The BS of "testimonials"

[Anomalocaris]

A multiple occurrence of bullshit is a bigger body of bullshit. A body of data must contain actual data.

---

A singular instance is an anecdote. Multiple occurrences make a body of data. No one who has had an NDE has remained an atheist.

Really?



So you think you have identified every last one, tracked each down, and asked?



what an overreachingly idiotic buffoon you are.

[FatAndFaithless]

Multiple occurrences make a body of data. No one who has had an NDE has remained an atheist.

That first one is just plain wrong, and the second statement requires some evidence.

[rexbeccarox]

A singular instance is an anecdote. Multiple occurrences make a body of data. No one who has had an NDE has remained an atheist.

Hahaha! What? Sources, I'm begging you. I can't wait to see this.

[Minimalist]

Have you ever studied Swedenborg?

It's the same stupid shit as everything else.

Key elements of Swedenborgian belief include:

God is infinitely loving and at the center of every life.
Truth is love in action. Actions performed out of love are genuine expressions in a physical form of what love means.
There is one God whose essence is Divine Love and Wisdom. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all aspects of God just as body, mind, and soul are all aspects of one person.
The Bible is the inspired Word of God that provides inspiration and help to lead better and more fulfilling lives. The literal sense of Scripture tells the story of the people of God, and contains a deeper meaning that illumines the journey of the human soul.
People are essentially spirits clothed with material bodies. At death, the material body is laid aside and the person continues to live on in the world of spirit choosing a heavenly life or a hellish one, based on the quality of life choices made here.
God gives everyone the freedom to choose their beliefs and live their lives accordingly. Salvation is available for people of all religions.
The Second Coming has taken place—and in fact still is taking place. It is not an actual physical appearance of the Lord, but rather his return in spirit and truth that is being effected as a present reality.
God is infinitely loving and at the center of every life.

[JesusHChrist]

A singular instance is an anecdote. Multiple occurrences make a body of data. No one who has had an NDE has remained an atheist.

Here's one:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/naturalwond...xperience/

That took all of what? A couple of clicks in google? Yeah, it did.

[Minimalist]

No one who has had an NDE has remained an atheist.

And another article of faith tumbles into the shitter. Good work, Jesus.

[Anomalocaris]

No one who has had an NDE has remained an atheist.

And another article of faith tumbles into the shitter. Good work, Jesus.

Some idiots can blame Jesus because they would be too dumb to be that idiotic without help. With wooters there is a good chance the idiocy of wooters is mostly his own.

[JesusHChrist]

Have you ever studied Swedenborg?

I am rather fond of his recipe for meatballs.

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Meanwhile, in the real world, actual scientists have done real work in determining what causes NDEs:

But Swiss researchers found such experiences could be artificially induced by stimulating the right temporoparietal junction in the brain that plays a role in perception and awareness.

The "tunnel of light" sensation reported by those who believe they are having a near-death experience can also be artificially induced.

Pilots flying at G-force can sometimes experience "hypertensive syncope" which causes tunnel-like peripheral or even central visual loss for up to eight seconds.

And a US study suggested the light at the end of the tunnel can be explained by poor blood and oxygen supply to the eye.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-15494379

Once again, whenever it seems godditit, goddidnotdoit.

But none of this will have any impact on the devotee of all manner of woo. Woo is like heroin and the addicts can't seem to get enough of it.

[Jenny A]

There's a whole thread on Reddit:

Any Atheist Here Who Have Had a Near Death Experice\]

Some highlights:

I was a christian at the time and for a while tried to equate the tunnel vision at the end with possibly heaven but I was always only a christian in name, not really belief. . . . I decided that added shock from getting moved by the corpsman was a much more plausible reason for the tunnel vision.

. . . I can certainly understand why people who are deep believers in a deity can claim to have seen their deity when they are about to die. The brain is absolutely amazing, even when it's dealing with massive shock.

I've 'died' twice . . .
Both times I was blasted outward to space and inward to quantum at the same time. It felt like I was being shown the mysteries of the cosmos. However, I wouldn't attribute this to anything supernatural but it was a very enlightening perspective on how the brain operates and sparked a lifelong fascination with scientific exploration.

[JesusHChrist]

But wait! All is not lost for Hell-bound JHC!

He has had an NDE (between the last post and this one. Prove I didn't.) and the FSM did show him the wonders of pastafarian heaven. I was led down a long corridor by a pirate and I silently thought to myself (Pastafarianism is true!).

I walked down that corridor toward a bright light; eventually leading into what looked like a restaurant near Columbus Street in the North Beach area of San Francisco. As I walked toward the light, I caught whiffs of garlic, tomato and basil. I walked past stacks and stacks of cans of Cento San Marzano Italian Plum Tomatoes, case upon case of wines from Napa, Sonoma, and Eastern Washington. Even France was represented. Those bastards!

Odd, I thought....doesn't heaven have a beer volcano? I looked outside a window into the bright (Italian) sun and did see a very large volcano, spouting out a beautiful red liquid. Hot stripper chicks were out there in the sun, wearing little more than a smile, gathering the wine for subsequent bottling. With a twitch of their nose, the wine would turn into whatever was needed: Opus One? Twitch. Chateau Lafitte Rothschild? Domain Romanee? Twitch and twitch. They worked tireless and every once in a while, a pirate would put a couple $$ in their g-strings.

I entered the main dining area and was immediately attended to, by a bevy of those hot stripper chicks. Now, a gentleman doesn't, um "kiss" and tell, but suffice to say a meal in Pastafarian Heaven leaves little to be desired.

Later, the FSM made an appearance and explained Heaven has a wine, not a beer volcano as many adherents have been told. False teachings are punishable by boiling!

Then, suddenly, I felt the Earth pulling me back. No! NOOOOOOO!! I don't want to go back to my life of pasta eating, wine drinkin' and daily sex!

Oh. Wait..

Nevermind.

Now, you may not believe in Pastafarianism, but what have you got to lose? If I'm right, you win! If I'm wrong, you've lost nothing.