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"The Near-Death Experience. Part One: The New Age Connection" (an
article from the Christian Research Journal, Spring 1992, page 20)
by J. Isamu Yamamoto.
The Editor-in-Chief of the Christian Research Journal is
Elliot Miller.
-------------
Dan was a warm, gentle, talented, outgoing young man. One would
therefore think he would be popular. But there were in fact many
who hated him -- because of his lifestyle. Eventually he left his
Midwestern hometown and moved to San Francisco to join a community
of homosexual professionals.
Because he led a very active homosexual life in that community,
Dan contracted gonorrhea. His physician offered him two choices:
either receive antibiotics daily for ten days or one massive dose
by injection. Dan selected the injection. After receiving it he
immediately had difficulty breathing. Soon he went into
anaphylactic shock and died. He had no pulse or heartbeat. His
electrocardiogram was flat.
After everything went black, Dan saw himself lying on the floor
while doctors and nurses tried desperately to bring him back to
life. He then saw a long, dark tunnel to which he felt drawn.
Before entering it, his entire life passed before his eyes. His
deceased grandparents, who had raised him, appeared at this time
and approached him, expressing their love for him.
After being in the dark tunnel for a while, Dan saw a light
that became brighter as he drew closer to it. Finally he left the
tunnel and found himself in a beautiful garden, where a fence
barred him from going any further. Meanwhile, a brilliant light
radiated warmth, love, and peace from the other side of the fence.
Dan knew that the source of this light was Jesus Christ.
He wanted to go to the light but the fence prevented him. He
then heard a voice come from that light, which said, "It is not
time to come into my Father's kingdom. You have not lived as I
intended. Go back and glorify me."
At that moment Dan awoke, back in his body, no longer a man
living for himself, but now a believer in Christ. From then on, he
left his homosexual lifestyle and joined a strong, supportive
Christian community. To this day, Dan thanks God for giving him a
new chance to live according to His plan and not according to
physical desires.
When this story first came across my desk in 1990, I was
skeptical about the extent to which Christ was really involved in
Dan's life. As book editor at _Christianity Today,_ I was
responsible for the content of the books they were publishing that
year. Dan's experiences were part of a manuscript that a Christian
proctologist (an expert on the physiology and pathology of the
rectum and anus) had submitted for one of our chapters in a book on
homosexuality. Furthermore, the ten years I had previously spent on
staff at the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SCP) caused alarms to
go off in my head while reading his story, telling me that this
account sounded New Age.
When I checked the sources behind Dan's story and discovered
that his testimony was reliable, I had to rethink my previous
assumptions about the issue of near-death experience (NDE). I
realized then that my views on this subject were shallow and not
carefully thought out. Since many advocates of New Age ideas had
openly supported the validity of NDEs, I had reasoned that they
were part of the New Age arsenal that was currently bombarding our
society. Moreover, because NDEs had not been in my area of
responsibility at SCP, I dismissed them as an insignificant
phenomenon.
Dan's story, however, forced me to reassess my casual response
to NDEs. Many questions emerged in my mind about Dan's conversion
experience, but the most disturbing were: "Why would Christ allow
an evil spirit to imitate Him for the purpose of bringing Dan into
His kingdom? Why would an evil spirit want to do this? Might the
spirit who spoke to Dan from the light actually have been Jesus
Christ?"
I could not really answer these questions without deliberate
research into NDEs, which the Christian Research Institute has
given me the opportunity to do. The following is what I have
discovered from my research.
*BACK FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE?*
Christians are not the only ones wary of those who claim to
have had near-death experiences. For many in the medical and
scientific communities, their stories are as strange as those tales
seen on Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone." In fact these scientists
maintain that either drugs, lack of oxygen, severe psychological
stress, or some other explainable disorder causes people to dream
or hallucinate, believing they are experiencing an NDE.
Perhaps their Western rational minds have predisposed these
scientists against NDEs because they seem too weird -- like the
stories of those who insist they have traveled with alien beings in
UFOs. Or perhaps the subject of death has become a forbidden topic
for the Westerner, and thus anyone who has had a brush with it is
ignored out of fear and ignorance. Whatever causes some to avoid
this mysterious subject, NDE is still a phenomenon that Christians
particularly must understand if they are to share the gospel
effectively with those who have experienced or been influenced by
it.
To better understand what a near-death experience is, we must
go back 17 years to the publication of a book that catapulted this
subject into the national limelight -- Raymond Moody's _Life After
Life._ In this small but fascinating book, Moody compiled a massive
number of accounts of NDEs and discovered 15 separate elements that
are common in these experiences.
(1) _Ineffability._ Many of those who have experienced an NDE
say that no words can adequately or truly describe what happened to
them. Their experience, for them, is inexpressible.
(2) _Hearing the News._ Many of them relate hearing a medical
person pronounce them dead. To those around them, all their bodily
signs indicated that they had expired, but during that moment, they
consciously knew they were still alive.
(3) _Feelings of Peace and Quiet._ Many people recall feeling
sensations of extreme pleasure. Although severe pain normally
accompanies a life-threatening injury or disease, they remember
feeling only a deep peace and quietness during the NDE.
(4) _The Noise._ Many relate hearing a distinct sound that
occurs either at or near death. In some cases, this noise can be
quite pleasant, like rapturous music. In other cases, the noise can
be harsh and disturbing, like continuous buzzing or banging.
(5) _The Dark Tunnel._ Many recollect being jerked through some
dark passageway, frequently while hearing the noise. This dark
tunnel has been variously described as a cave, sewer, trough,
valley, and so on.
(6) _Out of the Body._ Many remember seeing their physical
bodies apart from themselves as though they were "spectators"
observing their bodies. Surprise, panic, and a desire to return to
their bodies often accompanied the realization that they were
separate from their physical form.
(7) _Meeting Others._ In many cases they encountered spiritual
entities who were present to help them through the experience.
These beings variously appeared as loved ones who had recently
passed away, strangers who had died, or some other spirits who were
acting as their guardians.
(8) _The Being of Light._ Quite a few speak of beholding a
brilliant light that, despite its brilliance, did not hurt their
eyes. To them, this radiant light is a personal being who emanates
irresistible love and warmth and who communicates with them --
through thoughts and not speech -- about the meaning of their
lives.
(9) _The Review._ A number of them recall an instant moment of
time during their experience in which they witnessed a vivid review
of their lives. These panoramic images provoked in them the
importance of loving people and understanding the meaning of life.
(10) _The Border or Limit._ Some recount being obstructed by
some form that often prevents them from going any further in their
journey or from reaching that being of light. It can be a fence, a
door, a body of water, or even an imaginary line.
(11) _Coming Back._ All of them obviously returned from their
near-death experience, but how they felt about coming back varies
considerably. Some wanted to stay with the being of light. Others
felt obliged to return to complete unfinished tasks. Some chose to
return. Others were told to come back. In any case, the return is
often instantaneous -- back through the dark tunnel.
(12) _Telling Others._ Those who have had NDEs regard their
experience as a real event rather than a dream. But since they
believe that it was extraordinarily unique and that others would be
skeptical, they are quite reticent about disclosing their
experience, which they feel is inexpressible anyway.
(13) _Effects on Lives._ As profound as the effects of their
NDEs were on them, none feel that the experience has perfected
them, and few have tried to gain public attention because of it.
Instead, the effects have been more in the way they now view life
and regard others. As was mentioned earlier, caring for other
people and gaining a better understanding of the meaning of life
emerged as high priorities after their experience.
(14) _New Views of Death._ Most of them no longer fear physical
death, but at the same time they do not seek it. Rather, they view
death as a transitional state to another form of life. Entrance
into this new life involves neither judgment nor the dispensing of
rewards and punishments.
(15) _Corroboration._ Remarkably there are independent
testimonies of people who have corroborated some of the details in
NDE accounts; that is, specific incidents (e.g., in the hospital
operating room) witnessed by those who were supposedly dead.
Although their testimonies do not constitute proof of life after
death, they are significant considerations in the study of NDEs.
A close look at Moody's description of near-death experiences
might lead one to discount Dan's experience as a genuine NDE since
his account does not include all of Moody's elements. For instance,
Dan did not relate that he had heard a distinct _noise._ In _Life
After Life,_ however, Moody points out that he came across no
person who experienced _all_ 15 elements, though many described
quite a few of them like Dan did. In addition, no two stories were
identical, despite striking similarities in details.
Another criticism of Dan's narrative might be its chronology,
which doesn't match up with Moody's outline. For example, Dan said
he journeyed through a tunnel after he reviewed his life and
encountered the spirits of his grandparents, while Moody listed
those elements in reverse order. Again, however, Moody describes
variation among the reports he studied, stating that his order is
typical but not universal.
Moody also says no one element occurred in every account, and
no one element occurred only once. How many NDE elements a person
experiences seems to depend on how deep and how long he or she was
apparently dead. In Dan's case, he was believed to be clinically
dead for almost ten minutes, which might explain why he experienced
so many of Moody's NDE elements.
In the introduction to _Life After Life,_ Raymond Moody says,
"My hope for this book is that it will draw attention to a
phenomenon which is at once very widespread and very well-hidden,
and, at the same time, help create a more receptive public attitude
toward it."[1] This statement raises several questions: first, what
does he mean by "it"? Is he speaking of NDEs in general, or is he
speaking of his interpretation and elaboration of them? In other
words, does he want people like Dan to be more open about their
experiences and others to be more understanding, or does he want
his world view based on his presumed insights into NDE to take a
prominent role in the global marketplace of ideas and beliefs?
Elsewhere in his book Moody insists that he is not trying to
prove that life exists after death or that he is conducting a
scientific study of the claims of the people he interviewed.
Nevertheless, although he tries to be objective and
straightforward, he admits that his "background, opinions and
prejudices" are reflected in his book.[2] Thus, in answering the
first question, Moody would like "it" to be NDEs in general. He
would be thrilled if people became more sensitive to those who have
experienced NDEs and more open to the study of this phenomenon.
But, a subtle agenda does emerge from his book that inclines the
unwary reader toward a particular world view. And so, a second set
of questions must be posed: What points is Moody trying to make in
his book, and to what conclusions do those points take the reader?
In order to answer these questions, one must have some knowledge of
Moody's background, opinions, and prejudices.
*VEILED AGENDA*
Raymond A. Moody, Jr., attended a Presbyterian church in his
youth, though his parents never insisted that he embrace the
Christian faith. Instead, they encouraged and supported any
interest that influenced and formed his philosophy of life. As an
adult he became a member of the Methodist church. Nevertheless, he
states in _Life After Life:_ "I believe that all the great
religions of man have many truths to tell us, and I believe that no
one of us has all the answers to the deep and fundamental truths
with which religion deals."[3]
In 1969, Moody earned a doctorate in philosophy at the
University of Virginia. After teaching philosophy at the university
level for three years, he altered the direction of his professional
career: he entered medical school with the purpose of becoming a
psychiatrist teaching the philosophy of medicine. During the late
seventies and early eighties, however, he spent much of his time on
the lecture circuit sharing his thoughts about NDEs. In this he was
often accompanied by the most famous luminary in the field of
thanatology (the study of concerns related to death and dying),
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, author of _On Death and Dying._
Moody's religious views are veiled in his best-selling book,
_Life After Life,_ in such a way that they do not appear to take
center stage in his studies of NDE. But, in fact, they play a
significant role behind the scenes.
At first glance Moody seems to be observing and making comments
about NDEs as a Christian. After all, he divulges his early
Christian training and later membership in a Protestant church. He
confesses that his background cannot help but intrude into his
observations. Indeed, there are numerous references to the being of
light as Jesus Christ. He even tries to show that such passages in
the Bible as Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus resemble
NDEs.[4] And yet he slips in other remarks and issues that reveal
he is a man who embraces the beliefs of more than one religion.
As was mentioned earlier, in one of his 15 elements of an NDE
(_New Views of Death_) Moody describes the afterlife as a place
full of love and acceptance -- devoid of a supreme being who makes
any judgment about people's lives or character. In his words, what
is absent in this place beyond death are "harp-playing angels" and
"demons with pitchforks."[5] The "mythological" picture of an
afterlife with rewards and punishment is replaced with a being of
light who responds, not with righteous indignation against sin, but
with understanding and even humor at our shortcomings. Thus, the
character of a supreme being that Moody presents from his
observations of NDEs is quite different from the character of the
infinitely just _and_ merciful (offering complete forgiveness
through faith in Jesus Christ) God portrayed in the Bible (whose
heaven, by the way, is also different from Moody's cartoon
portrait).
According to Moody, the identification of the being of light
varied according to the religious background of the person he
interviewed. So, although some people believed that the being was
Jesus Christ, others claimed the being was another holy personage,
an angel, or simply just a being of light.[6] The point is that the
afterlife, in Moody's view, is not restricted to the singular
lordship of Jesus Christ.
Of course, Moody would argue that he is only disclosing details
given to him by others. Moreover, that some people believe they
have had such experiences as Moody recounts cannot be disputed.
Nevertheless, since Moody's system of selection remains in _his_
ballpark, his additional comments on these reported experiences are
suspect of being biased toward his particular world view --
especially when he tries to tie in parallels with other materials
(e.g., the Bible and occultic writings).
After Moody tried to demonstrate similarities between Paul's
experience on the road to Damascus and NDEs, he moved on to more
fertile ground. Most notably he cites the eighth-century Eastern
occult work, _The Tibetan Book of the Dead,_ and the
eighteenth-century writings of the Swedish mystic, Emanuel
Swedenborg.[7] Although Moody refrained from drawing any
conclusions about the parallels between NDEs and these writings, he
does pose carefully worded questions that would compel many readers
to nod in agreement that NDEs follow an ancient tradition, one that
espouses an occult/mystical view of spiritual reality.
Moody, however, denies being qualified to discuss NDEs as an
expert on the occult. In the introduction to _Life After Death_ he
maintains, "I write as a person who is not broadly familiar with
the vast literature on paranormal and occult phenomena."[8] His
statement can be defended or criticized depending upon what is
understood by "familiar." But to the casual reader, it would
suggest that Moody has no vested interest in linking NDEs with the
occult. For this reason, and because he has presented himself as a
detached researcher, when he does inject occult interpretations
subtly throughout his book and overtly at the end, many readers
would be inclined to swallow his opinions as true insights into
spiritual reality.
Moody's interest in the paranormal and occult, however veiled
in his book, can be traced as far back as his undergraduate days at
the University of Virginia in the mid sixties. Tal Brooke,
currently the executive director of the Spiritual Counterfeits
Project and formerly Moody's friend and fellow student at the
University of Virginia, relates that "Moody claimed that he
regularly conversed with a spirit being." Brooke further recalls
that his and Moody's common interest in "esoteric philosophies,
whether Eastern-religious, occult or psychic" was "the major basis
for their companionship."[9] Brooke's description of Moody's
involvement in the occult offers a far different understanding of
Moody's use of the word _familiar_ than what his book suggests.
Even more revealing is his association with Elizabeth
Kubler-Ross, who wrote the Foreword to _Life After Life,_ praising
Moody's research and contribution to the field of thanatology. They
worked closely together, with Moody even filling in for Kubler-Ross
on numerous occasions when she was unable to appear for speaking
engagements. Kubler-Ross has been widely acclaimed for her work in
the treatment of emotional problems experienced by terminal
patients. Her research and claims regarding mediumship (divination
by contact with the dead, especially through the agency of familiar
spirits), however, have met with mixed reactions. Some ridicule her
contentions; some condemn them; but many others have been
enthralled by them. In any case, she is the most noteworthy guru in
the field of thanatology.
In September 1976, Kubler-Ross revealed to her audience that
she had acquired her own personal spirit guide, called Salem.[10]
This announcement confirmed for her followers that her out-of-body
experiences (OBE) had attained an even higher level of
transcendence. For Christians it confirmed that her involvement
with spiritistic practices had reached the lower depths of
necromancy (concourse with forbidden spirits). Although both
Kubler-Ross and Moody preach love, peace, understanding, and world
unity, they also speak of our spirits traveling outside our
physical bodies and communicating with other spirits, (Kubler-Ross
and OBEs), and of gaining new insights into the mysteries of life
from contact with the being of light during a deathlike state
(Moody and NDEs).
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and Raymond Moody were trailblazers in
the research of death and dying. Unfortunately, their research also
included spiritism, religious universalism, and a denial of sin,
judgment, and the need for repentance and grace. During the past
two decades, their paths have been followed by others. These have
not only expanded their studies in near-death experiences, but have
also broadened the influence of New Age ideas in our society.
*THE PSYCHOLOGIST AND THE PHYSICIAN*
In the wake of Moody's _Life After Life,_ many no longer view
near-death experiences as utterly strange and unusual. More and
more people are stepping forward and sharing their own experiences.
The print and broadcast news media have been more sympathetic in
their inquiries into NDEs. We can even go to the cinema or turn on
the VCR and see serious treatments of the subject, such as the
movie _Flatliners._
Included among those who have more recently taken up the banner
of NDEs are both Christians (who will be the subject of Part Two of
this article) and New Agers, whose ubiquitous slogans dot the
landscape of our spiritually bankrupt society. Among the legion of
researchers in the field of NDEs, two stand out: one is a
psychologist, Kenneth Ring, and the other is a physician, Melvin
Morse.
In 1981, _Life at Death: A Scientific Investigation of the
Near-Death Experience_ achieved national exposure. This book
propelled Kenneth Ring to the forefront of professional researchers
who were examining near-death experiences. Eight years earlier Ring
had become intrigued with NDEs when he first heard of them. After
shifting his academic studies from social psychology to the
psychology of consciousness, Ring commenced his scientific research
of the NDE phenomena in 1977 as a professor of psychology at the
University of Connecticut. The first significant fruit of his labor
was the publication of _Life at Death_ two years later.
In _Life at Death_ Ring tried to measure the experiences of a
number of people who claimed to have undergone NDEs. After he
delineated their experiences into components quite similar to
Moody's 15 elements, he assigned values to each component. His goal
was to determine whether a single pattern could be constructed from
their accounts. He found that certain feelings, perceptions, and
experiences were common among the people he interviewed.
_Life at Death_ sparked renewed interest in NDEs, so much so
that the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS)
was established in Storrs, Connecticut. Ring cofounded and once
served as president of IANDS, which is internationally branched.
Many of IANDS's most prolific writers and speakers do not hesitate
to support their New Age world views with the accounts of NDEs.
When interviewed by the news and print media about his NDE
research, Ring himself is much more cautious in publicizing his
metaphysical views. His policy is certainly understandable since
the scientific community, of which he is a respected member, is one
of the most vocal and ardent critics of such people as Elizabeth
Kubler-Ross and Raymond Moody. In fact, when Kubler-Ross announced
that near-death experiences indicate there is life after death, she
was vilified by the scientific establishment. And so, Ring is
guarded in his remarks.
For instance, when John White of _Science of Mind_ asked him
about "the being of light," Ring at first replied, "That being or
that light which the individual encounters is so loving that even
though the individual may have done many bad things, somehow he
still knows that he as an individual is okay. His acts may have
been wrong, but he himself is okay."[11] Ring goes on to cover
himself, however, by saying: "I can't recall any case of someone
reporting being judged by God."[12] In other words, he is only
presenting a particular character description of that being of
light -- which other people have reported to him.
In that same interview, when White specifically asked him how
his research has affected his religious views, Ring offered an
answer that can be swallowed like honey: "I'm much more aware of
the importance of unconditional love. I now understand that to be
not only the supreme principle of life itself, but also the core of
all religions. I think this is what all religions are trying to
show us."[13]
At first glance, his statement appears benign, but it really is
no different from the religious universalism espoused by
Kubler-Ross, Moody, and most New Agers. It also indicates that he
puts more stock in a "being of light" who is totally accepting and
nonjudgmental than he lets on. Ring said he doesn't have "any
particular religious affiliation,"[14] but one doesn't need an
affiliation to carry a world view banner.
While holding up such a banner, Kenneth Ring has lectured
widely on the near-death experience. He has conducted numerous
seminars and workshops for professional organizations and lay
audiences. He has also been a guest on many television and radio
programs. But it is in his book, _Life at Death,_ where a statement
can be found that discloses the most disturbing feature of his
message: The "light" is "actually a reflection of one's own
inherent divine nature and symbolizes the higher self. The light
one sees, then, is one's own....If one can accept the idea of a
higher self, it is not difficult to assume that that self -- as
well as the individual self -- is actually an aspect of God, or the
Creator."[15]
Anyone familiar with New Age doctrine will recognize Ring's
reference to "the higher self." For many New Agers, every
individual has a higher, larger, wiser, and more real self which
needs to be tapped into and then manifested. This will hasten one's
self-realization, when a person realizes that he or she is god.
This is the most prominent statement etched in the cornerstone of
the New Age movement and it happens to be the slogan written on
Kenneth Ring's banner.
In 1990 Ivy Books published Melvin Morse's _Closer to the
Light: Learning from the Near-Death Experiences of Children,_ with,
by the way, a foreword by Raymond Moody. It was on the _New York
Times Best Seller List_ for three months. The _New York Tribune,_
quoted on the back cover, called this book "compelling," and went
on to say, "What a salute to Morse's moral courage and intellectual
curiosity is his book. It deserves serious attention."
Melvin Morse and his book certainly do deserve serious
attention. As a physician, he has made two significant
contributions to the subject of near-death experiences. First, he
has provided professional insights into NDEs from a medical
perspective. And second, his research was mainly conducted with
children. Because his studies and observations gave the whole
subject of NDEs a needed boost for the early nineties, Morse has
frequently appeared before the media spotlight. For this reason
also, the banner he is waving should be examined as well.
Morse is a pediatrician who studied at the George Washington
University School of Medicine, and whose private practice is in the
suburbs of Seattle, Washington. He was introduced to NDEs when one
of his young patients shared her experience with him after she
awoke from a coma caused by a swimming accident. With the help of
a major hospital in Seattle he began research projects that would
examine this phenomenon scientifically. In 1983 his first article
on the subject was published in the _American Journal of Diseases
of Children._ Since then he has studied a number of people who
claim to have had an NDE as a child.
In the November 1986 issue of the _American Journal of Diseases
of Children,_ Morse published a study in which he tried to
demonstrate that drugs are not the source of NDEs. He went on to
say that NDEs "are a natural psychological process associated with
dying."[16] These medical observations, as well as others, have
given NDE researchers the ammunition they needed to bring attention
and respect to their work and claims.
The use of people who had NDEs as children in Morse's study is
also significant. Unlike adult NDEs, children are too young to have
absorbed adult views of death. In other words, there is far less
likelihood for preconceived ideas about death to influence what
they believe is happening to them during NDEs. Thus, the validity
of an NDE could be more forcefully argued with the addition of
Morse's findings with children.
Morse's comments about the medical profession, and particularly
doctors who treat dying patients, also have elicited much interest
-- and praise. "For instance," he writes, "it is well documented
that as patients get closer to death their doctors spend less time
at their bedsides."[17] This criticism strikes a loud chord felt
almost universally by Americans, who believe they wait at least a
long hour to see a faceless physician for a few brief minutes at
the cost of long hours of hard labor. Morse also says the role of
comforter is often left to the nurse or to no one. What his
colleagues need to do, he says, is "be able to answer questions
about death just as we can about other aspects of normal
development and life stages."[18] Rightly or wrongly, Morse's
remarks have been well received.
How can doctors become more sensitive and caring toward their
patients who are facing death? "Make the patient's spiritual needs
a routine part of daily rounds," Morse says, "just as much a part
of his medical chart as a detailed description of urine
output."[19] But what does Morse mean by "spiritual needs?" "For me
the answer is simple," he says. "NDEs are the way to join science
and spiritualism....We will combine the essence of those ancient
truths with scientific knowledge and create new rituals with which
to heal our inner selves and society."[20] Although this
declaration is still somewhat vague, it is at least becoming
clearer where his metaphysical orientation lies.
In _Closer to the Light_ Morse does what Moody and Ring did in
their books -- he compares NDEs with the experiences found in
different world religions, including Christianity. Morse even says
Saint Paul claimed to have experienced astral travel. He then
speaks of Paramahansa Yogananda's spiritual experiences as
described in _Autobiography of a Yogi,_ a book that opened the
minds of countless Westerners to Eastern mysticism. He tries to tie
the experiences of both Yogananda and St. Paul -- along with those
of Native American spiritual leader Black Elk and Calvinist
theologian Jonathan Edwards -- into elements of NDEs.[21] He is
even more deliberate when he draws similarities between NDEs and
_The Egyptian Book of the Dead_ and _The Tibetan Book of the
Dead._[22]
Morse's spiritual inclinations are most evident when he
discusses the being of light, or "The Divine Light," as he calls
it. "The Light," he says, "is the key element of the NDE."[23] He
goes on to explain: "I think the Light seen during NDEs and the
mystical light seen by those having spiritual experiences are the
same light. Both fuel religious awe and both have the power to
transform."[24] But who is this light who is doing the
transforming? Is it Jesus Christ? Is it the spirit of Osiris, the
Egyptian god? After Morse describes the rituals of ancient Egypt he
states: "Just as children that I interviewed often perceived the
light that they saw as the light of Jesus, these king-initiates
would perceive that same light as the spirit of Osiris."[25] Morse
is not claiming that the being of light is necessarily the spirit
of Osiris, but he is inferring that this being can be the spirit of
_any_ god or holy personage that people have worshiped, past and
present.
Morse would be appalled to hear conservative Christians declare
that his message is demonic, just as Moody explained he was in his
sequel, _Reflections on Life After Death._ This would be a hard
judgment to make since Morse is obviously a very caring and
sensitive person. But his message is never so clear as in the story
he tells at the end of _Closer to the Light._ It is a moving
account of a boy who had cerebral palsy. When he was six months old
his mother had a vision of her son happy, beautiful, and healthy.
Ten years later he died, still a cripple. "It was then that she
realized the meaning of her vision: He was free of a body crippled
by Cerebral Palsy."[26] In the context of Jesus Christ one could
only praise God for her faith. But Morse says he doesn't understand
her premonition just as he doesn't know what the light is in NDEs.
Both are beautiful and wonderful, but neither are defined, except
that there is no room for sin, judgment, repentance, grace, and,
most importantly, for the primacy of Jesus Christ.
These are the trademarks of the New Age message: to present
their thoughts sincerely and graciously, to speak of unconditional
love and acceptance, but to deny that salvation for a person can
come only through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, the banner of Melvin Morse has such a message.
*EIGHT MILLION STRONG AND GROWING?*
To dismiss near-death experiences simply because the most
prominent researchers in the field have interpreted NDEs from a New
Age perspective would not be wise. NDEs touch the lives of too many
people, demanding that Christians explore this phenomenon more
thoroughly and objectively.
In 1982 George Gallup, Jr., published _Adventures in
Immortality,_ which presented a number of surveys relating to NDEs.
A frequent resource and contributor to such evangelical publishers
as _Christianity Today,_ Gallup found that the number of people who
have claimed an NDE is considerable. In a 1981 poll, he conducted
a scientific survey of 1,500 adults who experienced brushes with
death. One-third of them admitted to a near-death experience. Using
that ratio for the entire U.S. population of those believed to have
come close to death, Gallup estimated that as many as 8 million
could have had NDEs.
Furthermore, the resuscitation technology in the medical field
has advanced greatly. More and more people who have apparently died
from a cardiac arrest or other conditions are now being revived.
And, as the subject of NDEs becomes increasingly accepted as a
normal phenomenon, people are becoming more open about describing
their NDEs. This includes people like Dan, who have accepted Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Savior _because of_ their near-death
experiences.
In Part Two we will evaluate alternative explanations for NDEs
to those supplied by the New Age movement, from both secular and
Christian sources. And we will examine biblical texts which are
used to validate this phenomenon.
*NOTES*
1 Raymond A. Moody, Jr., _Life After Life_ (Harrisburg, PA:
Stackpole Books, 1976), 10.
2 _Ibid.,_ 9.
3 _Ibid.,_ 10.
4 _Ibid.,_ 80-82.
5 _Ibid.,_ 70.
6 _Ibid.,_ 46.
7 _Ibid.,_ 84-89.
8 _Ibid.,_ 9.
9 Mark Albrecht and Brooks Alexander, "Thanatology: Death and
Dying," _SCP Journal,_ April 1977, 9.
10 Lennie Kronisch, "Elizabeth Kubler-Ross: Messenger of Love,"
_Yoga Journal,_ November-December 1976, 20.
11 John White, "Beyond the Body: An Interview with Kenneth Ring,"
_Science of Mind,_ November 1982, 88.
12 _Ibid.,_ 89.
13 _Ibid.,_ 89-90.
14 _Ibid.,_ 89.
15 Kenneth Ring, _Life at Death: A Scientific Investigation of the
Near-Death Experience_ (New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan,
1980), 240-41.
16 Melvin Morse with Paul Perry, _Closer to the Light: Learning
from the Near-Death Experiences of Children_ (New York: Ivy
Books, 1990), 49.
17 _Ibid.,_ 52.
18 _Ibid._
19 _Ibid.,_ 102.
20 _Ibid.,_ 98, 105.
21 _Ibid.,_ 125, 142-43.
22 _Ibid.,_ 86-92.
23 _Ibid.,_ 133.
24 _Ibid.,_ 144.
25 _Ibid.,_ 89.
26 _Ibid.,_ 213.
-------------
End of document, CRJ0097A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"The Near-Death Experience. Part One: The New Age Connection"
release A, May 15, 1994
R. Poll, CRI
(A special note of thanks to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in
the preparation of this ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
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