http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=4694
What About "Out-of-Body Experiences"?
As
American civilization has been detached from its Christian moorings, a
host of offbeat, confused, and superstitious ideas have infiltrated
society. Especially with the resurgence of the occult in the last 50
years and Hollywood’s efforts to create credibility for “ghosts,”
exorcism, and astrology, more Americans than ever before have come to
believe in such hocus-pocus. One result has been the widespread belief
in “out-of-body experiences.” Even among otherwise straight thinking
Christians, many have come to believe that a person can “die,” as
evidenced by “flatlining,” that his or her spirit momentarily leaves the
body, and then returns to the body, enabling the person to regain
consciousness and live to tell about the experience. Stories often
include reports of tunnels with bright light at the end, feelings of
warmth and reassurance, a sense of hovering above and looking down upon
the operating room personnel, etc. Are such experiences proofs that
individuals are, in fact, dying and exiting their bodies, and then
returning again?
A brief perusal of the history of medical science reveals that, at one
time, conventional wisdom held that a person was dead when breathing
ceased. It was thought that the “breath of life” had departed from the
individual, leaving him “dead.” As medical science advanced, it was
determined that a person’s heart could still be beating though the
person had stopped breathing. He had not actually died, and hence,
“mouth-to-mouth” resuscitation enabled a person to start breathing
again. At that point of medical understanding, it was thought that when
the heart stopped beating (determined by placing one’s ear to the chest
of the person), the individual had died. However, with additional
advancements and understanding, it was determined that it was possible
to restart the heart, through cardio-vascular resuscitation,
compressions of the chest cavity, injection of powerful drugs directly
into the heart, massaging the heart directly, and eventually
defibrillation, in which an electrical shock is delivered to the heart
with a defibrillator. The current definition of “dead” is associated
more with the cessation of brain activity. A typical definition of
“flatline” is “to die or be so near death that the display of one’s
vital signs on medical monitoring equipment shows a flat line rather
than peaks and troughs” (Farlex, n.d.). “Flatlining” can refer either to
heart or brain activity or both, depending on who is using the term.
Does the inerrant Word of God have any insight into this question? Yes,
it does. The Bible teaches that God places within each prenatal person
at conception a spirit that makes each individual a unique personality
that will survive physical death, living on immortally throughout
eternity (Zechariah 12:1). At death, the spirit separates from the body
and exists in a conscious condition in the spirit realm (1 Samuel 28:15;
Luke 16:19-31). James 2:26 provides a precise, technical definition of
death: “[F]or as the body without the spirit is dead….” In other words,
the separation of one’s spirit from one’s body results in physical
death, i.e., the death of the body, not the spirit. Thus the Bible
defines physical “death” as
separation—not “extinction”
or “annihilation” (Thayer, 1901, p. 282; Vine, 1940, p. 276). Once the
spirit of a person exits the body, he or she is “dead” (Genesis 35:18; 1
Kings 17:21-22). Science will undoubtedly never develop a test for
ascertaining when the spirit exits the body. After all, “a spirit does
not have flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39).
In order for a person’s dead body to come to life again, the spirit
would have to reenter it. The term that the Bible uses to refer to such
an occurrence is “resurrection.” The only way resurrection can occur is
by means of supernatural intervention by an individual who possesses
authority and power from God to miraculously cause the spirit to return
to the body. Instances of deceased people in Bible history whose spirits
returned to their dead bodies include the following:
-
When the widow of Zaraphath’s son became sick and died, the prophet
Elijah asked God to “let this child’s soul come back to him” (1 Kings
17:21). God granted the request and the child’s soul returned to his
body.
-
Elisha restored the life of a Shunammite woman’s son who had died
after complaining of severe head pain—perhaps a brain hemorrhage (2
Kings 4).
-
When Lazarus died, his body was in an advanced state of decay by the
time Jesus arrived on the scene four days later to raise him from the
dead. He brought back Lazarus’ spirit into his body with the words,
“Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43).
-
Among the supernatural events that accompanied the death of Christ on
the cross, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom;
and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were
opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the
holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:51-53). Only God could have
brought the spirits of these individuals back from the hadean realm and
reinserted them into their buried bodies.
-
When Tabitha/Dorcas became sick and died in the town of Joppa, her
body was washed and laid in an upper room. The apostle Peter was in
Lydda at the time, so urgent word was sent to him to come to Joppa.
Clearing the room of the mourners upon his arrival, he “knelt down and
prayed. And turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’ And she
opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up” (Acts 9:40).
Such occurrences were rare, and always meant that the resurrected
individual later died again (Jesus excepted—Acts 13:34; Romans 6:9; cf.
Enoch [Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5] and Elijah [2 Kings 2:11] who never
died).
In every case, a miracle was necessary to restore the separated spirit of the individual to the body. Miracles served a very specific purpose in Bible times—a purpose no longer needed (
Miller,
2003). Since God has chosen not to work miracles today (1 Corinthians
13:8-11; Ephesians 4:8-13), and no resurrections will occur until the
general resurrection (John 5:25-29; Luke 14:14; 1 Corinthians 15:12ff.),
there is no such thing as an “out-of-body experience.”
But then how does one account for the numerous reports of tunnels,
lights, and feelings of warmth? The mind is an incredible, divinely
designed wonder capable of far more than we know or comprehend. When
anesthesia is applied to the respiratory system and bloodstream in order
to prevent awareness of pain, causing a patient to become unconscious,
the parts of the body that perceive (i.e., seeing, hearing, etc.)
continue to function. The mind is still hearing what is being said in
the operating room, whether or not the person is able later to recall
the conversation. Temperature and other bodily sensors are still
operative. Additionally, the mind’s ability to dream realistic dreams is
surely a factor to consider. These and other features of the mind and
body adequately account for the unsubstantiated allegations of
“out-of-body experiences.”
One final thought: if “near death” and “out-of-body” experiences are
authentic, where are the comparable reports of those who encounter the
scorching, threatening fires of hell or hades (cf. Luke 16:23ff.)? Where
are the accounts of individuals being warned to correct their behavior
and live godly lives—as Paul admonished Titus: “For the grace of God
that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12)? For those acquainted with
the stabilizing influence of the Bible, all such experiences are
meaningless and provide no assistance for ascertaining the meaning and
purpose of life—in view of eternity. The inspired writer of Hebrews
succinctly summarized the point: "[I]t is appointed for men to die once,
but after this the judgment" (9:27).
REFERENCES
Farlex (no date),
The Free Dictionary,
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/flatlining.
Miller, Dave (2003), “Modern-Day Miracles, Tongue-Speaking, and Holy
Spirit Baptism: A Refutation—EXTENDED VERSION,” Apologetics Press,
http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=1399&topic=293.
Miller, Dave (2005), “Afterlife and the Bible,” Apologetics Press,
http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=11&article=1478.
Thayer, J.H. (1901),
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1977 reprint).
Vine, W.E. (1966 reprint),
An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell).
