What if you were wrong?

Question

Atheist. Say you had a near death experiance and saw that there was a heaven, or hell. How would you react?
Christians. Say you had a near death expierance and there was nothing after this life. How would you react?

Ok, i am asking this to both sides. And i know you wouldnt know if it was real or a dream. Lets just say, You believed it was real?

Alright, since so many are getting hung up on the near death expierance thing, how about ANY PROFOUND exp. Near death, a vision, just lets just say, something happened and you discovered the other side was right?

Answer 1

Drinks.

Some people have had near death experiences and seen nothing of the sort.

Answer 2

The problem with near death experiences is the impossibility of objectively verifying them. People can report having them, but they can't prove that they weren't hallucinating. One's NDE seldom contradicts one's pre-existing belief system. Even if an atheist saw "heaven" or a theist saw nothing, they would interpret their experience to fit their understanding.

Dreams seem real to the dreamer, but the events remembered didn't really occur. They are more likely bits of memory attached to random nerve impulses. The NDE could simply be the brain's interpretation of the sensations resulting from the temporary shutting down of certain areas of the brain. If you believed you learned something real, it might change your attitude and even lead to a conversion of some kind. But that does not make what you "saw" real. For that matter, ANY objective experience, waking or sleeping, could potentially have an effect.

Personally, I really don't care whether there is an afterlife or not. I live here and now and I know what needs to be done. Why is that not enough?

Answer 3

A near death experience wouldn't cut it. There has been too much study on NDE's showing that they can be replicated by stimulating parts of the brain. It's a neuro-chemical reaction. Thus it would be like asking "what if you had a dream that showed heaven or hell was real?" I'd need better evidence than that. No matter how realistic NDE's might seem, they aren't good evidence that the vision you perceive is accurate.

But, to answer the question, if I found solid, objective evidence that I was wrong then I'd change my opinion based upon the evidence if the evidence was sufficient to contradict the evidence I've based my opinion on up to now. My conclusions are provisional and always subject to evidence I later learn.

Answer 4

I actually know a bloke who had a near death experience following a heart attack or a stroke (sorry, I was talking to him at a xmas party and was a bit tipsy) and he said that there was 'nothing' on the other side but he said that it was extremely relaxing and he felt totally at peace but it was simply blackness but it didn't feel scary or wrong or in any way bad he said it simply felt like he was sleeping and he liked it.

I could live with that!!

I believe that heaven and hell was invented by the church to scare people into believing - the church was a big money making thing back then and the vicars (or whomever they were - sorry - I don't know my popes from my vicars) were living very cushy lives.
All I see is alot of torture, murders and neglect took place at the hands of so called 'christians' whom said it was the work of the lord that they were doing - look at the 'witch hunts' years ago - they were all invented by the church.
Then you have the 'sisters of magdalene and the sisters of mercy orphanages' where they abused/neglected and exploited hundreds of children and adults in order to make themselves lots of money.

Christianity is an evil religion - it invents what it needs to in the best interests of itself - Paganism is not about evil, it was the church that invented and spread that belief, yet the church celebrates Easter which is pagan.

Christianity is about fear - fear that if you do not believe you will go to hell - fear that if you do not believe you are evil blah blah blah!!!!!

Thus - heaven and hell do not exist as they were simply invented for the convenience of the church.

But, if it turned out that there was a heaven and a hell, well................ I'd eat my shorts and kiss gods rosey red ar*e!!!!!

Answer 5

This doesn't seem like it would work on the Christian side. How would a Christian's "near death experience" tell them that there is nothing?

Anyway, if I had a "near death experience" and saw heaven or hell in it, I would guess that I was dreaming.

Edit: Ok, if I believed it was real, I would be very surprised. But, I wouldn't believe it was real.

Answer 6

I don't know why you limit this 'wrong' to a 'near death experience' ... UNLESS you think that there is something 'good' about the ones you have heard of so far. I've had several 'close brushes with death' and I felt 'nothing' ... but that doesn't change my belief in God and Heaven (the 'alternate univers with God in it) ... and I have enough 'mystical experiences' to make me think I'm 'as close to correct as to make no difference.' I won't 'know' until/unless I do go to an 'afterlife' and whatever that is I am 'looking forward to finding out 'the rest of the story.' WHATEVER that is ... it may be 'nothing' but I won't even know if it is, so who cares?

Answer 7

only choice after real physical death is whether to go to heaven or hell
draw bodies for the h's and n and see heaven is a funeral procession with h and n carrying the coffin. hell would be h carrying the ern.
personally i if i had a funeral would want the ern at the funeral haul, not the coffin and then have four people each hold a side of the ern to the limo to take me to the holy grounds.

Answer 8

How?

How does a near death experience or even a clinical death experience with a clinical revival give you any indication of whether or not there is a heaven?

As an Atheist I don't think that seeing a tunnel leading to the light would convince me of anything. I would attribute it to hallucinations created by oxygen deprivation. I would assume a christian who had a near death experience and didn't see a tunnel leading to the light would not change their beliefs either. There is nothing in the bible that would indicate that dying people see heaven as they are dying.

Answer 9

Atheist here...

If I died and found exisence of heaven and hell, I'd like to think that I have the strength to continue my life as I do now. I refuse to worship any so-called GOD out of fear of punishment. The very idea that something would create me to serve as a lapdog and then make me so limited that I cannot detect it's presence... and then want to torture me with eternal damnation to punish me when his creation was flawed.... is dispicable... Hardly an entity worthy of my worship.

And I'd say that to his face.





Who am I kidding?? I'd sell out in a heartbeat.... but it would be a sellout.

Answer 10

I had a near death experience that i was pretty surprised to regain conciseness from. Never saw heaven thou.

Answer 11

I don't believe in the modern "heaven". I think it was fabricated by the church as the pinnacle of the money making scheme. If i were to die and go to the "heaven" that the church predicts... i will juggle or tell jokes... tap dance.. or whatever i need to do to get in the gates. haha. just a joke.
believe what you will... just don't tell the world everyone but you is wrong.