Neurosurgeon discovers proof of heaven
Dr. Alexander was once a skeptic, but now believes.
A long practiced neurosurgeon, who spent his career as a skeptic, has published a book about near death experiences - as a believer. Dr. Eben Alexander became a believer after having a near-death experience of his own.
Heaven, is every bit as real as the clouds above.
PrintAlexander wrote about his experiences in the book, "Heaven Is Real: A Doctor's Experience of the Afterlife."
Alexander described his experience to the Daily Beast thus:
Toward the beginning of my adventure, I was in a place of clouds. Big, puffy, pink-white ones that showed up sharply against the deep blue-black sky.
Higher than the clouds-immeasurably higher-flocks of transparent, shimmering beings arced across the sky, leaving long, streamer like lines behind them.
Birds? Angels? These words registered later, when I was writing down my recollections. But
neither of these words do justice to the beings themselves, which were quite simply different from anything I have known on this planet. They were more advanced. Higher forms.
A sound, huge and booming like a glorious chant, came down from above, and I wondered if the winged beings were producing it. Again, thinking about it later, it occurred to me that the joy of these creatures, as they soared along, was such that they had to make this noise-that if the joy didn't come out of them this way then they would simply not otherwise be able to contain it. The sound was palpable and almost material, like a rain that you can feel on your skin but doesn't get you wet.
He also added that a woman gave him three messages. "You are loved and cherished, dearly and forever. You have nothing to fear. And there is nothing you can do wrong."
Alexander explained that he had this experience while in a coma as a result of contracting a rare form of bacterial meningitis, which nearly claimed his life. This experience in 2008 changed him profoundly, converting him from a skeptical, passive Christian to a firm believer in Christ.
He says he knows heaven exists.
Of course, for those of faith, there is no need of a near-death experience to convince us, but the story of heaven as experienced by a skeptic , who is also a renown neurosurgeon does provide some assurance that these experiences are genuine and not merely hallucinations as some contend.
Dr. Alexander is not the first person to have these experiences, but he is the first person to report having these experiences while functionally brain dead, for a full seven days.
If there is evidence and proof of an afterlife, this is probably as good as it gets. Of course, the
atheists and skeptics will not likely accept it and the faithful don't need it. However, the story is still worth telling and considering, even for those with a skeptical mind.
© 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.
- - -
Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
Keywords: Eben Alexander, near death, coma, experience, book
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I read Proof of Heaven. As a Christian I found the book very good. It helped give me peace and reassurance of God"s Love. Maybe I interpreted it different but the 3 messages I got from the book were !)You are loved and cherished dearly forever by God 2)You have nothing to fear 3) There is nothing you can do wrong that can separate you from God"s love and there is nothing you can do wrong that is unforgivable. I never felt once like the book was anti-Christian; although I do hope that Dr. Alexander does come to a personal faith in Christ as a result of his encounter with God. It would be a shame to have gone through all this and to not accept the One who is the Source of Life.
Sorry but, you lost me at "you can do nothing wrong". That's the biggest and more prevalent lie society tries to teach us - the idea that nothing is wrong, that if it feels good it's right, that we don't need a moral compass to guide us, because we "can do nothing wrong".
We are more than capable, each of us, of doing wrong. We do so on a daily basis - from something as simply as a "little white lie" to stealing, murder, adultery, abortion etc.
If people want to find God, they're not going to do it by reading/listening to all this "new age" garbage that tries to tell you that everything is wonderful and there's no such thing as sin. You will find God in prayer, in mediation on His words, in Church, in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
I've just finished the book. I think the key here are his credentials. He's an expert on the brain. This addresses the scientific doubts about NDE's. His own brain's neocortex shut down, making brain powered concsiousness impossible. Any well thought out criticism of his experience will have a hard time finding an entry point for an attack. Some things are true whether you believe them or not.
I think his experience was great, if it has helped him - hopefully he will pursue a deeper relationship with god. All things are possible with god and if he chooses to reveal in a profound way he most definatley can. But I think true belief should come from the message that jesus has given us and that yes there is an afterlife. Its nice to hear others stories for sure, but true faith and belief should come from jesus and he told us this long ago....YES heaven exists - because JESUS told us so!!!
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Dr. Alexander is a neurosurgeon who has taught at Harvard Medical School. He once accepted that near-death experiences were merely psychological phenomena - a neurological response to trauma. However, after experiencing the same thing himself, he realizes now the experience could be nothing but genuine.
Alexander wrote about his experiences in the book, "Heaven Is Real: A Doctor's Experience of the Afterlife."
Apparently, the title of the book by The Daily Beast is a misprint. I have the book and have read it. The correct title of the book is "Proof of Heaven. A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife.". Or, did Dr. Alexander write two separate books by different titles? The article says he became an active Christian and a firm believer in Christ. To which Christian denomination does he belong? Where was he baptized?
I read the book, and did not come away with a sense that he now knows Christ. Jesus was mentioned two times in the book and never in relation to his NDE. I am not convinced that he is a follower of Christ from what I read in the book.
I believe all of this is true. Faith in God is powerful, and it is true that, with men these things are not possible, but with God all things are possible.
Sorry, this doesn't prove that Heaven exists at all. All it proves is that this person experienced something he thinks is heaven. But of course some christians will always interpret this as some sort of incontravertible proof of an eternal afterlife. It's no more proof than someone who dies but does not have a near death experience using that as proof that no afterlife exists.
Still I've always wondered why these super angels always come out with something absolutely banal like "You are loved and cherished, dearly and forever. You have nothing to fear. And there is nothing you can do wrong." when anyone could read the same thing on any cheap card.
Hardly worth the trip if that's the message.
The article ends with "If there is evidence and proof of an afterlife, this is probably as good as it gets." Seven days of an afterlife experience is a long time. How about 27 years? I would recommend the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th century scientist who wrote of his experiences in a work called "Heaven and Hell." As for the phrase, "there is nothing you can do wrong", Swedenborg explained that this has to do with the state one reaches when one becomes an angel. He also described the Near Death Experience long before it became well known to the medical community in the 20th century.
I love these testimonies where God reveals Himself. You are probably right that nonbelievers won't accept it and the faithful don't need it, very sad. Father revealed Himself to me as I was in the early stages of recovering from a liver transplant in July 2011. My experience was different but the message was very similar and I came away with a relief and confidence that I was loved and that I could do no wrong. (the "can do no wrong" was premised on the fact that God had revealed Himself to me and that my faith was made tangible and unshakeable so that so long as my actions strive to do His will and be righteous in His eyes, even if I get it wrong, nothing is impossible with God, including unconditional forgiveness because we are all His children, Keep spreading the story of your experience, the Catholic website was right to publish it and spread the message.