near death experiences

[Tank]

Asmo is a god, he takes all our grumpyness so the rest of us can be happy.

All praise Asmo!

[Gawen]

http://www.skepdic.com/nde.html

[Recusant]

By the way, what is with the frowning avatar anyway, I thought this was supposed to be the 'happy atheist forum'.

   

[Asmodean]

By the way, what is with the frowning avatar anyway, I thought this was supposed to be the 'happy atheist forum'.

   

Not everyone has heard about The Great and Terrible Asmo, apparently. Something needs to be done 

[xSilverPhinx]

By the way, what is with the frowning avatar anyway, I thought this was supposed to be the 'happy atheist forum'.

   

Not everyone has heard about The Great and Terrible Asmo, apparently. Something needs to be done 

ASAP 

Anyways, back to the OP, I think there are some mor eintriguing questions than answers so far (I don't have a good answer). For instance, why do people say they see Jesus as depicted by painters as the blond guy with blue eyes? The guy lived in the Middle East...

In all else, I have no idea. 

[Traveler]

...Anyways, back to the OP, I think there are some mor eintriguing questions than answers so far (I don't have a good answer). For instance, why do people say they see Jesus as depicted by painters as the blond guy with blue eyes? The guy lived in the Middle East...

In all else, I have no idea. 

LOL, yeah! If we know one thing about Jesus (assuming he existed as an individual) is that he most certainly was not a blue eyed white guy.

[Light]

Anyways, back to the OP, I think there are some mor eintriguing questions than answers so far (I don't have a good answer). For instance, why do people say they see Jesus as depicted by painters as the blond guy with blue eyes? The guy lived in the Middle East...

In all else, I have no idea. 

You mean how they see jesus in the NDE?  If so, maybe these spirits or whatever they are, present themselves in a way that the person can understand. I read one story,Mellen-Thomas Benedict, where the guy said there wasn't just one heaven, there were multiple, based on how people related to the idea of heaven while on earth. 

[Asmodean]

You mean how they see jesus in the NDE?  If so, maybe these hallucinations or whatever they are, present themselves as something the person is likely to imagine in a given situation. I read one story,Mellen-Thomas Benedict, where the guy said there wasn't just one heaven, there were multiple, based on how people related to the idea of heaven while on earth. 

Fixed it up a bit. Also, the bold text is pretty much THE definition of unreliable testimony.

[Sweetdeath]

Reading someone's acount of his or her NDE is no more interesting to me than reading a deliriant user's account of his or her hallucinations. Some people do find it fascinating. I just find it... Boring.

Same.
I honestly   don't see a point anyway in researching such nonsense. People who are way too obsessed with death annoy me.

[Light]

Eh, why do any of you even believe you're alive right now?  Because someone told you that you are?  There are things called personal experiences that can be the basis for believing something.

[Asmodean]

Eh, why do any of you even believe you're alive right now?  Because someone told you that you are?  There are things called personal experiences that can be the basis for believing something.

I don't believe I'm alive. I know I'm alive AND I can prove it conclusively with the assistance of a medical team and some independent educated reviewers for verification.

For clarification, just how broad is your definition of believing?

[Light]

There's a definition for death, made up by some people, so what?  That's a commonly accepted definition, not an absolute truth.

[Traveler]

Eh, why do any of you even believe you're alive right now?  Because someone told you that you are?  There are things called personal experiences that can be the basis for believing something.

The problem with personal experiences of the so-called supernatural, is that there are many, many ways to interpret the experience. The mind is a crazy thing. VERY prone to suggestion. I don't argue that those people had some sort of experience. But I highly doubt the interpretation they're layering over the experience.

[Sandra Craft]

There's a definition for death, made up by some people, so what?  That's a commonly accepted definition, not an absolute truth.

I think you're making a mistake a lot of religious people make of confusing the physical and the metaphysical -- perhaps in the belief that the metaphysical can't stand on its own.  And maybe it can't, but trying to shoehorn the metaphysical into the physical isn't going to work either, the two are apples and oranges.

[OldGit]

Eh, why do any of you even believe you're alive right now?  Because someone told you that you are?  There are things called personal experiences that can be the basis for believing something.

Cogito ergo vivo.