Near death experiences (NDEs) have garnered a reputation of being blissful, other-worldly adventures complete with encounters with lost loved ones. While many NDEers do consider their close brushes with death to be positive, 1-2% report having negative near death experiences. 

When it comes to near death experience stories, there are many unscientific writings based on the writers’ own agendas rather than actual evidence. However, there is also a growing body of legitimate research around near death experience (NDE) reports, and peer-reviewed scientific journals have published a number of medical studies on the subject.

We’ve all heard of, or even experienced, instances of extreme danger or rapidly declining health: a four car pile-up on the freeway, a fever that stuck around longer than it should have, an accidental misstep at the worst possible moment. These brushes with death were likely described as near death experiences (NDEs), but, from the scientific point of view, they probably weren’t.

If we believe that a transphysical component of a person exists and has an experience that is similar to actual death during an NDE (near death experience), then we may use those experiences to extract information about the afterlife.

Covering everything from the decline of faith among teens to the Shroud of Turin, this two-part podcast interview with Fr. Robert Spitzer on the Man-Up Show focuses on evidence for God and the battle to reconcile faith and science. Man-Up is a show on hosted on Iowa Catholic Radio by Fr. Zach Kautzky and Joe Stopulos. The two explore ways to help Catholic men grow in their faith and features a dynamic guest every week.

We've all heard of, or even experienced, instances of extreme danger or rapidly declining health: a four car pile-up on the freeway, a fever that stuck around longer than it should have, an accidental misstep at the worst possible moment. These brushes with death were likely described as near death experiences, but, from the scientific point of view, they probably weren't. Scientists use specific parameters to determine what incidents they study as NDEs, and veridical data to determine the veracity of these accounts.

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Near death experiences (NDEs) have captured our attention for generations. From movies to television to books, countless stories of flashbacks and white lights have left us entertained and thoughtful.

In this video presentation Father Spitzer takes us through the growing body of evidence for the reality of a transphysical human soul. He draws from a wide range of disciplines including archaeology, linguistics, neuroscience, mathematics, and philosophy.

I cite the evidence of near-death experiences with caution, because there are many books written on this subject that are not scientific or based on any clinical, cross-cultural, long term study, but rather on a few anecdotes taken to the extreme. Some of these nonscientific books have rather manipulative agendas, and some are quite cultic in character.