I've heard about christian near death experiences but what about atheist NDE's?

Question

Christian NDE's usually involve tunnel vision and floating above their body. Then they revive and re-enter their bodies.

Most Atheists claim nothing after death so I was wondering if any Atheist ever had what he/she would consider an NDE. Not necessarily like the Christian one but an experience where you almost died.

Did you feel yourself fading? Was there a sense of nothingness that you felt? What exactly happened?

I seriously doubt that only christians/ someone religious are the only ones who've almost died at some point in their lives.

Answer 1

I think Paul had an NDE, and many other prophets as well. Prophets were often stoned, and they “saw light” and thought it was heaven opening up with god talking to them.

Answer 2

Never have I read one article describing someone having a religious experience during a NDE. Personally, I think you are full of sh*t, however, giving you the benefit of the doubt I would like to say that perception is reality (so why would hallucinations not be reality?) and that if they had those experiences it has to do with their own belief systems and how they manifest for them (or from them) after they die. I have read countless articles on NDE experiences, and from what I have read they are all very similar. The person sees their body lying below them (an OBE) and then ascends into the light. Usually they see their deceased loved ones. Its always the same.

Answer 3

The NDE of a person seems to reflect their beliefs - Christians see Christ or god or St Peter; Hindus see one of their gods or Gurus; I have heard that some people see a parent or friend.

What would an atheist see - I do not know - I have yet to read an account. In my own NDE - it was all to quick and I did not see anything.

Answer 4

There is little evidence that NDEs are real and not just deluded perceptions of an oxygen starved brain.

I'm sorry if that kills the magic but NDEs can and have been repeated under controlled conditions where the subject was oxygen starved and witnessed similar hallucinations to what one would claim to see during an NDE.

Answer 5

I've seen videos and heard stories of atheist who had near death experiences and that they screamed and were burning in hell. Some have became Christians afterward. This of course is only second hand information. I believe Joel Osteens dad did some videos on this exact subject. Maybe you could look these up.

Answer 6

NDE's are simply a result of the mind's functions.

Claimants from different religions have NDE's that relate to their religious beliefs.

Answer 7

There's really nothing supernatural about it. It's basically a chemical reaction in the brain. A simulated NDE can be produced by drugs at certain dosage levels, most notably ketamine.

People who have experienced simulated NDEs with ketamine have reported seeing a "white light", "tunnels", out of body experiences wherein they were looking down at their "dead" selves, etc., basically all of the phenomena associated with "actual" NDEs.

Though the exact reasons for the brain mechanism are unknown, some researchers have theorized that the ketamine drug mimics certain chemicals released by the brain during cell death and binds to the same receptor sites as these chemicals, producing the same phenomena.

My own theory is that when the human brain realizes that its "life" is in danger, it releases these chemicals to "anesthetize" many non-essential brain cell functions in order to keep the non-essential cells from going "haywire" as they're starved for oxygen, while the brain fights to keep the organism alive by maintaining only basic essential functions.

The phenomena produced by the chemical reactions "pacify" many parts of the brain as many of the cells are shut down. If the brain loses its fight and the organism dies, of course the brain no longer consciously perceives any brain activity and the last phenomena the human brain is conscious of is the NDE. However, if the human is revived, the human may recall the NDE phenomena produced by the brain's "anesthetic" NDE-type activity as it fought to maintain life.

That's just my opinion on why the brain produces those phenomena during dying, but the ketamine simulated NDE stuff is well documented.

So really, there's no reason to expect that an atheist's NDE experience would be any different from those who believe in a God.

"All features of a classic NDE can be reproduced by the intravenous administration of 50 - 100 mg of ketamine (Domino et al., 1965; Rumpf ,1969; Collier, 1972; Siegel,1978, 1980,1981; Stafford, 1977; Lilly, 1978; Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1981; White, 1982; Ghoniem et al., 1985; Sputz, 1989; Jansen, 1989a,b, 1990b, 1993). There is increasing evidence which suggests that the reproduction of NDE's by ketamine is unlikely to be a coincidence. This evidence includes the discovery of the major neuronal binding site for ketamine, known as the phencyclidine (PCP) binding site of the NMDA receptor (Thomson et al., 1985), the importance of NMDA receptors in the cerebral cortex, particularly in the temporal and frontal lobes, the key role of these sites in cognitive processing, memory, and perception, their role in epilepsy, psychoses, hypoxic/ischaemic and epileptic cell damage (excitotoxicity), the prevention of this damage by ketamine, the discovery of substances in the brain called 'endopsychosins' which bind to the same site as ketamine, and the role of ions such as magnesium and zinc in regulating the site (Anis et al., 1983; Quirion et al., 1984; Simon et al., 1984; Benveniste et al., 1984; Ben-Ari,1985; Thomson, 1986; Coan and Collingridge, 1987; Collingridge, 1987; Contreras et al., 1987; Rothman et al., 1987; Mody et al., 1987; Quirion et al., 1987; Westbrook and Mayer, 1987; Sonders et al., 1988; Barnes,1988; Choi,1988; Monaghan et al., 1989; Jansen et al., 1989a,b,c, 1990a,b,c, 1991a,b,c, 1993)."

"Ketamine produces an altered state of consciousness which is very different from that of the 'psychedelic' drugs such as LSD (Grinspoon and Bakalar, 1981). It can reproduce all features of the NDE, including travel through a dark tunnel into light, the conviction that one is dead, 'telepathic communion with God', hallucinations, out-of-body experiences and mystical states (see ketamine references above). If given intravenously, it has a short action with an abrupt end. Grinspoon and Bakalar (1981, p34) wrote of: '...becoming a disembodied mind or soul, dying and going to another world. Childhood events may also be re-lived. The loss of contact with ordinary reality and the sense of participation in another reality are more pronounced and less easily resisted than is usually the case with LSD. The dissociative experiences often seem so genuine that users are not sure that they have not actually left their bodies.'"

Answer 8

This reminds me of a quote I read a long time ago by Yann Martel's book, Life of Pi. It goes like this: . "I can well imagine an atheist’s last words: “White, white! L-L-Love! My God!”—and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeastless factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, “Possibly a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain,” and, to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story." In short, even atheists recognize the feeling they get in the last seconds of life, whether it can be scientifically or spiritually explained.

Answer 9

great question, i doubt you will get many honest answers , but there are many writings on the subject, i'd be very interested to know what you find out

Answer 10

When I was little I almost drowned. There were lights, but i think they were the lights from the pool i fell into.