Hieronymus Bosch (d. 1516), \u201cAscent of the Blest\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I share with you here some additional passages that I recently marked while reading John Burke,\u00a0Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God\u2019s Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You<\/em>\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015).<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first three concern the so-called \u201cbeing of light,\u201d famliar to anybody who has read much about near-death experiences:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I went through this dark, black vacuum at super speed. \u00a0You could compare it to a tunnel. . . . \u00a0I saw a bright light, and on my way there I heard beautiful music and I saw colors I\u2019d never seen before. \u00a0[The light] was of a kind that I\u2019d never seen before and that differs from any other kind such as sunlight. \u00a0It was white and extremely bright, and yet you could easily look at it. \u00a0It\u2019s the pinnacle of everything there is. \u00a0Of energy, of love especially, of warmth, of beauty, I was immersed in a feeling of total love. . . .<\/span><\/p>\nFrom the moment the light spoke to me, I felt really good \u2014 secure and loved. \u00a0The love which came from it is just unimaginable, indescribable. \u00a0It was a fun person to be with! \u00a0And it had a sense of humor, too \u2014 definitely! \u00a0I never wanted to leave the presense of this being. \u00a0(Steve Miller, cited at 149-150)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
It knew me deeply and overflowed with qualities that all my life I\u2019ve always associated with human beings, and human beings alone: warmth, compassion, pathos . . . even irony and humor. \u00a0(Dr. Eben Alexander, cited at 151)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Raymond] Moody points out that, of those who saw this light, \u201cnot one person has expressed any doubt whatsoever that it was a being, a being of light. \u00a0Not only that, it is a personal being. \u00a0It has a very definite personality. \u00a0The love and the warmth which emanate from this being to the dying person are utterly beyond words, and he feels completely surrounded by it and taken up in it, completely at ease and accepted in the presence of this being.\u201d \u00a0(149)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then the famous \u201clife review\u201d:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
My whole life so far appeared to be placed before me in a kind of panoramic, three-dimensional review, and each event seemed to be accompanied by an awareness of good and evil or by an insight into its cause and effect. \u00a0Throughout, I not only saw everything from my own point of view, but also I knew the thoughts of everybody who\u2019d been involved in these events. . . . \u00a0And throughout, the review stressed the importance of love. \u00a0(Steve Miller, cited at 150)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 I share with you here some additional passages that I recently marked while reading John Burke,\u00a0Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God\u2019s Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You\u00a0(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015). \u00a0 The first three concern the so-called \u201cbeing of light,\u201d famliar to anybody who has read much about near-death experiences: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Bosch's](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/09\/Hieronymus_Bosch_013.jpg\")
<\/a>