My summary of Near Death Experiences

I debated this on Puritanboard.  The only good thing that came out of it is I got to sharpen my own thoughts.  I don't really see any future in Reformed apologetics.

You say you weren't impressed with my arguments, but my premises were all drawn from the Christian tradition, the negation of which would be heresy.  I'll restate it.

P1: Body and Soul are not the same thing (correspondingly, neither are brain and mind, which is why I didn't put immediate stock in "physical" explanations.  Physical explanations can only explain the brain, not the mind, otherwise the truth would lie with Dawkins).

P2: The soul outlives the body.  Otherwise, Jesus's parable about Lazarus and the Rich Man would be incoherent.

P3: The Christian tradition holds to immaterial entities that do not exist spatially. We call them angels or demons (and we have a natural revelation analogue: Plato's Forms, Jung's Archetypes)

P4: These entities primary mode of existence is outside the time-space continuum.  Otherwise Belinda Carlisle would be right and heaven would be a place on earth.

P5: (4) helps us understand the soul's mode of existence after death.  Either it doesn't exist, and we have heresy.  Or it exists on earth and we just committed ourselves to the next season of Ghost Hunters, or it exists "on the other side" (call it heaven or hell or hades).

P6: The key problem is that some think I have argued for a realm of existence between Death and Life called "near death experiences."  I have argued for no such thing.  I'm fine with mystery.  But I am not going to be like the Eastern Orthodox apologists I debate and start chanting "Mystery" whenever I come across facts that don't fit my paradigm.

P7: The best explanation--and I am not arguing this as dogma--is that in those "near-death" moments the veil is pulled back or the boundary is weakened.

P8: What about the "Happy Hindus?"  Or more precisely, say there is a dissolute person who sees the proverbial "bright light."  Does that mean the wicked see "heaven?"  Not necessarily.  One of the key points I argued for--and this is Van Til 101--is that facts and interpretation of facts are not the same thing.  The person is probably seeing new phenomena for which he or she has no previous way of evaluating and opts for the next closest analogue.

Where do angels and demons exist?

Angels and demons do not exist in the Bible.  They exist in real life.  We read about them in the Bible.  We encounter them in real life.

Similarly, spiritual warfare happens in real life, not in a text.  (Funny how conservative Christians become Derrideans at this point!)  2 Corinthians 10 isn't just saying we need to think Christianly (which we do). It is a spiritual warfare text.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh

weapons of our warfare not of the flesh

but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses

We are destroying speculations

AND every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God

AND we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ

AND we are ready to punish all disobedience

Whenever your obedience is complete

Pulling down of fortresses

One commentator writes, “The stronghold (or fortress) is the place where the devil and his forces are entrenched”.  This isn’t too farfetched, I don’t think.  Exactly what are we fighting?  The New Testament is very clear that we are at war against dark forces.  There is no way to demythologize it and still take the New Testament seriously.  

Assuming we are at war, then we need to take the NT’s language seriously.  It says part of our life as disciples is to attack strongholds.  And this raises the question:  “What’s the point of a fortress or stronghold?”  

The Method of our Attack

If we are indeed called to pull down strongholds and fortresses, and we know that Paul doesn’t mean that against literal flesh-and-blood enemies, then we have to ask, “What will this attack look like?”

• Truth encounter (every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God)
• The Greek word for lofty thing is “hypsoma.”  It means something like astrological ideas, cosmic powers, and power directed against God.
• Victory encounter (taking every thought captive)