“At a time when belief in the future life is very radically questioned, ... it seems extraordinary that the Church appears to take so little interest in data which suggests that there may be real grounds for believing in life after death.” – Prof. Paul Adam, University of Wales.

Some readers may well know a friend or member of the family who has been resuscitated while undergoing intensive care, and who has returned to consciousness with accounts of very strange experiences. These may have included an out-of-the-body experience (OBE), an acute awareness, for example, of being above the operating table and observing the frantic efforts of medical staff to bring the patient back to life after the heart has stopped. It may go further: patients have ‘returned’ with accounts of moving along a dark tunnel towards a light; of being surrounded by an atmosphere of love and joy; of being shown a review of their lives and having the chance to assess their spiritual progress - in other words, a Near Death Experience (NDE). It seems that about 'ten percent of people who have a cardiac arrest, whom we know have reached the total point of death, and have come back, have had a near death experience.' (The Registrar of Hammersmith Hospital in a Radio 4 programme on 4th January, 2004.)

Many books have been published on the subject - and make no mistake, it is not a uniquely American phenomenon! Readers can find accounts for themselves and, if they are so minded, study the latest theories of how these experiences arise. There is a growing amount of literature on the subject, reflecting the increasing number of people who have been brought back to life by the wonders of modern medical treatment.

I am assuming that such experiences are sufficiently well authenticated as to warrant serious consideration: on the whole, the NDE is real. From this premise, I intend to argue that preachers of the Christian Gospel should take the matter seriously and consider how the NDE can help modern man to understand his destiny as a child of God. The basic pattern of such experiences does not conflict with fundamental doctrine, but rather supports the teaching that this life is a preparation for what awaits us on the other side of so-called death.

In an age when the majority of people are sceptical of any form of survival beyond the death of the body, or, at best, regard it as a rather forlorn hope, we need not depend entirely on the experiences of those who witnessed certain events two thousand years ago. Even before the recent developments in medical technology, there were cases of people returning to consciousness following what appeared to be terminal illness or fatal injury and reporting not only an OBE but also a journey into the light, an overwhelming sense of being unconditionally loved, and of being given a life-review. A major feature of NDE, for those worthy of it, is a vivid awareness of being in paradisiacal surroundings and meeting those who have died previously. Christian eschatology lies in an uneasy tension between the Jewish idea of resurrection and the Greek idea of immortality. The recorded sayings of Jesus certainly include strong overtones of the latter. The beggar in Luke 16:22, for example, appears to be transported straight to a heavenly realm, and the words to the dying thief are unequivocal: ‘Today you will be with me in paradise.

The main reductionist objection is that the features of NDE are caused by biological activity in the dying brain but the visual, auditory and sometimes tactile experiences are remarkably sharp, and we are justified in asking, 'How can people who have objectively reached the point of death ... have lucid, well-structured thought-processes with reasoning and memory formation?' (The Registrar of Hammersmith Hospital in the same Radio 4 programme.)". The objection also appears to founder on the well-authenticated ability of many subjects to describe actions and conversations which took place in different rooms from those in which their bodies were situated.

Some conservative Christians will object that any attempt to prove the reality of life beyond bodily death will remove the need for faith, but one person’s subjective experience can never be demonstrated objectively. You may have had the most remarkable holiday in the West Indies, but I can never fully share your experience of It. Other Christians may point to the “resurrection’ appearances of Jesus, contrasting these with the inability of the typical NDE subject to communicate with those in the physical realm, but Jesus was and is, unique. It was clearly part of the divine purpose that he should manifest himself to the disciples in a convincing manner.

Given that Jesus and his mission were unique, why should God grant the opportunity for a person to gain precious insights into the realm of eternity and then return to earthly life? The benefits are for that individual and for those who believe his testimony. Quite clearly, whatever we as Christians may believe, vast numbers of people are discounting the Gospel as being too remote and unreliable to warrant serious consideration. It remains true that many ‘will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead’, but the patience of God and his desire to save, is boundless. Awareness of the NDE could be a second chance given to mankind for believing in the eternal world and adjusting its life in this world accordingly. It certainly provides a second chance for the individual concerned. A striking feature of the whole pattern of NDE is the life-review; even those who have accepted the love of God, and now experience the profound sense of harmony resulting from this, are shown their shortcomings in terms of selfless love and the unrealized consequences of their actions for others. The review is compatible with the teaching of Matt.25:31-46, but with the deeper insight into the love, or lack of it, which drove the actions. Some, whose lives have been dominated by anger and hatred, find that their NDE results from that total rejection of Love, and recoil from the Light in loathing and despair. Howard Storm reports in his book how he was saved by a residual urge to pray for mercy and forgiveness, by the love of a person who had continued to pray for him. Overall, the NDE is one of remarkable conversion: those who experience total acceptance return with no fear of death and a profound desire to allow Love to rule their lives, while those discovering their need for mercy and forgiveness return with a burning commitment to Eternal Love and Truth.

A noticeable feature of the spiritual energy of those who have had an NDE is that they are driven by a desire to let their lives be directed, not so much by any narrow, denominational religion, but by the knowledge they have gained of the universal Love and Truth which lies behind all things. This is not to say that they find God to be impersonal, but rather that he is not really interested in theology or ritual. They have, in fact, discovered the old truth that God simply desires us to follow the way of love, mercy and humility, but discovered it in a most relevant and stimulating manner. The NDE is not, of course, restricted to Christians. Those who have been nurtured in other cultures encounter the Light in a being who is made known to them in ways they can comprehend and accept. The ‘Me’ who enfolds them in love is one whose life is dominated by the principle of accepting and transmitting divine love and walking in the light of divine truth and knowledge. This is the way of life that Christians call Jesus.

The author was formerly a teacher of English and R.E. Since retirement, he has gained an M.A. in Literature from the Open University. He preaches on two circuits in Norfolk.