This article/letter is written in response to Dr. Bruce Greyson’s book After that documents a good number of NDEs. He is a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia. As a physician without a religious belief system, he approached near-death experiences from a scientific perspective. The man is very well educated but sadly lacking in knowledge of Holy Writ.
Dear Dr. Greyson,
This letter is in response to your book After.
I enjoyed reading your new book After and appreciate all the hard work you did in compiling all the near-death experiences.
I have been studying my favorite subject for over forty years – the truths of the Bible, and although I am not a spiritual leader, I feel I have something to offer to your analysis of (NDE’s) Near-Death Experiences.
The Bible (our only written record of God’s purpose and commands for humanity) says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Afterward, God our Creator said, “Let us make man in our image and in our likeness.”
From Gotquestions.org: Here in Genesis 1:26, the ‘Us’ and ‘Our’ indicate God the Father speaking in the fullness of His divine creative power to the Son and the Holy Spirit. A similar conversation among the Godhead is seen in Genesis 3:22: “And the LORD God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.'”
First, I would say that we are all spiritual beings and that our fleshly bodies could be likened to space suits, making it possible to function and even reproduce. According to the Bible, we beings are made in the image of God. And so it is that we share certain attributes with our creator, with the capacity to think, decide, love, hate, create and destroy.
Secondly, now that we have been created, we – like God – are eternal beings and live forever, according to scripture. Where we spend eternity is completely up to us – it’s our choice: heaven for those who receive Christ, and Hell for those who reject so great a salvation. The Bible says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).
From what I read in your book, I had no trouble correlating the NDEs with what the Bible says will happen after death. Furthermore, I have no trouble believing that a supernatural Entity created all we can see, taste, and hear – including every drop of water (H2O), which is hard to comprehend by mortal humans, not to mention gravity that holds us to the earth’s surface and keeps the earth spinning in open space.
Not being a scientist, I can’t explain this, nor do I want to try, because in so doing, I might open other doors of inquisition, such as why do we even exist? Why dogs (man’s best friend)? Why are there two sexes in the human race to recreate the species, and in so doing, experience the ecstasy of that union? It took a real genius to pull that one off.
As we read and study the Bible, we can find the answers to these and other mysteries in life. The Bible tells us all we need to know to live a content, rewarding, or even happy life. The rest can be explained as the fall of mankind in the garden of Eden.
Some of us leave our earthly lives early, but what could be better than to be free from physical or emotional pain as many of your patients testify after having been revived? They didn’t want to come back to the trials and tribulations that the Bible says we will go through in this life. “In this life you will go through trials and tribulations but rejoice, for I have overcome the world” – Jesus. What that means is “As many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God.” Following Jesus, we can also overcome the world at death and go to a better place. Is anything too hard for God?
There are those of us who live a life of faith believing that the Holy Scriptures are true. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Free from what, you ask? Free from uncertainty, free from want, freedom from fear of death, and all we have to do is ask. “Ask and you shall receive.”
Let us suppose you were God and you dearly loved your creation, but you were so awesome that if you appeared to them, your visage would literally scare them to death. Jesus came in the flesh and accomplished that feat in a benevolent and compassionate way, and even bore our sins on the cross to bridge the gap that existed between our benevolent Creator and us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
The Bible says, “The just shall live by faith.” “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” And it also says, “For you are saved by faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God lest any man should boast.” Isn’t this God that atheists deny smart? He knows us better than we know ourselves.
There is no pride in being an atheist or even an agnostic. The Bible says, “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God,” and we should consider the options – “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved” or reject this salvation that God so freely offers. The choice is yours. The answers you seek are right there in the Bible.
In closing, I would highly recommend the New King James Bible.
Sincerely,
Jim Towers Jr.
P.S. You would be doing yourself a big favor in studying the Bible for yourself and ultimately for the freedom, salvation, and many other benefits it offers.
YBIC
Jim Towers
Write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com or visit me at www.dropzonedelta.com or at www.propheticsignsandwonders.com