This is a young girl in the book who did not have a NDE but who at the age of four was taken to Heaven to visit with Jesus. Her parents were atheists and had never even mentioned God to Akiane. In her visits to Heaven she was taught to draw and paint and write poetry. At eight years old she painted the above picture of Jesus which is titled Prince of Peace. http://blog.godreports.com/2012/01/for-child-art-prodigy-akiane-jesus-is-for-real/ This is part of Akiane's story.
I'm a sceptic from way back but I think that the people who relate these NDE accounts do believe in them ... and if that helps them cope and feel less apprehensive about their own mortality, who am I to judge? ( cynical, as I said)
Quotes from book - 'I'm convinced a main reason people live materialistic, self-centered lives, is their poor view of the life to come, they can't imagine Heaven, so they don't live for it .............. Now modern medicine is bringing more and more people back from near death to give exciting details to motivate us to live eternal perspective .........' I like these quotes because they make sense
While I can see that the realization that there is actually another life after we pass though this one, can motivate people to live a better life; I do not think that this is going to help much. When someone only does something good because they anticipate a reward for doing so, it pretty much negates the value of them doing it. We see this kind of attitude a lot now, and expressed by television evangelists, who are soliciting money from their listeners. Instead of asking for donations to help build a school or mission somewhere , they proclaim that if you give to God, then God is going to reward YOU and you will have an abundant supply of money. (You never see the televangelists giving away all of their money though.) Instead of giving from their hearts to help out a poverty stricken area , the listeners are giving out of their greed for more money (and often from their need for money). I think that the same can be said of going to heaven after we die. The idea in the Bible is to be a good person and live a good life because that is the right thing to do, and not because you want to earn a reward by doing so. Nonetheless, I think that at least some of these stories of continued existence after death are actually real, and some are probably just very real dreams that people in a coma were having. When the person was able to look down at their hospital room and see things that they could not have known otherwise, it seems to me like there has to be more than just dreaming for this to happen.
The thing is Yvonne, say half the people on Earth are sceptics and if someone's experience can make them 'think' - it can only be a good thing when there is so much bad in this world. For others of course, won't make a dent in their brain matter
But being a skeptic doesn't necessarily mean you are a bad person. I'm actually a very kind, generous and loving person in real life. If there is a heaven...I'm eligible
You are definitely eligible in my eyes I didn't say to 'think' evaluate, would suddenly make you a believer in everything, just to make you question and give thought to it
I have often said that the reason a lot of people have no interest in going to Heaven is because they have made their heaven on earth and don't want to leave it. Of course on the other hand there are people who go through so much misery and abuse on this earth that it would be wonderful to know in Heaven they will never experience anything like that ever again. A lot of these people who have these NDE's are surprised to find that during their life review when Jesus, etc. takes them back to a review of their whole lives...that it is not their material success, or career success, etc. that Jesus considers "success", instead it is the times they loved others, helped others, etc. and shared God's love with others. I do believe NDE's are real and that they are a testimony to the reality of God and the Truth He has spoken in the Bible. This book explores all of this and because it talks about God and His Truth alot some people may not be interested in reading this book. But since Heaven is God's Home and will be the home of His children too...it makes perfect sense to me to include all that is spoken of in the book.