Boy Who Went to Heaven Recants

[NobleSavage]

These NDE books seem to sell well. Maybe I could mix it up a bit and and come out with Hell is for real. My father is a well known and respected member of a huge church that has their own book store / publishing outfit. I bet if I walked into the church and renounced my atheism, they would be interested in my book. Especially, since they are always prying for me. If anyone wants to ghost write it I'll split the profit.

 

[thentian]

I wonder if this is how religions are perpetuated... people who realize it's all a big scam and want to get in on the action...

 

[Perspicuo]

BTW, where are all the narratives from atheists who were resuscitated or refibrillated and came back with wild visions of Satan and succubi and watching Darwin and Ingersoll getting stuck with glowing pitchforks?

I think it was Raymond Moody's book Life After Life where people would cross the classical corridor of light, and atheists would be bumbling around confused not knowing where they were. After passing that you would find all sorts of people and especially your loved ones.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

... prying for me ...

Reminds me of West Virginia. /derail

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

6 year old makes it up. 6 year old told to make it up?

From his letter: "The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible."Umm... maybe it is time for his parents to teach him where books come from.

This kid is different from the Heaven is for Real book.

That kid was named "Burpo".

I see signs in that name too.

Expect a recant in the future where the kid blames early alcohol exposure.

Burpo? Wasn't that the alcoholic Marx Brother? He was always too drunk to perform.

Eldarion Lathria

No, that was Barfo. Burpo was the straight guy.

 

[dockeen]

I have been struck by the number of xtians whose replies to this take the form:

Why does it matter if it is true? Look how many souls it saved?

It is the same basic reply I get from people spouting urban legends about evil atheist professors and pieces if chalk. To them, it doesn't matter if what comes after "This is a true story" is true, just that the story is "good"

 

[Keith&Co.]

Why does it matter if it is true? Look how many souls it saved?

My kids participated in an anti-drug program in school. When i got ahold of the material, i found that a lot of it was exaggeration.
I could be happy that they oversold the dangers and kept kids off drugs, but i worry that when they learn the facts, they'll feel they can't trust/needn't heed ANY of the material from the program. They may overreact to being lied to.

I knew several Mormon kids that went to college, discovered that sex didn't cause VD four times out of five, nor pregnancy six times out of five, that beer didn't cause immediate permanent retardation, and went a little crazy in indulging, to make up for lost time.

If someone was 'saved' by a story they later find out was a lie, i would expect some to have drunk enough Kool-Ade to repeat the 'it doesn't matter, it saved me' line and 'God's so wonderful he sent a LIE that i might find the truth.'
Or they might wish they had their tithes back, that they hadn't broken up with that girl who had no gag reflex, that they hadn't turned their dealer in...

 

[Atheos]

There's a word that describes the tactic of deliberately distorting or withholding information to achieve a desired response: Manipulation. Folks can say it's "for their own good" as much as they like but that's only a rationalization. Manipulation is manipulation. People who discover they've been manipulated are extremely likely to be resentful about the manipulation and react in exaggerated ways to compensate for the deceit.

 

[Underseer]

Of course Near Death Experiences are nonsense. NDEs are caused by the brain being deprived of oxygen, so if NDEs are proof of the afterlife, then hallucinogenic drugs are proof that toasters can talk.

What gets me about the whole NDE craze is that it is incompatible with the theology of some Christian denominations, including Catholicism. Some denominations teach that there is an "absolute barrier" between life and death. If someone came back to report what they saw, then that means they didn't cross the barrier, which means that whatever they saw must have a natural explanation. Believing in NDEs pretty much requires believing that the "absolute barrier" is anything but absolute and not much of a barrier.

I wonder which denominations teach about an "absolute barrier" between life and death. How many of these NDE fans are unwittingly violating the teachings of their own denominations? How many priests/preachers/etc. are simply turning a blind eye and not correcting their followers on this whole NDE thing?

 

[Keith&Co.]

Believing in NDEs pretty much requires believing that the "absolute barrier" is anything but absolute and not much of a barrier.

Ah, but you're forgetting that so many believers don't approach evidence and faith as a gestalt.
They can dismiss ghosts because there's an absolute barrier, and they'll flog an NDE as evidence someone's actually seen God/Heaven/Hell/Purgatory/Angels/Lost family members/childhood friends.
Because they only consider one argument at a time, resisting any skeptic's attempt to point out that they're contradicting themselves.

 

[KeepTalking]

Of course Near Death Experiences are nonsense. NDEs are caused by the brain being deprived of oxygen, so if NDEs are proof of the afterlife, then hallucinogenic drugs are proof that toasters can talk.

Hey man, Toasty the toaster is for real! He has spoken to me many times.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Of course Near Death Experiences are nonsense. NDEs are caused by the brain being deprived of oxygen, so if NDEs are proof of the afterlife, then hallucinogenic drugs are proof that toasters can talk.

Hey man, Toasty the toaster is for real! He has spoken to me many times.

Me, too!
It's a bitch, isn't it? That 30 second wait for a reply when you ask the question....

 

[ElectEngr]

There was a chatty toaster on "Red Dwarf"

Later,
ElectEngr