The Complaint Department Is Closed #8

Unlike past Complaint Department articles, this will not be too lengthy, as even GII admits in its closing this is not an actual proof for believing God is imaginary.  Nevertheless, in keeping with tradition, GII’s proof falls by the wayside rather handily.

Proof number 8: Think About Near Death Experiences

GII begins its next proof with an assertion that “many Christians find the phenomenon of Near Death Experiences (NDEs) to be proof that “God” and the “afterlife” exist”.  While I cannot speak to GII’s experiences with Christians who cite NDEs as proof of God’s and the afterlife’s existence, I have never been in so much as a passing conversation with anyone let alone a Christian about NDEs.  A fact which really does nothing to prove my case, but I believe it may be a bit misleading to suggest “many Christians…” offer NDEs as a proof.  The reason I bring this up, as I have previously mentioned, is the tendency for atheists to do little to no research for their claims, this proof is no different as we will see.  Unfortunately other atheists seeking arguments with which to counter those of the theist will be mislead into thinking this is ground “many Christians” choose to stand.

NDEs have been experienced by thousands of people and have been widely cataloged in a variety of books. Many of these books are “spiritual” or “religious” in nature.

What is not mentioned is that there is a drug called Ketamine that produces all of the elements of an NDE when it is injected into normal, non-dying people. In other words, an NDE is a natural, chemically induced state that the human brain enters. The trigger for an NDE is lack of oxygen to the brain and body. If you read scientific papers like these, you find that there is a completely chemical and completely non-spiritual reason for the features of every NDE.

GII’s proof is rather short and relies upon their citation of an article by Dr. Karl Jansen: The Ketamine Model of the Near Death Experience: A Central Role for the NMDA Receptor.  Here are two brief, but key excerpts from the referenced article.

I am no longer as opposed to spritual [sic] explanations of these phenomena as this article would appear to suggest.

…the apparent emphasis on matter over mind contained within this particular article no longer accurately represents my attitudes.

The article itself is a paper describing the ability to reproduce the effect of NDEs, it is not an effort to disprove the phenomenon of or nature of NDEs.  Perhaps in the future GII will cite works which advocate for the point which they are attempting to convey.

The truth of the matter is that there is an underlying assumption by GII that God, if He exists, would not or could not use nature and the physical realm to achieve an objective.  The fact that our neurological system functions a certain way under certain circumstances does not exclude God or the supernatural from using the “tools” at hand.

I myself have not taken an interest in NDEs, perhaps in the future I will spend some effort investigating them, though it is doubtful.  For now I will continue to not use NDEs in my apologetic for the existence of God and the afterlife.