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At that point the visionary is thrust into, and propelled through, a long, dark tunnel. He suddenly finds himself "outside of his own physical body, but still in the immediate physical environment, and he sees his own body from a distance, as though he is a spectator. He watches the resuscitation attempt from this unusual vantage point and is in a state of emotional upheaval."

Soon the upset passes, with the visionary realizing he still has a "body." Then others deceased friends and relatives come to comfort him. They are shortly followed by a being of dazzling light, who questions the visionary about his life. The questions are nonverbal, and the visionary's answers are assisted by a "panoramic, instantaneous playback" of the major events of his life. The review is not a decision about the destiny (heaven or hell) of the visionary, but an educational effort. The being of light stresses learning to love other people and the importance of continuing to grow in knowledge.

Next the visionary finds himself approaching a kind of barrier, "apparently representing the limit between earthly life and the next life." Then he learns he must go back to life and resists, because the life after death seems so attractive. "He is overwhelmed with feelings of joy, love, and peace." Despite his resistance, however, he is sent back to life.

Later, the visionary tries to tell others about his experience, but it is hard to describe and is often greeted with skepticism and even derision. So he stops speaking of it. However, the NDE, now unmentioned, still has a profound effect on his life. He has more vitality, and works and plays harder than before. He appreciates anew the importance of love. He is no longer afraid of death. Finally, the visionary meets or learns of others who have experienced near death, so he is emboldened to claim and proclaim his NDE.

Evangelical writers are almost conspicuous for their skepticism among NDE students. Their objections are obvious. If Moody's composite NDE is taken to be a revelation of life after death, it is, in some significant respects, not what Christianity has traditionally taught it to be.

If the apostle Paul, for example, found death in one way attractive it would allow him to "be with Christ" (Phil. 1:23)—he largely viewed it as an adversary, the "last enemy" (1 Cor. 15:26). For Paul, as for the Hebrews before him, death was the unnatural fruit of sin. Judgment followed it, and with judgment, the fearful possibility of eternal separation from God.

In contrast, the contemporary near death visionary discovers death as an unqualified friend. It is eminently natural and, as it turns out, almost entirely pleasant. Judgment is a gentle self judgment, undertaken for therapeutic and educational purposes. In the end, there is apparently no question about personal destiny. It will be overwhelming bliss.

The apparent dismissal of orthodox Christianity and the plunge into New Age currents by some researchers have caused some Christians to ascribe NDEs to the Devil and leave it at that. Yet there are problems with that response.

One is the New Testament criterion for judging spiritual phenomena: the fruit they bear (Matt. 7:15 20). In most accounts, near death visionaries do not convert into Voltairean skeptics. Instead, some who were atheists are opened to the possibility of religious truth. At other times, nominal Christians are renewed in their faith. Apparently even where there is no explicit turn toward religion, there is frequently a reorientation of self away from self.

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May (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50