Analysis of Proof of Heaven Book by Dr. Eben Alexander - Essay Example

Proof of Haven In his book, “Proof of Heaven”, Dr. Eben Alexander gives proof of the existence of heaven, based on assertions of his near death experience. The neurosurgeon presents his assertions from the moment doctors diagnosed him with a deadly meningitis condition, bacteria called Escherichia coli—better known simply as E. coli (Alexander 11). Throughout the book, the doctor gives an account of the events taking place since he went into a coma to the time he regained his consciousness. His is a narration of the events that took place, from what he termed as a journey to the underworld, to heaven and back again. As he gives his narration, he tries to prove that what he experienced through the journey was purposeful, an experience never witnessed before. Taking a stance on whether the account given is true or not, it is important to consider the kind of evidence presented in the book. Nobody has ever been to heaven, and as such, it is difficult to deduce the reality of what heaven is like. While the bible explains how heaven is likely to be, the fact remains that neither of the bible accounts describes vividly of what heaven is like. Jesus himself gave insights of what life in heaven would be like. As he warned sinners of eternal suffering, he promised non-sinners eternal happiness, one that would never end. Jesus, being the son of God was the best source of such information; he lived in heaven with his father God before coming down to rescue God’s children from the evil one, he sat at the throne and was part of the trinity. Therefore, when he promises of peace, joy and unending happiness, he means of exactly what he witnessed in heaven. Other accounts are through prophets, who prophesied of the events that would characterize the second coming of the son of God (Mawungwa, 15). At the time of his second coming, prophesies say, all dead will resurrect, and will ascend to heaven (Royalty 48). In heaven, the road is narrow; it is times narrower than the highway of hell. The road will not be an easy one, as biblical accounts hold. It will be rocky and thorny; it will be full of challenges, contrary to the road leading to hell, which will be full of happiness. However, in heaven, the joy that the faithful will have has no comparison with any worldly happiness (Royalty 49). People will bow down in front of his majesty. He will be sitting at the throne, in his white robe, and Jesus on his side. With the promise of heaven being a hot topic among Christians, different people try to visualize what it would be like in heaven (Mawungwa 15). It is a place we long to be, an experience we would like all to have. With every person having hopes of ever stepping into heaven, different people have come up with claims of having been to heave. The recent case is Dr. Eben Alexander’s account of his journey to heaven and his near death experience. Many people, especially the medical practitioners and physicians have strongly refuted his claims, terming them as baseless and false. In fact, some believe that during the entire coma, he was hallucinating, something they doubtfully have proven. Others believe that he actually was not in a coma as he alleges, but was rather faking it. The credibility of his professionalism have also come up, with different professionals accusing him of having tried to forge documents to cover up flaws and messes he had committed in his medical career. Personally, I do not base my assertions on the credibility of his medical career or whether the coma was self-induced or not. I base my arguments on the fact that he cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt that he was in heaven. Additionally, his account is flawed with things that do not add up, regardless of the chronology of events as he highlights them. Dr. Eben Alexander, in his account explains what happens when a person dies. After his death, he first went to the underworld before his ascension to the sky. In his description of the underworld, he gives what appears to happen in horror movies, describing illusionary creatures Alexander (18-22). The underworld was a world where there is no sense of time, a world engulfed in total darkness and scary creatures. After death, one changes from his mortal being to an immortal being, a being that has no body, but a spirit. He describes himself as neither human nor animal. The creatures, appearing from muddy waters and bloody walls like a placenta, groaned and moaned constantly, and at times the moans broke into a chant. He called this place the earthworm eye. After staying in this place for there was an opening, high above him. It was however different from the place he was in; there was warm light, and he miraculously started ascending towards the opening. He then met with a stunningly beautiful girl with high cheekbones. She wore a rather beautiful dress that was brightly colored. In their journey, they flew among butterflies with beautiful colors, just like the woman next to him. When in heaven, he saw the world and all that is on earth, good and evil. He compared the world to a speck of dust, with more good than evil. While trying to prove of his journey to heaven and back, he provi8des evidence of his journey. The condition he was suffering from is one of the evidence that he was near death experience. Doctors diagnosed him with a serious condition, E-coli, a rather dangerous condition. Secondly, he was in a coma for seven days, and survived through the coma. Before leaving the emergency room, he screamed, “God help me.” Through the entire narration, he tries to prove that this prayer saved him from death. When he regained his consciousness, he was amazingly fine, as he blinked constantly, here, there and everywhere, like a person who had not gone through a coma. He argues that his return was a second birth to the world. Other events cannot count as evidence as nobody could tell what heaven is like. It is therefore hard to argue whether he was right or wrong. I however do not believe his evidence, many people have been in comas for longer periods, yet none came out arguing that he had been to heaven. For the time he was in the coma, he was still breathing and alive. The logics of Alexander having gone to heaven while still alive are lame. Only the soul that ascends to heaven and one cannot retain it and still travel to heaven. These are the counter arguments that critics could argue against his assertions. Perhaps he could have provided more evidence of his journey to heaven by proving that his body and soul were separate from each other. If he could prove that he was lifeless, people could believe him. Additionally, his account does not appear real; rather, an episode from a horror movie. If he was keen to candidly describe the journey in stages, and tie that to the bible, more people could have taken him seriously. Generally, he does not make sense according to my view. I chose to believe that he was in a coma, but it was a coma characterized by hallucinations, fear and panic. In his subconscious mind, he must have been too scared of death. The terror that engulfed him was so overwhelming that he hoped of going to heaven than hell. Works Cited Alexander, Eben. Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife. Detroit, MI: Large Print Press, 2013. Print. Mawungwa, Charles. P. Bible Prophecies: Daniel to Revelation. Bible Prophecies, n.d. Print. Royalty, Robert. M. The Streets of Heaven: The Ideology of Wealth in the Apocalypse of John. Macon, Ga: Mercer Univ. Press, 1998. Print. Read More