Death, Near Death, and OBE

When you're dead, you're dead. That's it. – Marlene Dietrich

Is Death Bad for You?
Shelly Kagan, 13 May 2012
The Chronicle of Higher Education: The Chronicle Review
“We all believe that death is bad. But why is death bad?”
[NB: Philosophical discussion -- God, religion, and afterlife are not considered.]

I don't particularly want to die, because I have deep fear that there isn't any form of existence beyond physical death. No more agony, no more ecstasy, no more cheeseburgers. Immortality seems so much more desirable. I'm old enough to feel the looming specter of death, but as soon as I say that, I will probably live another five decades, or more – I hope so! My attitude may come as a disappointment, if not a shock, to some of you. However, I am nonetheless very tolerant and sympathetic towards those who believe in an afterlife. Feel free to pray for me. (No evangelizing!)  You may well be right. If so, I hope there are cheeseburgers in heaven. This article is a philosophical discussion, which assumes up front that there is nothing beyond death. I found the ideas quite insightful.

I was traveling down a corridor, toward a bright light...

Here is a provocative “explanation” that OBEs and NDEs are not actually divine glimpses of heaven and the hereafter. However, the author does allow that hallucinations can be influential in the spiritual lives of people.

Seeing God in the Third Millennium
Oliver Sacks, MD, professor of neurology at NYU School of Medicine.
The Atlantic, 12 Dec 2012
"Hallucinations, whether revelatory or banal, are not of supernatural origin; they are part of the normal range of human consciousness and experience. This is not to say that they cannot play a part in the spiritual life, or have great meaning for an individual. Yet while it is understandable that one might attribute value, ground beliefs, or construct narratives from them, hallucinations cannot provide evidence for the existence of any metaphysical beings or places. They provide evidence only of the brain's power to create them."

Wow, that's two articles arguably anti-religious. God will surely get me for that.