Over three-plus decades, a starry-eyed media, mostly secular, has done with near-death and similar experience exactly what fundamentalists have done with religion: They have literalized it, presented it journalistically as they would a new archeological find, turned experiences of the indescribable into the prose of factual reporting. And because NDEs so often sound very like traditional teachings about heaven and occasionally hell, not only the experiencers but religious and secular audiences alike take them as literal, factual truth.
Proof of Heaven! they cry. Evidence of Afterlife!
They make for great media. And great media creates stars of experiencers. She was right there, at the gates! He was actually in heaven, saw all this stuff! Wow. Special. You have been to the light; tell us what we are to do! [Read more…] about Hard times on the prophet front: Eben Alexander and his NDE