A pastor and author who has investigated more than 1,000 near-death experiences (NDEs) believes there\u2019s definitive evidence that many of these experiences are authentic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Burke, co-author of \u201cImagine the God of Heaven Devotional: 60 Reflections on the Heart of God from the Bible and Near-Death Experiences\u201d with his wife, Kathy, told CBN News he was once a skeptic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot only did I not believe in near-death experiences, I didn\u2019t believe in Jesus or God,\u201d he said. \u201cMany \u2026 decades ago, my dad was dying of cancer and someone gave him the very first research that coined the term near-death experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burke said this came in the form of a book, which he ended up reading. At the time, Burke wanted evidence \u2014 and the book provided just that: stories of people who were clinically dead and resuscitated. Among the stories, he noticed many of those experiencing NDEs claimed to have seen Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat really began my whole faith journey, because so many saw Jesus,\u201d he said. \u201cI was like, \u2018I better be open to the Bible.\u2019 So I started reading, and studying the Bible, came to faith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was the start not only of Burke\u2019s faith journey, but also his foray into NDEs. Over time, his intrigue bloomed into an investigation of 1,500 real-life cases. His previous book, \u201cImagine the God of Heaven,\u201d was a hit and sparked much conversation about these important stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat I write about is how the commonalities really do relate to the Bible and what the Bible\u2019s expectation of heaven, of hell, of God,\u201d Burke said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His wife, Kathy, told CBN News she had a very different faith trajectory and can\u2019t remember a time when she wasn\u2019t a believer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cScriptural truths have always been a big part of my life, and I\u2019ve enjoyed being able to stand on them,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I know they\u2019re solid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NDE\u2019s left her deeply intrigued, with Kathy explaining that, though she believes the truth of Scripture is enough, these stories offer a fresh perspective and have revitalized her faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt just has really given me a fresh perspective and revitalized my faith, and the the power of my faith, and the power of God in really amazing ways,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John expressed some of the most fascinating reflections he has had after exploring these stories \u2014 particularly the types of people who claim to have experienced NDEs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe thing that I like to point out is that many of these people that I\u2019ve interviewed and write about, they were CEOs, they were spine surgeons, commercial airline pilots, bank presidents, lawyers,\u201d he said. \u201cThey don\u2019t need money, and they have nothing to gain by making up crazy, wild stories about dying and going to heaven and seeing Jesus, and yet, they consistently say it was the most real thing that ever happened to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John said these stories inspire people all over the world, and he believes God is using these journeys to help illuminate Scripture and point people back to Him. Kathy mirrored these reflections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI also think that it reminds us that things are not hopeless,\u201d she said. \u201cGod has not changed, and He\u2019s the same yesterday, today, and forever, and so we have to keep our focus on Him, and we can still find that peace, and joy, and love, and goodness radiated because we\u2019re His image bearers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It should be noted, though, NDEs aren\u2019t embraced as legitimate experiences by the secular world and even some Christians. In fact, critics are often vocal about their opposition to these stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGod operates in more mystery than I think sometimes we\u2019re willing to allow in the church and in our box of theology,\u201d John said. \u201cAnd God doesn\u2019t feel any need or constraint to the box we try to put him in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He continued, \u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do \u2026 in these books is help people see, \u2018No, it\u2019s not against what God\u2019s been saying in Scripture all along \u2014 it actually aligns.’\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A pastor and author who has investigated more than 1,000 near-death experiences (NDEs) believes there\u2019s definitive evidence that many of these experiences are authentic. John Burke, co-author of \u201cImagine the God of Heaven Devotional: 60 Reflections on the Heart of God from the Bible and Near-Death Experiences\u201d with his wife, Kathy, told CBN News he<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[119,110,117,200],"coauthors":[454],"class_list":{"0":"post-10812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-faith","8":"tag-bible","9":"tag-christianity","10":"tag-church","11":"tag-god"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10812"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10815,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10812\/revisions\/10815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10812"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=10812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}