Near Death Experiences Books

The wild success of books about NDEs (Near Death Experiences) in the last 20 years by medical professional like Raymond Moody and those, like Betty Eadie of "Embraced by the Light" fame, who claim to have experienced them - demands careful scrutiny and contemplation. Are these experiences real? And if so, do they tell us anything about the world that awaits us after we die? Or do these experiences only tell us what it's like inside a dying brain?

"Deceived By The Light" is the response to these books, especially Eadie's, from a conservative Christian perspective. The book is less a first-hand study of the phenomena, but a survey of the popular literature, such as it is, and a comparison of the "lessons" of NDEs to the lessons of the Bible as undertood by author Groothius's particular denomination. As such, the book does a creditable job of laying out a standard Christian rejoinder to Eadie. Groothius may surpise some by demonstrating that though it features "God" and "Jesus," Eadie's afterlife is a mutant thing that contains bits and pieces of many religious systems.

The book's greatest weakness is that in spite of its opposition to Eadie's theology, it takes the phenomenon of NDE much too seriously. This is partly due to the lack of original research into the claims. Nearly all quotes are taken from one of the NDE books, and little seems to have been done to dig deeper - to interview the subjects, or at least read the original transcripts of the interviews rather than the possibly-biased reports of their supporters. Groothius should have at least tried to verify whether those who experience NDE were reported accurately.

Groothius goes out of his way to deny the reality of the sinless, blameless land of love that NDErs supposedly tell of, which frankly is at odds with the moral system of either the Old or New Testaments. But when it comes to negative NDE experiences, in which a person finds himself in a land of torments or horror, the author becomes approving. Yet if the NDE "heaven," redolent of reincarnation and non-judgmental love-love-love, is a fantasy, why not the nasty "hell" as well?

All told, the book is valuable for raising questions about the reality of the phenomenon and the NDE theology that is part gnostic (learn this and be saved!) pantheistic (we are all God!) and monistic (all is One!). If the afterlife is truly a place where judgment is nonexistent, then perhaps we can relax a little down here. If it's not, then we are so screwed! Groothius also correctly points out that while NDErs experience existence after a certain definition of death, it could be argued that they really never died.

Groothius's book is an interesting paradox, for while it shows that Eadie's experience is at odds with much of Christianity, it also shows his version of Christianity as a rather bloodthirsty system that can be seen as excluding all but a certain subset of believers from its paradise. It's easy to see how some would experience a certain revulsion at a system that dooms so many to eternal torture. If you can tolerate Groothius's Christian bias, "Deceived by the Light" will at least get you thinking beyond the happy heaven they dangle before us.

While I found this book well written and an interesting read, it is basically a waste of time. While I have tremendous respect for Doug's intelligence and appreciate his obvious passion for his subject matter, his inability to perceive a world that does not conform to his fundamentalist Christian world view, in my opinion, voids his entire argument. He neither successfully refutes the NDE experience as a physiological phenomenon of a dying brain, nor deals with the validity of the spiritual claims Mrs. Eadie makes in her "afterlife travels". He simply ascribes everything to either fantasy (the materialist objection) or as demonic deception (the fundamentalist approach) without ever really managing to merge the two contradictory perspectives.

Of course, he is writing from a purely Christian perspective, so such is to be expected. Obviously, his target audience is Christian as well, so it works when one considers the context from which he wrote it. As far as learning anything useful from either a scientific or spiritual perspective, however, it is a disappointment. It is essentially an evangelizing tool (there's an entire section on giving one's life to Christ sandwiched in between the 'science') designed for both the nominal Christian who might yet be scared into Heaven as well as the more mature Christian who feels their faith sliding down the slippery slope of doubt. To those folks, he does provide reassurance (while managing to castigate the helpless Mrs. Eadie in the process) that should sit well with the average church goer and earn him some points within the evangelical community. For the rest of us, however, I'm afraid there's not much of value.

Actually, that's not entirely true. It is, at least, a good example of the Christian mindset and how it manages to interpret reality exclusively through the 66 books of the Bible. In that respect, it is a good case study on how not to examine a subject in a dispassionate, objective manner. I will give it two stars for the writing, however.

I read with great interest Embraced by the Light, it had beed loaned to me by born again believers in Jesus Christ. I considered NDE as new age and occultic and as I had loved and embraced the beliefs of Shirley MacLaine, the book drew me in. However, I was pleasantly surprised how I was drawn toward Jesus Christ and gave my life to Him.

I read Deceived by the Light as I was looking for answers to some of my doubts about Betty's experience. The book appeared to offer some answers although I reckon they were rather extreme. I have not read any where else about Betty being a Mormon yet this book claims she is and that her experience were typically Mormon mythology.

I can't completely dismissed the book as ramblings, but rather an invitation to debate.

My friends dismissed the book as extreme, but he had a right to his opinion.

Although Doug Groothius is skeptical about the near-death experience (NDE) and it's
biblical interpretation, the author manages to keep a good balance on his views, the bible
and the NDE. His main focus is the authenticity of most NDE's and the after affects in
their lives, specifically Betty Eadie's account of her NDE in "Embraced by the Light."

Some pertinent questions are asked by the author.
1) Why did it take Betty Eadie so many years to tell her story?
One must have time to assimilate what has happened and not to react emotionally. This
is a very emotional experience as well as intellectual and spiritual. Knowledge comes at
a very fast speed, since most NDE's only last about 5 minutes. In 1974 I personally
experienced a NDE and after sharing the experience with my family and a few friends I
pretty much kept it to myself. In 2000 I put together my own personal website to share it
with others, I felt the timing was right.

2) What biblical response do the NDE's acquire? Most NDE's experience a great
love, an unconditional love that is God's love. If we respond to this love, isn't this what
Jesus has asked us to do? Most NDE's change their life's course after their experience.
Consider these bible quotations: JN 13:34 I give you a new commandment: love one
another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. JN 15:10 If you keep
my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's
commandments and remain in his love. JN 15:13 No one has greater love than this, to
lay down one's life for one's friends. JN 17:26 I made known to them your name and I
will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.

3) What about near-hell experiences? Although Betty Eadie does not go into detail
about her negative experience, she does recount the void and hopelessness that one feels
without the love of God. I personally experienced this void at the end of my NDE before
coming back into consciousness. One account of the near-hell experience comes from
Howard Storm. In his book "My Descent Into Death: A Second Chance at Life and the Message of Love which
Brought me Back". This is the story of a near-death, recovery, and transformation - of
lessons from spiritual beings about the future, the meaning of life, life after death, the
role of angels, and much more. But the Lord of Light sent him back with a message of
love. His life was so immensely changed after his near-death experience that he resigned
as a professor and devoted his time to attending the United Theological Seminary to
become a United Church of Christ Minister. JN 5:24 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever
hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to
condemnation, but has passed from death to life.


I leave you with one of my other book reviews by Carl Jung. "Memories, Dreams, Reflections". These writings come straight from Jung's own inner experience and it is
his last book before his death in 1961. I have read and re-read this work because at
different times in my life I needed to re-evaluate where I was and where I was going.
Other books by Jung are more intellectual and scientific, whereas, this autobiography has
the wisdom of a person in the later part of life and it was written not so much to teach but
to leave with us his legacy. Having myself had a NDE, I was especially
re-affirmed by Jung's own NDE and his dealings with this phenomenon.
His acceptance of his own humanity and his returning from this state to share with us his
knowledge and vision is a gift to all of us. It is not easy to return to our humanity and
deal with the sufferings we encounter but growth is the only evidence of life. We have to
come down from the mountain top and work in the valley.

This brings to mind two books
written by Hannah Hurnard called "Mountains of Spices" and "Hinds' Feet on High Places". Allegories about living our lives with others and not in solitude. Solitude is a
wonderful place but if we stay too long we become self-centered, afraid to reach out to
others. Another author who gives a good perspective on life is Henri Nouwen and his
books "Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life" and "Reaching Out".

One reviewer below stated, "When Mr. Groothius has a detailed near-death experience of his own that he can use for comparison to Betty Eadie's, then I will take him seriously."

Isn't this like saying, "If you've never experienced heroin, then you can't knock it"? Also, I wonder if that reviewer has had a NDE which he/she can use to determine if Eadie's experience is valid?

Are all subjective/existential experiences beyond evaluation? If so, then anyone could claim anything, and all others would be forced to believe.

Groothuis does a good job of cutting through this type of thinking and shows how truth-claims about NDE's can be tested, and evaluated.

I found this book to be rather slow, boring and repititious... lacking any interesting information.

This book is about the past lives of several of Edgar Cayce's friends and family members and neighbors who were interviewed by the author. Interesting and easy to read for those who want to know more about reincarnation, it also provides some historical insights into life during ancient Egypt and other periods of history.

This book was a terrible dissapointment. The author claims to have been anvisor to Pharoh, Tribal Chief and beloved leader in many of his past lives. I find his delusions of granduer in poor form. I was so disgusted with the author that I chose not to finish reading this book. The writing techinque was poor, The infromation given was scattered and hard to follow. The author must think his audience a fool who will beleive anything he writes. It is like he didn't even try to produce a quality book, just adding another title to his list. Have you ever met someone who would lie to make friends? That is the impressinn I got from Jess Stern. Don't buy this book . It is a waste of your time and money.

I found this book very informative about an intriguing subject. I was able to verify certain facts when, to my surprise, I flipped open the book and found the name of a relative. The author had done regressive hypnosis on her and she gave information about her past and present lives. I was able to recognize people and places she mentioned in her latest life, so why wouldn't information about past lives coming from the same session be correct? But just to verify---I went to Colonial Williamsburg and researched their historical records and came up with a startling confirmation. During the regressive hypnosis session the subject makes an off-hand statement about working with a servant "who was kind to me, her name was Agnes or Agatha, they called her Aggy." The will of Peyton Randolph in 1742 lists 16 house slaves, one of whom was called Great Aggy and another, probably her daughter, called Little Aggy! The book makes several "connections" to present day habits, urges, situations as related to past thoughts, actions and decisions. We would probably all be better of if we realized that we were creating our future by our thoughts and actions today!

first i apologize for using this forum. i wish to comment on Edgar Cayce, on the millennium, by Mr Stearn . i was unable to find the proper outlet for this book. i was disapointed in the content of the book. it failed to provide any real insight into the millennium. the ideas in this book could be summed up in very few words. Mr. Stearn feels that there will be no catastrophic events to mark the millennium, just a series of unidentified events, with no specifics given to back up exactly what or when any event will take place. this was pourly refferenced. please take the time to read and display examples of mr. Cayce's readings that pertain to this title. i expected to have the prophets words on the subject not Mr. Stearns personal views. the name EDGAR CAYCE should not be in the title of this book. i own and have read many of the books extrapolated from the readings of Mr. Cayce including, The Sleeping Profit, and this book should not be included in the series !

Overpriced, get the feeling author is trying to make money from this experience, not good.

The book goes into little detail about the practice, theory, or results of past life therapy. The 28 'case histories' promised are nothing of the sort - just dialogues from the various seminars Sutphen has given.

The most irritating part is that some portions of the book really are intriguing - just enough to make you suspect that Sutphen really could write an exciting and valuable book on the subject. He's written many others I've never read, so perhaps he has. It isn't this one.

This book is so full of fluff and nonsense it makes you wonder if the author doesn't just pump this stuff out by the bucket load in order to make a dollar. She's "spiritual", which is short for saying that she hasn't got a clue theologically from a Biblical perspective.

Another one of Parabhupada's propaganda pamphlets, this book gives the story of Ajaamila's "near-death experience" as reported in the Srimad Bhagavatam, one of the Puraanas. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust tries to pass this off as a record of a genuine NDE, but nothing in Ajaamila's experience corresponds to anything whatsoever in any record of any known NDE report. Ajaamila near death, calls upon his son (named Narayana, after god) and thus when the Yamadutas (demons) come to drag him a way to hell, Krishna, through his kindness, send his servants to stop the demons from carting him away to the infernal regions. Even though Ajjamila had lived a sinful life, he is saved by the chanting of god's name, even though he was not referring to god, but his son. According to Prabhupada, if one remembers Krishna at death, even if one does not remember him in anything other than hatred or indifference, one attains liberation through Krishna's grace. Prabhupada, as usual, shows himself to be a representative of all that is worst in Hinduism, defending the caste system and malighning any sort of sexual activity (even in marriage) other than for procreation. All mahavadis (the Brahmanical "imperesonalists") he uses as his whipping boys, stating that they merely corrupted the teachings of the Gita and Upanishads (which -- of course -- only Prabhupada is qualified to interpret, as he is free from any taint of personal opinion!). He refers to the attributeless nirvana of Brahman which the Upanishads hold as the ultimate reality as merely the effulgence of the Supreme Personality of Krishna, which will ultimately lead one to rebirth. And he maligns the asthanga yoga of Patanjali in favour of mindless chanting of the maha-matra in the tradition of Caitanya (whom he condsiders to be an incarnation of Krishna). One cannot read any spiritual text wothout the aid of a "self-realised" guru (i.e. Prabhupapda himself) whom one must submit to completely and obey without question. For a guy who has supposedly conquered his ego, Parabhupada is as arrogant as one can get. You are either his disciple or you are a fool and a rascal (his words, not mine). He is as dualistic as one can get and still remain a Hindoo. As an example of Hindu fanaticism and superstition, this book is excellent -- as a genuine religious text of any depth whatsoever, it is useless. Look elsewhere unless you are a blind follower without a mind.