Atheism the unscientific belief (part one, two, and three)

[Angrboda]

There can be little doubt, however, that the OBE component of the NDE still provides the best opportunity to seriously challenge conventional views of the relationship between consciousness and the brain. Although somewhat unconventional (to say the least), attempts to test the veridicality of OBEs using hidden targets (e.g., Parnia et al., 2001) should be welcomed. Should any such test ever produces convincing evidence that the OBE truly allows one to view the world without using the known visual channels, this would indeed be a major challenge to conventional science. To date, no such evidence has been forthcoming.

"Near-death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors" ~ Christopher C. French

[Homeless Nutter]

didnt know you could dream without any brain function which was verified by all 3 machines

So - you've have NEVER had a dream, that seemed to last for hours, or even days, but upon awakening it turned out you only slept for a few minutes?

It only takes the brain seconds (maybe less) to crate illusory realities and when you are unconscious - you have no way of knowing what time it is in the real world. 

And then - of course - there's no way of verifying, what the person actually experienced, how much of the details have been suggested to them afterwards, if they are just making the whole thing up, or confusing a memory of a TV show with their own experience (because near-death experience scene, with the tunnel and the light and the soothing sounds/voice has been used  in - like - every TV show, ever), and so on, and so forth.

Dreams are just dreams. Near-death experiences are dreams, interpreted in the most biased and unreliable way possible.

[robvalue]

Jenny is clearly using a different definition of "brain dead" to the rest of us. (I'm being serious, that wasn't sarcasm.)

What happens in the brain is not always a reliable source of information about reality. That's why science demands independent verification and not just testimony.

As homeless says, I've had dreams that seemed to go on for hours, days even, but took place in about a minute of real time. And those dreams were a load of horse shit that I have no reason to think have any relevance. When the brain is fucked up and on the verge of shutting down, it's going to produce even more garbage than normal and should be treated with further suspicion. The brain is not good at accurately assessing itself during and after such events. It's certainly interesting to see how the brain reacts, but adding significance to the dreams is the argument from ignorance until any evidence is presented.

[SofaKingHigh]

 didnt think you could dream without any brain function verified by all 3 machines

She could have had those visions after the anesthesia kicked in but before her brain totally turned off. How would she know the difference if that were the case? There's no reason to believe she should be able to account for the time that her brain was shut down, and for all we know she dreamed all that stuff either before her brain activity stopped or after it turned back on.

AH, but you didnt take to account that the mantra of living takes all over precedence of locally defined anasthesia.  You didnt think of that did you? 
The difference would the living in the life and spirituality in death.....you didn't take the brain out and use it did you?  
your assume life in the brain, but the brain need life, not life need brain?  
You leave the house, but leave your mind at door, when will you open your brain?

[robvalue]

I suppose in theory you could have a machine which detects exactly when your brain creates these images, and what they are. The person's own idea of when they were created will almost certainly be very different.

But it doesn't matter. It's still the brain producing images. So what? What is it supposed to prove? Brains can basically provide you with any image you can imagine; it's just you can't easily make it do what you want.

[Little Rik]

anyways we wont know for sure until we die ourselves but there many indications that there is life after death these experiences have a lot in common and they upset religious people because its not what they are preaching so therefore i support it

Not only upset religious people.
They also upset atheists for the same reason.
Atheists most of the times if not always sing the same mantras like .....there is no life after physical death......or the consciousness is a product of the brain and so on and at the same time praise the physical science as the panacea for all problems but when this science contradict them then they reckon that doctors are a bunch of idiots not able to understand whether the bloke is alive or dead.
Nothing new Jenny.  

[Edwardo Piet]

There is a complete lack of evidence for life after death, and it doesn't fit in with common sense considering there is also a lack of evidence for all other supernatural and paranormal superstitious B.S..

I'm not expecting to find any evidence for life after death anytime soon... treating it as anything special to look for is merely wishful thinking of wanting life to live on past our deaths, I reckon.

I am open to evidence, but I'd be totally surprised, and I might as well go looking in the forests for the invisible pink unicorn.

[houseofcantor]

If by "upsetting to atheists" you mean "complete bullshit," then we agree. 

There's no credible evidence to suggest NDEs are anything more than chemicals in the brain. I find it continually amusing that believers accuse us of "not having an open mind" while their minds are firmly shut to any information that seemingly contradicts their pet theories.

[Edwardo Piet]

I just had a near death experience... honest.

Praise Jebus. I'm convinced that that supernatural walking-on(shallow)-water twat was nailed to a cross and came back from the dead because my heart just stopped for 2 seconds and I consider that a NDE... also I saw visions of angels and shit (yes they had 6 pairs of breasts but that is irrelevant). It's totally not a non-sequitur! No it it's not! Fuck OFF!

(For anyone seriously worried... my heart is fine I lied and I don't have heart problems ).

[houseofcantor]

I'm convinced. It was the six pairs of breasts.