What Lee Strobel Discovered About the Afterlife Following Near-Death Experience
By Movieguide® Contributor
Author Lee Strobel, a former atheist turned Christian apologist and pastor, revealed that the inspiration for his book The Case for Heaven came from his own near-death experience.
“It started several years ago, when I almost died,” Strobel explained. “My wife found me unconscious on the bedroom floor. She called an ambulance. I woke up in the emergency room and the doctor looked down at me and said, ‘You’re one step away from a coma, two steps away from dying,’ and then [I] went unconscious again and lingered between life and death for a while until the doctors were able to save me.’”
Strobel said he found himself “hovering over that blurry line between life and death,” which led to his curiosity about the afterlife.
“It caused me to dig a little deeper,” Strobel shared. “And I was really kind of surprised by several things I discovered, because they really do…in an unexpected way…corroborate what the Bible tells us about the afterlife.”
Strobel shared that some of the most compelling stories he found came from people who were “clinically dead” but aware of their circumstances.
He continued, “[These are] people who are clinically dead, and yet their consciousness, their mind, their spirit, their soul continues to exist and see things and experience things that are impossible if, indeed, they weren’t having an authentic out-of-body experience.”
In his book, Strobel shares the accounts of others who have had near-death experiences and what they felt and saw, including a woman named Maria, who was clinically dead after suffering a heart attack.
“[She said], ‘My spirit separated from my body. I watched from the ceiling of the hospital. The resuscitation efforts on my physical body and then my spirit floated up through the floors of the hospital and out of the hospital,’” Strobel shared.
Maria said she saw a men’s blue tennis shoe on the hospital roof, and “they went up [to the roof], and they found it exactly as she had said.”
“I was a skeptic about near-death experiences until I found out we have 900 scholarly articles that have been written and published in scientific and medical journals over the last 40 years,” Strobel added, calling it a “very well-researched area.”
Strobel also explored the afterlife in the documentary THE CASE FOR HEAVEN. Movieguide® previously reported:
Author Lee Strobel is famous for his book, “The Case For Heaven,” and his quest to find answers for what happens after we die. Strobel brought his spiritual journey to the big screen with a documentary of the same name, and recently discussed his thoughts on the afterlife…
“[My research] gives credibility to what the Bible tells us,” the author shared. “We have corroboration that can give us confidence that the Bible’s teachings about surviving death are accurate. Like I said, I came into this as a skeptic thinking that I was going to discover this is an over-hyped phenomenon. But I walk away from this study with an increased confidence that the Bible is true.”
“When we read what the Bible says about the afterlife, it often uses figurative language and metaphors to try to explain to us truths that we can’t fully comprehend,” Strobel continued. “The Bible says, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ We get glimpses of the afterlife through the teachings of Jesus and through what the Bible tells us about the life to come.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
