Friendly question for atheists?

Question

My uncle and I have alot of respect for each others beliefs. I'm a Christian & he's an atheist & neither one of us would insult the other by trying to change each others views but something happened that he couldn't explain & I was wondering if anyone who doesn't believe could? My grandparents are both deceased but when my uncle was hit by a car & pronounced dead before being brought back he said he heard & saw my grandparents talk to him. He said he doesn't have an explanation do you? I already know that believers think as I do but I wanted to hear an atheists view point?

When he said he saw my grandparents he said they were in Heaven which I don't understand because I thought atheists didn't believe in Heaven?

Answer 1

they will blame your uncle's experience on science and psychological phenomenon. never will they admit the truth of God's work. however i highly doubt the atheists that you are asking answers from are psycho therapists and can really explain the event. just leave it to them to give their opinion.
EDIT:
if the brain goes through so much shock and trauma, why do we only see dead people during this state? why not president Bush, Ashley Simpson, or our most favorited people and idols? i would like for a "scientist" to explain that please

Answer 2

There are many probable explainations, many atheists believe such experiences are internal responses to death or near death. In simple terms the brain is replaying a persons memory of their life so dead relatives and others who have had an impact on a persons life may be experienced in a lucid manner. Personally I don't take such experiences as evidence of the supernatural or a form of afterlife, since it's just as likely (or even more likely) to be an internal hallucination. This isn't to degrade the experience, since many people who go through it are quite genuine and emotional about it, only to say that it isn't proof of an afterlife or the supernatural.

Answer 3

It's lovely tolerant right here. (The right here being very blue northern Delaware.) It's best ago couple of years, with the fundie crap within the information always in regard to public faculties, did one tuition honestly get into the act over anything. There used to be under no circumstances any of that nonsense till then. Growing up right here, evolution used to be taught in tuition, faith used to be for dwelling and church, there have been no problems ever. It wasn't a large deal. Like at any place, such a lot folks round listed below are believers, however the majority are simply the ordinary stage that are not inflicting waves, simply residing their lives and preserving out of others industry. Coincidentally despite the fact that, my mother and father condominium right here, to the proper and left people also are non believers. A lady and her 2 20-anything children I grew up with, and at the different aspect an ancient lady in her 90s I've identified eternally. Pretty best to have 3 residences in a row with the equal shared perspectives like that. Probably lovely unusual for this point of view. Edit: Although like at any place else atheism remains to be taboo and no longer spoken approximately.

Answer 4

The near-death experience is not unusual. IN many cases people who are about to die experience the sensation of moving through a tunnel towards a light, and seeing people from their pasts. There are several theories as to why this happens, prominent among them being the reducing electrical activity in the brain.

You might want to do some research into this phenomenon. Read such authors as Andrew Newberg and William Calvin.

Answer 5

Its called a near-death experience. Religious people swear they are unexplained and proof of their particular religion, but the truth is that they don't always fit with an existing religion either. Lack of oxygen and misfiring neurons on the verge of death can cause bizarre hallucinations of generic fatherly figures, among other things; Muslims see Allah, Christians see God, and atheists frequently see their parents (however, religious people sometimes see their parents and atheists have been known to see a god or godlike figure). It is unclear why this happens, but there is speculation that in times of great need we wish to see comforting and powerful figures that can protect us, hence the father figure themed hallucinations.

Answer 6

Your uncle had what's known as a Near Death Experience. Current neurological and psychological research suggests that the experiences of an NDE are triggered by the brain trying to jump-start the will to live or protect itself from the trauma of dying, so to speak. The brain uses images associated with death and/or religion, which is why so many people see dead relatives or religious iconography.

Answer 7

Strictly speaking, he wasn't really dead. Plainly there was some brain activity going on or he would never have been able to percieve anything.

I'm no medical student, but as I understand it the brain can protect itself from trauma by releasing chemicals that induce a kind of euphoria. It dulls the pain and can cause a dream-like perception. It's a purely biological reaction to nearly dying.

Answer 8

During periods of lessened connection with reality, such as when one is unconscious or at a very low level of awareness, the brain and it's chemistry don't cease functioning. One can still dream at such times, and it is not unusual for one to dream of seeing those who've "crossed over", as Stonewall Jackson put it. These are mere dreams or trauma-induced hallucinations; nothing more.

Answer 9

By the sounds of it your uncle was in an awful state to the point where it is quite possible that he was delirious. Negating his injury the medication that he may have been given could have caused hallucinations. As most people have pointed out the brain is a part of the body that is widely not understood in its complexities.

Answer 10

It's basically a hallucination brought on by trauma. Very common. When you're pronounced dead, it's because you have no heartbeat. It doesn't mean you're completely DEAD. The brain is still alive until it dies from lack of oxygen. Once the brain dies, that's it. You're done. They CAN'T bring you back, then.

Answer 11

The brain is a powerful tool. When one really wants to see or hear or even speak to something, it will happen. It is not that the brain is controlling the outside world, but yet that it is controlling one's own visions.