so many secrets from us?"
He replied: "I have no secrets. Your lack of understanding is what makes mysteries. It's all there for you to see"
There was more to it than that, but that's the highlights.
I woke up feeling good. I felt loved, secure and happy.
I think we forget sometimes that God is 100% on our side, and He wants us to be happy, He wants us to succeed, and He wants us to earn it so we will appreciate all we have.
It seems we always have enough. Maybe not much extra, but enough.
Extra is up to us."
 
People’s “experiences” with near death has nothing to do with whether you are a Christian or any other religion or even if you are an unbeliever!

I am sure no one is “lying” about their experience. However, what they experience may not be what they think it is. I am not going to discard anything someone says… however… a lot more research is being done in this area.

Some of the things to consider: People are already under great stress when undergoing medical treatment. How the brain responds and interprets various medications is still under observation.
I will continue to keep an open mind until further scientific inroads have been achieved.
 
Cornhusker said:
I don't know about NDE, but a few years ago, I was in the hospital with pneumonia.
On the day I was to be released, I was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for my ride to come pick me up.
They tell me I went into respiratory arrest, but I don't remember it. What I do remember is floating through darkness following multicolored pigs with square butts.
I couldn't talk, I couldn't remember anything and all I could do was float along with the pigs.
Next thing I knew was waking up in a hospital 90 miles from where I started.
A few weeks later at home, I had what was maybe a dream, maybe not.
It sure seemed real.
I wrote it down a couple days later, and here's what I wrote:

"I had a dream a couple nights ago that I met God in person.
He was not what I expected.
Kind of hard to describe, and I'll probably make a mess of the effort, but here goes.
He was neither young nor old, but all ages at once.
He was neither male nor female, yet He was both.
Not sure where we were, but it could have been Heaven. Tall buildings that weren't really buildings, lines going at all angles, colors I knew and colors I've never even imagined. We walked and talked, His voice changing from male to female seamlessly in the middle of a word and back, or perhaps both at once but distinctly independent.
Like I said, kind of hard to describe God.
After talking to Him for a while, I knew without a doubt He loved me with all His heart, as He loves us all.
I asked him, "Lord, why do you keep so many secrets from us?"
He replied: "I have no secrets. Your lack of understanding is what makes mysteries. It's all there for you to see"
There was more to it than that, but that's the highlights.
I woke up feeling good. I felt loved, secure and happy.
I think we forget sometimes that God is 100% on our side, and He wants us to be happy, He wants us to succeed, and He wants us to earn it so we will appreciate all we have.
It seems we always have enough. Maybe not much extra, but enough.
Extra is up to us."
Click to expand...
Oh I believe you! How fascinating.
 
Jamala said:
People’s “experiences” with near death has nothing to do with whether you are a Christian or any other religion or even if you are an unbeliever!

I am sure no one is “lying” about their experience. However, what they experience may not be what they think it is. I am not going to discard anything someone says… however… a lot more research is being done in this area.

Some of the things to consider: People are already under great stress when undergoing medical treatment. How the brain responds and interprets various medications is still under observation.
I will continue to keep an open mind until further scientific inroads have been achieved.
Click to expand...
Indeed. Each person sees things through the prism of their life and belief system.

Yet, there are such similarities, many lives transformed for the better by such events. It will always fascinate people as none know the mystery beyond this life.
 
I think it depends on what causes that near death experience. It could me meds or hallucination from oxygen deprivation, or who knows what. And, who has come back from the dead to tell what an actual death experience is like anyway to say it was near that?
 
I'm not "supposed" to feel this way as a Muslim. We are told to affiliate ourselves with those who believe in God, not disbelievers. But I've found throughout this life, that some "disbelievers" have better hearts and are kinder than some Christians and Muslims. So perhaps the innate goodness in some of those who do not believe in God is what elicited their good experiences when having NDEs.
 
When I was just 7 years old , I was rushed into hospital for an emergency appendectomy.. I had no concept of god, heaven, death..or near death experiences.. none..

I watched the surgeons working on my body from high up in the ceiling..

I'd never seen a surgeon so this was the first time I saw that they wore long green gowns.. ( 1962)...I just watched them.... as they worked.. with lots of hullabaloo around my body...

next thing I woke up in darkened ward, puking , and the nurse running to get a bed pan.. for me to throw up into...

Never was spoken about by my parents.. they were like that... so I never knew if I;d been close to death or not... but I watched it all...
 
I apparently,as let slip by my grandmother,was given the last rites (Catholic Parents) at six months old as I was not expected to last the night.
Asian Flu that became Pneumonia.
Obviously I did survive but I used to terrify my parents by telling them I had no fear of being dead.
So I wonder what my six month old brain experienced because I still have no fear of being dead.
The actual dying bit yeah..but not being dead.
And I’m known for not being upset at funerals..probably connected.
I can’t explain it but as I said I’m convinced I must have experienced something at six months old.
And I’m an Atheist…not remotely religious.
 
Rose65 said:
May I say firstly, I believe people who say they experienced this. I think very few would lie about such an important matter.

Many non-religious people have a 'good' experience where they feel deeply loved and accepted by the light or power they encounter. I think that is fantastic and highly reassuring.

So, could it mean it doesn't matter if you believe in God or not? This rather leaves me puzzled as I am a Christian.
Click to expand...
I was an innocent bystander shot in the chest during a drive by. The impact spun me around and to my knees. Silent images of my life sped by before my eyes just as I lost consciousness, falling face first onto the sidewalk. My last thought was that I was dying.

I had been born and raised a Mormon but after studying 3 years with a Rabbi I converted to Judaism and as I woke in the recovery room after emergency surgery I saw a my older brother who had died of cancer from exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam standing at the foot of my bed.

I started to sit up, but the pain was too bad and the nurse scolded me to remain still. My brother winked and left the room.

I’m sure angels exist.
 

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