Once dismissed as quackery or New Age woo, near death experiences are seeing something of a modern revival. A slew of serious scientists and doctors have begun studying the phenomenon, even constructing clinical trials to try and see what, if anything, goes on when someone is on the brink of death but is resuscitated successfully. And there is now an entire Christian industry of books and films about believers who claim to have ‘gone to heaven and come back’ after nearly dying. What are the scientific claims behind these experiences, and what do we know and not know about what happens to the brain as it begins to die? Should believers embrace near death experiences as concrete proof of the afterlife? And how does Jesus and the New Testament encourage the Christian to approach questions and fears about death?
In each episode of Matters of Life and Death, brought to you by Premier Unbelievable?, John Wyatt and his son Tim discuss issues in healthcare, ethics, technology, science, faith and more. John is a doctor, professor of ethics, and writer and speaker on many of these topics, while Tim is a religion and social affairs journalist. We talk about how Christians can better engage with a particular question of life, death or something else in between.
Once dismissed as quackery or New Age woo, near death experiences are seeing something of a modern revival. A slew of serious scientists and doctors have begun studying the phenomenon, even constructing clinical trials to try and see what, if anything, goes on when someone is on the brink of death but is resuscitated successfully. And there is now an entire Christian industry of books and films about believers who claim to have ‘gone to heaven and come back’ after nearly dying. What are the scientific claims behind these experiences, and what do we know and not know about what happens to the brain as it begins to die? Should believers embrace near death experiences as concrete proof of the afterlife? And how does Jesus and the New Testament encourage the Christian to approach questions and fears about death?
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