RE: Near-Death Experiences (NDEs), Souls, and Atheism
November 21, 2011 at 2:10 am
(This post was last modified: November 21, 2011 at 2:17 am by Willpower.)
Re: Shell B
Re: Define "Long"
--Length can be ascertained by the length of their account of their experience, and the level of detail of their account. Otherwise, NDE experiencers can tell you how long it subjectively felt. It is a subjective experience so I don't know how I would be able to objectively tell you how long each experience is. At the best, the research can make account for how long the person was physiologically dead.
RE: "How much brain activity do you think the EEG actually reads?"
--It's not just the EEG that indicates the person has no brain activity; it the cumulative of circumstances that an individual undergoes during a cardiac arrest, that makes a person lose brain function--as described in the quote I provided you. Feel free to look up and review that research if you believe it to be faulty.
RE: "How do we know that the experience did not occur during the inevitable unconscious time that preceded or followed the momentary loss of readable brain activity?"
--From the moment that a person undergoes a cardiac arrest (which catches individuals off-guard), their blood circulation rapidly drops, and their brain function/activity approaches zero. At best, there would be the opportunity for distorted perception as everything speeds to a halt--but this would be far from creating such a vivid, real, and memorable experience.
It is intriguing that these spontaneous "hallucinations" have many similarities.
People experiencing NDEs often experience:
~A sense of peace, well-being and painlessness. Positive emotions. A feeling of being removed from the world
~An intense feeling of unconditional love (in positive NDEs).
~Being given a life review (look up "life review" if you don't know what that is).
~Being given a decision by oneself or others to return to one's body, often accompanied by a reluctance to return (in positive NDEs).
I believe that it would be a wild assertion to state that a person with rapidly-depleting brain function would be able to muster, and furthermore vividly remember, such a strong and often life-changing "hallucination"--a "hallucination" that coincidentally happens to be very similar to that of thousands of other people who also have had near-death experiences.
Re: Define "Long"
--Length can be ascertained by the length of their account of their experience, and the level of detail of their account. Otherwise, NDE experiencers can tell you how long it subjectively felt. It is a subjective experience so I don't know how I would be able to objectively tell you how long each experience is. At the best, the research can make account for how long the person was physiologically dead.
RE: "How much brain activity do you think the EEG actually reads?"
--It's not just the EEG that indicates the person has no brain activity; it the cumulative of circumstances that an individual undergoes during a cardiac arrest, that makes a person lose brain function--as described in the quote I provided you. Feel free to look up and review that research if you believe it to be faulty.
RE: "How do we know that the experience did not occur during the inevitable unconscious time that preceded or followed the momentary loss of readable brain activity?"
--From the moment that a person undergoes a cardiac arrest (which catches individuals off-guard), their blood circulation rapidly drops, and their brain function/activity approaches zero. At best, there would be the opportunity for distorted perception as everything speeds to a halt--but this would be far from creating such a vivid, real, and memorable experience.
It is intriguing that these spontaneous "hallucinations" have many similarities.
People experiencing NDEs often experience:
~A sense of peace, well-being and painlessness. Positive emotions. A feeling of being removed from the world
~An intense feeling of unconditional love (in positive NDEs).
~Being given a life review (look up "life review" if you don't know what that is).
~Being given a decision by oneself or others to return to one's body, often accompanied by a reluctance to return (in positive NDEs).
I believe that it would be a wild assertion to state that a person with rapidly-depleting brain function would be able to muster, and furthermore vividly remember, such a strong and often life-changing "hallucination"--a "hallucination" that coincidentally happens to be very similar to that of thousands of other people who also have had near-death experiences.
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15)
The "Test of Life" is not whether you can blindly "worship and praise God”. The test in life is whether or not you can live your life according to virtue, and live a life that reverberates waves of positive energy, building people up, as Jesus His son perfectly exemplified. We can choose lives of virtue as is God's will, or to choose lives of selfishness, arrogance, and other vices which have led to the plague of humanity we have found on earth. If people choose vice, that is their choice. Do not judge them (1 Corinthians 5:12 ). But He sent Jesus as a prime example of virtue so that we could see the light and choose it, instead of poisoning the earth with lives of darkness. Many, including even "Christians," have failed in this regard. But Christianity is supposed to be the message of love, hope, faith, unity, and virtue, that creates heaven on Earth.
The "Test of Life" is not whether you can blindly "worship and praise God”. The test in life is whether or not you can live your life according to virtue, and live a life that reverberates waves of positive energy, building people up, as Jesus His son perfectly exemplified. We can choose lives of virtue as is God's will, or to choose lives of selfishness, arrogance, and other vices which have led to the plague of humanity we have found on earth. If people choose vice, that is their choice. Do not judge them (1 Corinthians 5:12 ). But He sent Jesus as a prime example of virtue so that we could see the light and choose it, instead of poisoning the earth with lives of darkness. Many, including even "Christians," have failed in this regard. But Christianity is supposed to be the message of love, hope, faith, unity, and virtue, that creates heaven on Earth.
