ADE / NDE (After / Near Death Experiences)

By Richie Cooley

This booklet explores the questionable NDE phenomenon from a fundamental Christian outlook.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richie Cooley
• Release date: Mar 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005043124

Richie Cooley

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ADE / NDE (After / Near Death Experiences)

by Richie Cooley

Licensed by:

Richie Cooley (2022)

Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International

Table of Contents

I. Searching for a Compass

II. Greyson’s Anatomy

III. If the Light is Darkness

Citations

Works by Me

Before getting started, let’s review a few notes…

*New Testament Scripture is taken from the English Majority Text Version. Translated by Paul Esposito. Copyright © 2011.

*British spelling is often used, except for the quoted material, which normally employs U.S. spelling.

*Divine pronouns are normally not capitalized, unless they appear that way in Bible versions or other quotes.

*As a general rule, words that appear in brackets within quotes are not found in the original texts, and were added by the translators or are my personal comments, etc.

* * *

I. Searching for a Compass

Several popular books have appeared in Christian bookstores over the past few years, purporting to be conservative believers who have taken trips to heaven and—upon returning—wanted to share their findings with the world (for a small fee). This has gone very mainstream. Some of the biggest Christian publishers have gotten in on the act; for example, Thomas Nelson Publishers is charging a very high price for a very tiny book about a 4-year-old’s heavenly experience (Heaven Is For Real). This story has even been made into a film!

What are Christians to make of the NDE/ADE craze?

Well, for starters, let’s turn to the Bible. Isn’t it clear in the Scriptures how a believer should treat any amazing, heavenly event they think might have happened to them? Paul stated…

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows), such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows), that he was caught up into Paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not permitted for a man to utter. -- 2 Corinthians 12:2-4

Paul had a heavenly encounter and two things were made abundantly clear to the Corinthian believers. First, he wasn’t sure if it was real or not. He didn’t claim to understand all the great and mysterious things about the metaphysical. He didn’t passionately assert, "Believe me, because I just know!" while tears dripped upon his parchment. He didn’t know for sure, and he knew he never would.

Second, he didn’t feel like he should glibly speak about what he heard. It didn’t seem to him that the things he encountered during this vision/trip to heaven were manifestly intended to relate to others. He obviously didn’t care how impressive—or even quasi-comforting—such descriptions of the heavenly were. Just like a hand-written love letter, some things are obviously meant to remain private.

So an apostle (and dare I say the chief apostle) was too cautious and concerned about reverence to utter ethereal speculations, yet Thomas Nelson thinks it’s perfectly reasonable to cast the greatest of such spotlights on the foggy recollections of a 4-year-old? Um…right.

This booklet however