Definitions of Death: Clinical Death, Brain Death, and Irreversible Death

2. Definitions of Death • Clinical Death—when the heart stops beating, etc. • Brain Death—total absence of brain activity as measured by an EEG. • “Irreversible” Death—an “irreversible” loss of all vital functions.

3. Biblical Definition of Death 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. James 2:26 7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. Eccl. 12:7 22 The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. 1 Kings 17:22

4. Subjective/Objective • When people have strong subjective feelings about a particular experience, you cannot convince them that they have not had those experiences! • The mistaken perceptions or conceptions are corrected by objective evidence. • 3. Examples: Mirage; Sunrise or Sunset.

5. 1. Charismatic “faith-healers” have been around for a long time. Modern-day miracles do not occur! 2. Scripture proves them to have been only temporary.

6. Bigfoot sightings are frequently reported today. • 2. Investigations form the basis for TV “Reality Shows.”

7. Mermaids are the latest rage—shown on animal planet, etc. Aren’t we interested in whether these creatures exist?

8. Hoax Or History? Turns out that these “giant men” were actually the result of computer generated pictures, and were exposed as fake!

9. Subjective/Objective • The strength of our subjective opinions and/or beliefs can be so powerful that no amount of evidence will be convincing. • 5. Still, we must be willing to let our strong subjective opinions be tested with objective evidence.

10. Death as experienced prior to resuscitation is difficult to define and understand. Strange encounters may occur during such experiences. Reversible death (or, clinical death) is that type of death that is potentially recoverable by restarting the heart and lungs. The brain and underlying vital tissues have not yet died; when the brain and vital tissues die, irreversible death (or tissue death) has occurred. Resuscitation from reversible death should certainly not be confused with resurrection from irreversible death. One requires training; the other a miracle! Maurice Rawlings, Beyond Death’s Door, p. 10.

11. Yet, there are cases of “irreversible” death that are not the end! “For patients who fall into a coma, for example, the longer the coma lasts, the less likely the person is to regain any type of awareness. But even in these cases, there are exceptions, as researchers found recently that some people who had been in comas for years could be awakened simply by being given the drug Ambien.” Maia Szalavitz, “Viewpoint: Why Brain Death Isn’t an On-Off Switch.” (Time.com, Jan. 2, 2014).

12. According to the laws in all 50 states, brain dead patients are considered deceased. Maia Szalavitz, Ibid. But, with what we have learned so far, this is simply not the case—as it is not clear that the “spirit” has departed from the “body” in all of these cases. I must hasten to add that, if no attempts are made to resuscitate, most of these patients will actually die!

13. Biblical Definition of Death 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. James 2:26 7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. Eccl. 12:7 22 The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. 1 Kings 17:22

14. Even though many NDE’s speak of a long hall, with bright lights, etc., there is really no con- sistency in the stories. As I hope to show you, the various accounts are often contradictory, and quite imaginative.

15. One writer, having studied over 1600 NDE’s found that typical NDE’s may occur in very young children and while they are under anesthesia. Some scientists believe that they can explain the “tunnel” and “light” phenomena, as chemical/neurological events. Since the 1980’s they have suggested that NDE’s occur as a kind of physiological self-defense mechanism. This theory gained credence when it was dis-covered that virtually all of the features of an NDE can be reproduced by a stiff dose of ketamine, a horse tranquilizer often used as a party drug.

17. Colton Burpo was almost 4 in 2003 when he had an NDE while undergoing an emergency appendix Surgery. He claimed to have sat on Jesus’ lap on numerous occasions. He also said that the angels sang to him. They sang “Jesus Loves Me;” “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho;” but that they would not sing “We will, We will Rock You.” He recognized everyone there.

18. Colton told his mother that Jesus shot “power” down to his dad when he was preaching. He said that there were animals in heaven. He was also asked what Jesus looked like. He was shown several pictures portraying Jesus and he rejected them all, except the following one. Jesus had clear, greenish blue eyes, the hair was much shorter than usually painted and the beard was “casual.”

22. Ms. Neal was rendered NDE in a kayaking accident. She could not recognize any spiritual being so as to call them by name, but seemed to know them. She had a conversation with an “angel” sitting on a nearby rock, but does not know whether he was an angel, Christ, or teacher. She had no awareness of the exact appearance of Jesus, or if she actually saw him. No mention of animals/pets in heaven. Serves as an “elder” in Presbyterian church; rarely attends.

24. Don is a Baptist preacher, who is widely sought as a speaker on this subject. He said: “When I died, I didn’t flow through a long, dark tunnel. I had no sense of fading away or of coming back. I never felt my body being transported into the light. I heard no voices calling to me or anything else. Simultaneous with my last recollection of seeing the bridge and the rain, a light enveloped me, with a brilliance beyond earthly comprehension or description. Only that.” (p. 21)

25. Don saw numbers of people he recognized, but never saw Jesus or God. He heard music that he identified as the “holy swoosh of wings.” The songs were not discernible (“How Great Thou Art,” etc.), but were constant and several playing together at the same time. Still, they were perfectly beautiful and blended completely. He says, “Despite my skepticism—even today—of many of their (NDEs) testimonies, I have never questioned my own death.” (p. 200)

27. Dr. Eben Alexander, a Neurosurgeon, consistently referred to his experience as an NDE, so, he didn’t claim to die and come back. His brain was attacked by a rare illness. He claimed that the part that controls thought and emotion shut down completely. He lay in a coma for 7 days. Many other neurosurgeons dispute his claims. His was more a “new age” or “spiritualist” type of experience. He claimed to be part of God, and referred to God as “Om.”

28. “paradoxically—Om is ‘human’ as well—even more human than you and I are. Om understands and sympathizes with our human situation more profoundly and personally than we can even imagine because Om knows what we have forgotten, and understands the terrible burden it is to live with amnesia of the Divine for even a moment.” (p. 86) The book is even more bizarre than any of the others I’ve read.

29. Response to NDE So Far • First, none of the ones who were brought back to life in the Bible EVER told anything about what they experienced. • Second, Satan possesses all “power and signs and false wonders” and, because of him, “God will send . . . A deluding influ-ence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth” (2 Thess. 2:9-12)

30. Response to NDE So Far • Third, Moody and Ross reported, “There was a cultural stamp to the visions. Most Americans saw loved ones, most Indians saw religious figures. Religion determined the identity of the figure; no Christian patient saw a Hindu deity, and no Hindu saw Jesus.” (Daniel Goleman, “Back from the Brink,” Psychology Today, April 1977, p. 58; reporting on research from some 500 cases).