Near-Death Experiences as Evidence for the Existence of God and Heaven: A Brief Introduction in Plain Language by J. Steve Miller Page B

while
looking at the extreme brightness? 
     
    If
such consistent elements were due to people’s expectations, those reporting
NDEs should typically report that they experienced precisely what they were
expecting. But they don’t. Who would possibly be expecting such odd things,
unless they’ve studied NDE literature and believed the reports?
     
    Yet
among Van Lommel’s subjects, 43 percent hadn’t even heard of NDEs, much
less believed in them. (23) Those who are aware of NDEs, believe in their
reality, and expect one to occur would seem to comprise an extremely small
percentage of the population, especially in a land like Holland, where more
than half of the population “is relatively confident that death is the end of
everything.” (24) Thus, the average Dutch patient would have the
expectation of seeing absolutely nothing after death.
     
    And
remember, NDEs weren’t widely reported prior to Moody’s study, so that it’s
very unlikely that any of his subjects had heard of NDEs. Moody actually coined
the phrase, “near-death experience.”
     
    Moody
(later confirmed by other researchers) noted 15 specific, common elements that
people reported with remarkable consistency. (The 11 elements I mention below
actually take place during the NDE.) As I reflect upon the list, I find
that all of these elements have qualities that differ significantly from what
I’m expecting when I die. I’d suggest that I’m fairly typical of mainstream
religious Americans here, representative of many of those studied by Moody.
     
    Again,
please note that my expectations, as well as almost anyone who comes near death,
would be of a final death rather than a near-death experience.
Surely nobody comes to the brink of death thinking, “I’m about to die and come
back to life!” 
     
    So
here are the common elements of an NDE as observed by Moody, contrasted with my
differing expectations.
     
    ·          Ineffability - Before studying NDEs, I
assumed that if I had such an experience, I could pretty easily describe it to
others.  
    ·          Hearing a doctor or someone saying I am dead - I
don’t expect to hear this.
    ·          Feelings of peace and quiet - After
death and before some sort of judgment, I’d expect some combination of incredible
excitement and a severe case of the jitters, certainly not the complete state
of peace reported in NDEs.  
    ·          Hearing a noise - A buzz or ringing. No
expectation of this.
    ·          The dark tunnel - Heard of it, but not expecting
it.
    ·          Out of the body - Yes, I expect to be out of
my earthly body, but not in my hospital room, near those who are still living,
looking down at my body from the ceiling. 
    ·          Meeting others - Yes, I expect to meet
people who’ve died before me, but after some kind of meeting with God. I have
no expectation of communicating with beings directly from mind to mind. I
picture speaking and hearing in English, since that’s my native language.  
    ·          The being of light - I expect to meet
God, but picture Him as having bodily features (face, arms, hands) rather than
just light.
    ·          The life review - I expect some sort of
reward for deeds done while on earth, but not the type of life review that
people are reporting – with no sense of time, almost reliving it rather than
just watching in a detached way, experiencing all the feelings of those I
impacted when I see myself doing things. I also expect this to come after a word from God about Jesus’ atonement. (Were my sins truly forgiven?) 
    ·          A border or limit - I don’t expect to
come to a place where I feel that if I go beyond, I’ll have to stay.
    ·          Coming back - I don’t expect to return to
my body after I die. I’m expecting a final exam, not a midterm.
     
    So
when people say, “An NDE is no more than a vivid dream caused by