A Near Death Experience as a Religious Experience

A Near Death Experience as a Religious Experience

A near death experience can be defined as an event which occurs to

people when seemingly the bodily functions which confirm life have

stopped, (i.e. clinically dead). It often has an ‘out of body’ element

and may be interrupted in a religious or non religious way. Most

individuals who claim to have had a near death experience say that

there is a sense of indescribable bliss, ecstasy and peace. Similarly,

a religious experience is usually described as a non-empirical

occurrence, and may be perceived as supernatural. It is a mental event

which is undergone by an individual and of which that person is aware.

Recipients of a religious experience usually say what has happened to

them has ‘drawn them deeper’ into knowledge of awareness of God. This

experience that each individual has is absolutely unique and cannot be

shared with anyone. Looking at the definitions of both types of

experiences and their features, it can be clearly seen that both are

very similar. However, some can also say that a near death experience

as nothing to do with religion and God, this may also depend on an

individual’s blick.

Some may interpret a numinous experience by being in the presence of a

divine or awesome power as neither a religious or near death

experience. It could instead be justified by only scientific

explanations. In pharmacological terms, chemical explanations can bring

forward aspects such as drugs, stimulants, anaesthetics or strong pain

killers as being the reason for the rare experiences. These medical

explanations could cause an individual to ‘drift off’ by seeing

illusions and hallucinat...

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... clear what happened after death, this is not so clear in

the gospel. Hence, a near death experience could be a taste of death.

In conclusion, to a large extent a near death experiences can be

considered as a religious experience. This is because both experiences

can be perceived as supernatural; they can be described as mental

events and are spontaneous. Recipients of religious and near death

experiences usually say what has happened to them has ‘drawn them

deeper’ into knowledge of awareness of God. This clearly shows the

similarities between both types of experiences. Moreover, to a small

extent, there is no proof of a near death experience, it is the way

the experience is interpreted or it could just be an individual’s blick,

the way they look at the world and interpret it. It is subjective

rather than objective.