The NDE commonly includes reports of meetings with "heavenly" beings. A person who previously paid little attention to religion may describe having met and conversed with angels or even with Christ Himself. Such encounters may include a meeting with the aforementioned "being of light," which allegedly expresses great love for the person and communicates a non-judgmental attitude toward him. The NDE also may involve a visit to "heaven" or some other non-Earthly realm, as well as meetings with deceased relatives. In many instances, the individual reports having been told that he or she was not yet scheduled to die and therefore would have to return to the body.
The NDE is not merely the interest of a few occultists and medical researchers. A large portion of the American population is thought to have had, or at least reported, such an experience. A poll in 1982 indicated that perhaps eight million Americans claimed to have undergone the NDE.
Apparently, no two NDEs are exactly alike. A wide range of perceptions is reported. Some NDEs are simple and straightforward; others are complex, mysterious events and difficult to interpret. The hypothetical NDE described in the following paragraphs is a composite of many different NDE elements and is intended to represent the kind of NDE in which one encounters the aforementioned "being of light."
A man is seriously injured in an automobile accident. As he lies near death, he perceives his consciousness leaving his body somehow. Then he finds his soul (which he may call his "spiritual body") hovering several feet above the ground, looking down at his injured body and the paramedics who have come to take him to the hospital. This "out-of-body" condition puzzles him. It also frustrates him, because he is unable to call attention to himself. Even though he can see and hear everything that is going on around him, he cannot make himself heard or seen. When he tries to touch a paramedic on the shoulder, his non-corporeal "hand" passes through the person's body unimpeded. This new body of his has remarkable properties; besides being able to pass through solid objects without resistance, it can travel great distances very rapidly, with little or no effort. As soon as he thinks of a destination—his family's home, for example—he arrives there.
Soon, he finds himself moving upward, away from the Earth. He enters what he describes later as a "tunnel." This is a long, dark corridor with an intense light visible at the end. The light turns out to be a brilliantly luminous entity that greets him in a friendly manner and expresses great love for him. In NDE reports, this being is commonly called the "being of light." The man presumes the being is God, or Christ, or an angel, although the entity does not identify itself. The man feels tremendous joy in this being's presence.
The meeting with the "being of light" includes a "life review," in which the man witnesses a high-speed replay of his entire life. He sees all his interactions—happy and unhappy, generous and selfish—with other people, and experiences again the emotions he felt during each event. He also perceives the feelings that other people had in response to his words and deeds. The "being of light" expresses no disapproval of any of the man's actions on Earth, no matter how malicious and selfish they may have been. Instead, the luminous entity describes them merely as learning experiences.
The man also sees what appear to be visions of the future. He witnesses incidents to come in his own life, such as marriage and the birth of children, as well as future events in world history, including wars, election results, and international conferences.
At one point, the being of light asks the man what he has done with his life. The man tries to justify his life but finds his defense inadequate. Far from being angry or judgmental, the being of light responds with understanding and even amusement to the man's records of sins. Then the man is told to return to his body and to show more love toward others. Although reluctant to leave, he returns rapidly to his body and awakens in the flesh soon afterward, in a hospital.
The NDE changes his life profoundly. He is not certain what the "being of light" meant by showing more love toward others, but he tries to be more affectionate and caring toward other people. This change of heart, however, does not make him significantly more aware of his own flaws and sinfulness. On the contrary, his sense of sin, as sin traditionally is defined, may depart completely after the NDE. He simply tries to be a "good person," avoids doing deliberate harm to others, and looks forward to the day when he dies and supposedly will meet the being of light again.
He may become an evangelist of sorts for the NDE and spend large sums of his own money publicizing his meeting with the "non-judgmental" being of light. In books and lectures, he may identify that entity explicitly as "God" or "Christ," despite the fact that the mysterious being never identified itself. His conviction that he met "God" is reinforced when some of his visions of the future, received during the NDE, come true.
Also, he may mount sharp attacks on Biblical and Patristic teaching, charging (for example) that the Patristic writings are untrustworthy because the Holy Fathers had no knowledge of modern psychology and "spirituality." When quoting Scripture, he is likely to cite verses out of context, or even rewrite them, to support his personal interpretation of his NDE.
Hallucinations, hoaxes and oxygen
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