The topic about the afterlife has been very controversial and discussed throughout history, exposing different positions of religions, scientists, defenders and detractors of this idea, which have been reflected in innumerable books and research, even in the Bible mention is made of what happens to us after dying, and according to religion it has been interpreted in different ways.
In this sense, there are books dedicated exclusively to narrating the testimonies of many people who have died clinically and come back to life when they have generally undergone surgical interventions having been witnessed by doctors and nurses who have resuscitated them and who, after a prudential time and when they have already been conscious, they have narrated and described their experience in those moments when they were dead, being observed a great similarity in the testimonies of these people, so many believe that there is life after death.
As a general rule, people who have lived this type of experience describe that they have observed their inert body in the operating room, but they are alive in another dimension and act as mere spectators of what happens in this room.
On the other hand, these kinds of experiences that suggest that there is life after death lead people through tunnels or roads of great light, where they also find spiritual beings that guide them and show them the way, also meeting loved ones who have died.
The number of near-death experiences has increased significantly, and they are more frequent each time which, according to medical specialists, is due to the fact that there is currently a higher percentage of people who survive due to technological advancement of medicine and resuscitation techniques; so many scientists deny the possibility of life after death.
However, many investigations have been carried out worldwide aimed at inquiring about near-death experiences, evidencing that the stories of resuscitated patients have a high level of similarity in all countries, regardless of the predominant culture or religion.
One of the medical specialists in the field is Raymond Moody, who has more of thirty years dedicated to the study of the subject of life after death to the point that he wrote a book entitled “Life after life”, which impacted the world 3 decades ago as it summed up many testimonies about the so-called “near death experiences” or ECM of people who were clinically dead, returned and make narratives that match in most cases.
Motivated by such experiences and according to Scientific American (2003), Canadian neurologist Michael Persinger of the University of Ontario has dedicated himself to induce the same perception of unfolding in living subjects through the application of a magnetic field in the temporal lobe of the brain, concluding that individuals experienced the same sensations as those who had died clinically.
On the other hand, Van Lommel conducted a study which was aimed at establishing the cause of the NDEs and assessing the factors that come into play, for which he observed about 344 heart patients from ten hospitals in The Netherlands who had been successfully resuscitated.
Van Lommel took into account the demographic, medical, pharmacological and psychological data of this group of 344 patients, of whom there was clinical evidence that they had been dead. Thus, the study showed that 12% of the patients studied said they had experienced a deep NDE, narrating how they left their bodies, walked through a tunnel of light, saw relatives who had died, felt a great peace and that they were even presented with a review of their own lives like in a kind of movie, which evidenced for them that there is life after death.
But, if we analyse the issue from a religious perspective and look for some explanations in the Bible, it is often observed that death is compared to a deep sleep; for example, in Psalm 13: 3 and John 11: 11-14 it is expressed that “who sleeps deeply does not know what is going on around him”, and adds that “the dead have no awareness of anything.” However, according to Job 14: 13-15, God can wake them up and raise them to life, what could be understood that if there is life after death; therefore, according to these writings, God can resurrect us and make us return to life.
But, there are detractors of these beliefs who strongly deny that there can be life after death, as in the case of materialists and atheists, who believe that everything ends with death. Despite this, there are other approaches, such as those of supporters of reincarnation, who maintain that there are several successive lives until we manage to be “The Great Whole”, or what they also call “nirvana.” On the other hand, Muslims, Jews and Christians believe that after this life there is an eternal life of happiness with God, and specifically Christians consider that after we die, we will be resurrected with our body, as Jesus Christ did.
It’s all about criteria and beliefs, none of these hypotheses represents an absolute truth, so you believe in what the idea or philosophy closest to your feelings and thoughts really seems to you.
ALFA