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Jeff_Yost
Guest
Just wondering what the Catholic view is on Near-Death Experience accounts. Thanks
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bostonboy23
Guest
can you be more specific? did you have an experience and you want to see if its valid or are you asking a general question?
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Eucharisted
Guest
Near death experience
Question from on 06-13-2006:
My question is regarding near death experiences. I have read much on this topic and many experiences have been well documented in a variety of publications . They typically involve people who have been declared clinically dead and have experienced traveling through a tunnel, seeing a bright light, and meeting someone who they believed to be Jesus. Some who have experienced near death on the operating table while under anesthesia can even describe the operation, what instruments were used, etc. In addition, it has also been documented that individuals born blind while knocked out in the operating room have been able to describe what transpired during surgery, how many doctors were present, what they looked like, etc., and then after the operation were still blind.
What is the Church’s position on this? I believe in near death experiences based on my careful reading on the topic, but I do not want to go against Catholic teaching. I know that the Church teaches that spirits cannot visit this earth unless The Lord allows it, and that paranormals on TV are a big hoax, but what is the position on these near death experiences?
Answer by Fr. Robert J. Levis on 06-13-2006:
Dear Bill, I don’t think the Church has a teaching on this near-death phenomenon. We actually die but once, i.e. when the soul leaves the body. Until then some psychological or para-physchological occurences can and do occur. Fr. Bob Levis
Question from on 06-13-2006:
My question is regarding near death experiences. I have read much on this topic and many experiences have been well documented in a variety of publications . They typically involve people who have been declared clinically dead and have experienced traveling through a tunnel, seeing a bright light, and meeting someone who they believed to be Jesus. Some who have experienced near death on the operating table while under anesthesia can even describe the operation, what instruments were used, etc. In addition, it has also been documented that individuals born blind while knocked out in the operating room have been able to describe what transpired during surgery, how many doctors were present, what they looked like, etc., and then after the operation were still blind.
What is the Church’s position on this? I believe in near death experiences based on my careful reading on the topic, but I do not want to go against Catholic teaching. I know that the Church teaches that spirits cannot visit this earth unless The Lord allows it, and that paranormals on TV are a big hoax, but what is the position on these near death experiences?
Answer by Fr. Robert J. Levis on 06-13-2006:
Dear Bill, I don’t think the Church has a teaching on this near-death phenomenon. We actually die but once, i.e. when the soul leaves the body. Until then some psychological or para-physchological occurences can and do occur. Fr. Bob Levis
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bostonboy23
Guest
as far as i know the church does not specifically dogmatically define this. my guess would be that this falls under private revelation. private revelation usually falls under apparitions of the blessed mother or Jesus or some saint. the church does not say you need to believe this but in the case of approved apparitions they say there worthily of belief. Near death experiences are widely in the history of the church many saints have had them there is even a priest on catholic tv who wrote a book about that very subject talking about his experience.
As far as im aware no Pope or Bishop has ever spoken about this. a good place to look would be in the catechism if its not talked about in there the church has dogmatically defined it. People on tv who clam to speak to the dead or physics are dangerous. there either most likely frauds or in some cases devil worshipers or practices of the occult. The church has said you cannot contact the dead this is considered a practice of paganism and occultism.
As far as im aware no Pope or Bishop has ever spoken about this. a good place to look would be in the catechism if its not talked about in there the church has dogmatically defined it. People on tv who clam to speak to the dead or physics are dangerous. there either most likely frauds or in some cases devil worshipers or practices of the occult. The church has said you cannot contact the dead this is considered a practice of paganism and occultism.
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Holly3278
Guest
Very interesting Eucharisted!
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DiesMikael
Guest
I have no idea if the Church has any official opinion on the matter, but science seems to have explained these near-death experiences pretty well, it having to do with lack of oxygen in the brain thus causing people seeing that "Tunnel of light’’.
Same thing happens right before an astronaut looses consciousness when going in in that G-force roller-coaster … thing … machine…
And the Church being very much pro-science I would guess they agree, thats only guessing though, I might be wrong.
Same thing happens right before an astronaut looses consciousness when going in in that G-force roller-coaster … thing … machine…
And the Church being very much pro-science I would guess they agree, thats only guessing though, I might be wrong.
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CB_Catholic
Guest
I don’t think the Church has taken any formal position on this, and for myself, I tend toward the scientific explanation of lack of oxygen to the brain. However, there are a few things that can’t be explained easily. From personal experience, as a nurse, I once took care of a young man who had been electrocuted, was without a heartbeat (probably v-fib) for a significant amount of time d/t having to clear the scene before CPR was initiated, and survived the resucitation with his mental facilities intact, although he did have some cardiac damage and severe burns and deep tissue damage. That in itself is unusual.
The man confided to me that he had a “near death” experience and described it, and it contained the usual elements. But one more thing was present–he claimed he watched the whole scenario and the resuscitation efforts from somewhere above his body and described the details. Not having been there, I could not verify this, except for what had been written in the ambulance report by the paramedics.
There was also, according to his family, a personality change in the young man. He was extremely calm and peaceful, and lost his fear of death. I do not know his religious beliefs before the experience, but I know he believed he had met Christ during the experience.
I know all of this can be explained scientifically, even the personality change, except for the part of watching the resuscitation efforts. That baffles me. This is the only time in my nursing career of 28 years that I ever met a person that claimed such an experience.
The man confided to me that he had a “near death” experience and described it, and it contained the usual elements. But one more thing was present–he claimed he watched the whole scenario and the resuscitation efforts from somewhere above his body and described the details. Not having been there, I could not verify this, except for what had been written in the ambulance report by the paramedics.
There was also, according to his family, a personality change in the young man. He was extremely calm and peaceful, and lost his fear of death. I do not know his religious beliefs before the experience, but I know he believed he had met Christ during the experience.
I know all of this can be explained scientifically, even the personality change, except for the part of watching the resuscitation efforts. That baffles me. This is the only time in my nursing career of 28 years that I ever met a person that claimed such an experience.
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