I
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had the privilege this evening of listening to a presentation given by
Jeffrey Long, M.D. His formal education is in radiation oncology (i.e. the
application of radiation for cancer treatment), but he has diverted significant
energy in recent years towards the scientific investigation of Near Death Experience
(NDE). His website – www.nderf.org –
features over 3,000 NDE’s from a variety of countries, religious backgrounds,
age, and gender.
Sure, some of this this stuff is a little bit quirky and if someone on
the street told me that they had a NDE my first inclination would be to assume
that they were strung out on some high-grade morphine. Nevertheless, Dr. Long’s research has yielded
some interesting results. In his book, Evidence
of the Afterlife: The Science of Near Death Experiences (HarperOne, 2010),
he presents nine consistent elements in the NDE’s that he cataloged[1]:
1. Crystal-Clear Consciousness. The level of
consciousness and alertness during near-death experiences (NDEs) is usually
even greater than that experienced in everyday life even though NDEs generally
occur when a person is unconscious or clinically dead. This high level of
consciousness while physically unconscious is medically inexplicable.
Additionally, the elements in NDEs generally follow the same consistent and
logical order in all age groups and around the world, which refutes the
possibility that NDEs have any relation to dreams or hallucinations.
2. Realistic Out-of-Body Experiences: Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are one of the most common elements of NDEs. What NDErs see and hear of earthly events in the out-of-body state is almost always realistic. When the NDEr or others later seek to verify what was observed or heard during the NDE, the OBE observations are almost always confirmed as completely accurate. Even if the OBE observations during the NDE included events far from the physical body, and far from any possible sensory awareness of the NDEr, the OBE observations are still almost always confirmed as completely accurate. This fact alone rules out the possibility that near-death experiences are related to any known brain functioning or sensory awareness. This also refutes the possibility that NDEs are unrealistic fragments of memory from the brain.
3. Heightened Senses. Not only are heightened senses reported by most who have experienced NDEs, normal or supernormal vision has occurred in those with significantly impaired vision, and even legal blindness. Several people who have been totally blind since birth have reported highly visual near-death experiences. This is medically inexplicable.
4. Consciousness During Anesthesia. Many NDEs occur while under general anesthesia- at a time when any conscious experience should be impossible. While some skeptics claim that these NDEs may be the result of too little anesthesia, this ignores the fact that some NDEs result from anesthesia overdose. Additionally, the description of a NDE differs greatly from that of one who experiences “anesthetic awareness.” The content of NDEs that occur under general anesthesia is essentially indistinguishable from NDEs that did not occur under general anesthesia. This is further strong evidence that NDEs are occurring completely independently from the functioning of the physical brain.
5. Perfect Playback. Life reviews in near-death experiences include real events that previously took place in the lives of those having the experience, even if the events were forgotten or happened before they were old enough to remember.
6. Family Reunions. During a NDE, the people encountered are virtually always deceased, and are usually relatives of the person having the experience- sometimes they are even relatives who died before the NDEr was born. Were the NDE only a product of memory fragments, they would almost certainly include far more living people, including those with whom they had more recently interacted.
7. Children’s Experiences. The near-death experiences of children, including very young children who are too young to have developed concepts of death, religion, or near-death experiences, are essentially identical to those of older children and adults. This refutes the possibility that the content of NDEs is produced by preexisting beliefs or cultural conditioning.
8. Worldwide Consistency. Near-death experiences appear remarkably consistent around the world, and across many different religions and cultures. NDEs from non-Western countries are incredibly similar to those that occur in people in Western countries.
9. Aftereffects. It is common for people to experience major life changes after having near-death experiences. These aftereffects are often powerful, lasting, life-enhancing, and the changes generally follow a consistent pattern. As the NDErs themselves almost always believe- near-death experiences are, in a word, real.
2. Realistic Out-of-Body Experiences: Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are one of the most common elements of NDEs. What NDErs see and hear of earthly events in the out-of-body state is almost always realistic. When the NDEr or others later seek to verify what was observed or heard during the NDE, the OBE observations are almost always confirmed as completely accurate. Even if the OBE observations during the NDE included events far from the physical body, and far from any possible sensory awareness of the NDEr, the OBE observations are still almost always confirmed as completely accurate. This fact alone rules out the possibility that near-death experiences are related to any known brain functioning or sensory awareness. This also refutes the possibility that NDEs are unrealistic fragments of memory from the brain.
3. Heightened Senses. Not only are heightened senses reported by most who have experienced NDEs, normal or supernormal vision has occurred in those with significantly impaired vision, and even legal blindness. Several people who have been totally blind since birth have reported highly visual near-death experiences. This is medically inexplicable.
4. Consciousness During Anesthesia. Many NDEs occur while under general anesthesia- at a time when any conscious experience should be impossible. While some skeptics claim that these NDEs may be the result of too little anesthesia, this ignores the fact that some NDEs result from anesthesia overdose. Additionally, the description of a NDE differs greatly from that of one who experiences “anesthetic awareness.” The content of NDEs that occur under general anesthesia is essentially indistinguishable from NDEs that did not occur under general anesthesia. This is further strong evidence that NDEs are occurring completely independently from the functioning of the physical brain.
5. Perfect Playback. Life reviews in near-death experiences include real events that previously took place in the lives of those having the experience, even if the events were forgotten or happened before they were old enough to remember.
6. Family Reunions. During a NDE, the people encountered are virtually always deceased, and are usually relatives of the person having the experience- sometimes they are even relatives who died before the NDEr was born. Were the NDE only a product of memory fragments, they would almost certainly include far more living people, including those with whom they had more recently interacted.
7. Children’s Experiences. The near-death experiences of children, including very young children who are too young to have developed concepts of death, religion, or near-death experiences, are essentially identical to those of older children and adults. This refutes the possibility that the content of NDEs is produced by preexisting beliefs or cultural conditioning.
8. Worldwide Consistency. Near-death experiences appear remarkably consistent around the world, and across many different religions and cultures. NDEs from non-Western countries are incredibly similar to those that occur in people in Western countries.
9. Aftereffects. It is common for people to experience major life changes after having near-death experiences. These aftereffects are often powerful, lasting, life-enhancing, and the changes generally follow a consistent pattern. As the NDErs themselves almost always believe- near-death experiences are, in a word, real.
I can’t say that I’m sure what to make out of all of this. If anything,
these experiences seem to affirm the existence of an immaterial soul. Something
has to be the “you” who experiences these phenomena – right? I mean if you are brain
dead when these things occur, then there has got to be something else still
operating that counts as “you”. So, maybe these NDE’s can cache out positively
in regards to the substance dualist/reductive materialist debates.
I’m not sure how far these scientific findings can further dogmatic
claims about the existence of God. Some of these NDE’rs did in fact experience someone
they recognized as Jesus or God. However, none of these experiences were what
we would expect them to be. Generally, Christians expect post-mortem
experiences of God to be awe-inspiring and fearful for those who did not
formally profess belief in God during their mortal life. However, Dr. Long
points out that each person who admitted to interacting with Jesus or God in
their NDE – Christian or not – never once felt fearful or an overwhelming awareness of awe. They all
just felt a sense of familiarity with God – He seemed more like a loving, benevolent friend than a holy, magnificent judge. So, it looks like there still needs to be some additional theological
reflection on this aspect of NDE’s. Frankly, it still seems a bit odd to me on the whole.
Anyway, I guess at the end of the day any human experience that vacillates
between embodied and un-embodied existence is bound to be markedly aberrant. Reminds
me of Paul’s reflection in 2 Corinthians about being clothed with a heavenly
body instead of our earthly tent – even there it seems that Paul values an
embodied existence for the after-life over a disembodied soul. But, I think
that’s another topic for another day.
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