Near Death Experience But Doesn't Convert

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This probably isn’t the correct forum and I do apologize. I spoke to an agnostic one time who said he had a near death experience. He saw himself on the operating table and felt a tremendous peace. He said he’s no longer afraid of death but he still doesn’t believe in God. He said he believes in something but won’t put a name to it. I know God knows what He’s doing but I don’t understand why God didn’t knock him upside the head at that moment to get his attention. Has anyone heard of this before (a NDE and they don’t convert)? Thanks.
 
No, I haven’t heard of this, but I think it’s understandable. Some people, myself included, believe that near death experiences are only fantastic hallucinations associated with extreme biochemical conditions in the brain. Even so, the experience could profoundly affect an agnostic or non-believer.

I guess God won’t force faith upon someone who refuses it.
 
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It was maybe three or four decades ago that I came across a book written by a Portestant physician who related NDE’s, and if I recall correctly, they were reports of people he had treated. Additionally, they were NDE’s that were not experiences of heaven, butr rather, experiences of (apparently) hell.

It has been too long since I read it, and I cannot say what happened to the people experiencing them, but my (faint) recollection was that at least some of them had what is sometimes a bit flippantly referred to as a “Come to Jesus” meeting. As he was Protestant, I don’t recall testimony or statement that any of them joined the Catholic Church.

I have been involved with RCIA for over 25 years and do what I can to bring people to the Church.

I also recall Isiah 55:8, and leave some things to the Holy Spirit and to God, remembering that we are bound by the laws God has given us, but God is not bound by those laws.

Will the person in the OP’s post get to heaven? God does not appear to give equally to everyone; and if the individual has responded to the graces God has given them, then I would assume God will judge them accordingly, and it is not for me to know the why or the wherefore as to them.,
 
There was a thread some time ago of a Catholic priest who had a NDE, including a link to his YouTube stite. One can choose to beileve that God presents experiences to some and not to others; not everyone gets a St. Paul experience. And while that is not presented as a NDE, it is possible that it was.

It is not mine to question, nor mine to go all-in in terms of acceptance at face value. Meaning, I don’t accept or reject the experience.

Some who press for biochemical experiences may be less than accepting of any faith whatsoever, so I don’t get my knickers in a twist over their comments.
 
Beryllos said:
Some people, myself included, believe that near death experiences are only fantastic hallucinations associated with extreme biochemical conditions in the brain.
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What about those NDE’s that involve information? For example when the person sees and hears things happening in the operating room or in other sections of the hospital?
 
There are atheists who believe in an afterlife, as a natural continuation of this life.
 
I have no idea what you are talking about. I’m a devout Catholic. I don’t believe NDEs as described above because they aren’t consistent with the theology of God.
 
“It’s silly to think that God is omnipotent”? The Church teaches that He is. I apologize if I misunderstood where you were coming from. From the CCC: " l the divine attributes, only God’s omnipotence is named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We believe that his might is universal , for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything. God’s power is loving, for he is our Father, and mysterious , for only faith can discern it when it “is made perfect in weakness”.103"
 
You do misunderstand. God is omnipotent.
That is why a NDE as described cannot make sense. God knows if you will die or not. Therefore why would these NDE processes of the afterlife start, then be reversed because the person didn’t die? Saints who have had visions of heaven didn’t usually have NDEs.
 
YOU said it’s silly to believe that God is omnipotent. YOUR words. That’s all I was addressing.
 
But what kind of info is there really? I’ve yet to see an account of an NDE that knew of two hospital employees having relations in the hospital. Or what a social security number on a paper in the billing department said. Etc.
 
Go back and to read the post. I’m frustrated having to explain. I think you misunderstood.
 
I have to admit, your posts do confuse me. Not sure what an NDE would have to do with 2 employees having relations or how a hospital would bill for an NDE. I think it best if I just say, “God Bless” and move on. God Bless.
 
redcatholic said:
You do misunderstand. God is omnipotent.
That is why a NDE as described cannot make sense. God knows if you will die or not. Therefore why would these NDE processes of the afterlife start, then be reversed because the person didn’t die? Saints who have had visions of heaven didn’t usually have NDEs.
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This website has about 5000 NDE stories on it, they can’t all be just their imagination.
https://www.nderf.org/Archives/NDERF_NDEs.html
 
A. J. Ayer was a prominent philosopher and an atheist. From his Wikipedia page:

In 1988, a year before his death, Ayer wrote an article entitled, “What I saw when I was dead”,[15] describing an unusual near-death experience. Of the experience, Ayer first said that it “slightly weakened my conviction that my genuine death … will be the end of me, though I continue to hope that it will be.”[16] However, a few days later he revised this, saying “what I should have said is that my experiences have weakened, not my belief that there is no life after death, but my inflexible attitude towards that belief”.[17][18]

 
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Interesting. Maybe he ended up coming around, after all. One can hope.
 
whatistrue said:
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Techno2000:
they can’t all be just their imagination
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And why not?
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Because, they can describe things that would be impossible to describe while in the condition they were in.
 
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Dr Alexander Eben, a neurosurgeon, had an experience where his brain was destroyed and yet he experienced consciousness that changed his belief from before the experience that the brain created consciousness. After his experience and the medical reality that his brain could not have produced the experience he had, he changed his position.
He’s worth listening to …http://ebenalexander.com/

Also, I recently listened to an interview of Dr Peter Fenwick, who is a neuropsychiatrist and neurophysiologist who has studied multiple cases of NDEs. He also came to understand that the brain does not create consciousness, but acts more like a filter to keep us from experiencing the side of death that we could never handle otherwise.

You can listen to the interview here;

Why some one wouldn’t convert, I don’t know, but it seems that God gave them the experience for a specific reason, and nothing more.
 
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It’s not necessarily that the process was started and then reversed, but perhaps rather that God allowed the soul a glimpse of what was to come. Whether or not the person fully understood the meaning, or whether or not he chose to respond would likely vary. I’m not saying that all NDEs are absolutely of divine origin, but there is nothing inherently contrary to Catholic theology in the possibility of their existence.
 
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