What Is It Like to Be Dead?: Near-Death Experiences, Christianity, and the Occult Schlieter, Jens

Name: What Is It Like to Be Dead?: Near-Death Experiences, Christianity, and the Occult Schlieter, Jens
Price: 54.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Schlieter, Jens
ISBN: 9780190888848

✍️ Schlieter, Jens

☆ Reader reviews: none yet — be the first

54 $

📚 ABOUT THE BOOK

What if death isn't the end, but a profound awakening with a forgotten history?

Jens Schlieter challenges us to look beyond contemporary fascination with near-death experiences (NDEs), revealing their deep roots in historical accounts spanning over a century and a half. This insightful volume argues that understanding today's testimonies requires familiarity with countless earlier reports, often published in popular media of their time. The book meticulously classifies and interprets these narratives, exploring how NDEs have consistently prompted individuals to re-evaluate their lives, diminish their fear of mortality, and embrace a more spiritual path. It also dissects the profound religious and philosophical implications these experiences hold for both those who encounter them and their captivated audiences.

Key themes

{'title': 'Historical NDE Narratives', 'body': 'This work meticulously traces the lineage of near-death accounts, demonstrating that these profound experiences are far from a modern phenomenon. Schlieter reveals how reports of journeys to the brink of death have been documented, shared, and interpreted across diverse cultures and eras, providing a vital context for understanding contemporary NDEs.'} {'title': 'Transformative Life Changes', 'body': "The book delves into the profound, often irreversible, impact NDEs have on experiencers. It highlights how these encounters frequently ignite a fundamental shift in perception, leading to a diminished fear of mortality, a clarified sense of purpose, and a deepened spiritual awareness that reshapes one's entire life orientation and belief system."} {'title': 'Religious and Occult Connections', 'body': 'Schlieter explores the intricate relationship between NDEs and various spiritual traditions, including Christianity and broader occult thought. He examines how these experiences are often interpreted as evidence of post-mortem survival or transcendent realities, influencing personal faith journeys and contributing to larger discussions about consciousness beyond the physical.'}

🏛 Oxford University Press, USA 📅 2018 📖 376 pages 📔 Hardcover 📐 Hardcover ISBN: 9780190888848

In stock — ready to ship

Fun fact

Schlieter delivers a meticulously researched and thought-provoking exploration, masterfully anchoring the contemporary NDE phenomenon in its expansive historical context. This book excels in its analytical rigor, offering far more than mere anecdotes; it provides a framework for understanding how these experiences shape belief. Those seeking only personal testimonials or definitive pronouncements on the afterlife might be disappointed. However, for serious students of comparative religion, occult studies, and the philosophy of consciousness, this is an indispensable, illuminating addition to the field.

📝 Description: What Is It Like to Be Dead?: Near-Death Experiences, Christianity, and the Occult Schlieter, Jens

Studies of "near-death experiences" show that such experiences not only provide a new certainty of post-mortem survival, but often function as a call for fundamental change in the present. Reported aftereffects encompass changes in attitudes, beliefs, and life orientation. It is said that "experiencers" have lost their fear of death, found their purpose in life, or become "more spiritual." The experience - often declared to be indescribable, inexplicable, or ineffable - is held by many to be the most important of their lives and, moreover, the best proof available for matters "transcendent." In What Is It Like To Be Dead?, Jens Schlieter argues that to understand recent testimonies of near-death experiences, we need to be aware of the history of innumerable reports of earlier near-death experiences that were communicated and handed down in scores of newspapers, journals, and books. Collections of such testimonies have been published for more than 150 years, accompanied by attempts to classify and interpret them. Schlieter analyzes the religious relevance of near-death experiences -for the experiencers themselves, but also for the growing audience attracted by these testimonies. Near-death experiences bear ontological, epistemic, intersubjective, and moral significance, ranging from reassurance that religious experience is still possible to claims that they initiate a new spiritual orientation in life, or offer evidence for the transcultural validity of afterlife beliefs. This study is the first to document and analyze four centuries of near-death testimonies before the codification of the genre in the 1970s, offering the first full account of the modern genealogy of "near-death experiences."

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books — add yours →

⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.4/5

★★★★★

If you're drawn to the mysteries of consciousness, the afterlife, or the historical evolution of spiritual thought, this book is for you. It offers a scholarly yet accessible journey for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of near-death experiences beyond anecdotal reports.

Reader rating

Reviews yet. Be the first!

❓ Frequently asked questions

Rather than providing definitive scientific evidence, Schlieter's work analyzes how NDE accounts have historically been interpreted as indications of post-mortem survival and how they influence personal and collective beliefs about what lies beyond.

While it specifically addresses Christianity's engagement with NDEs, the book's scope is much broader. It delves into the general religious and philosophical relevance of these experiences, making it pertinent to various spiritual and occult interests.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Historical NDE Narratives

This work meticulously traces the lineage of near-death accounts, demonstrating that these profound experiences are far from a modern phenomenon. Schlieter reveals how reports of journeys to the brink of death have been documented, shared, and interpreted across diverse cultures and eras, providing a vital context for understanding contemporary NDEs.

Transformative Life Changes

The book delves into the profound, often irreversible, impact NDEs have on experiencers. It highlights how these encounters frequently ignite a fundamental shift in perception, leading to a diminished fear of mortality, a clarified sense of purpose, and a deepened spiritual awareness that reshapes one's entire life orientation and belief system.

Religious and Occult Connections

Schlieter explores the intricate relationship between NDEs and various spiritual traditions, including Christianity and broader occult thought. He examines how these experiences are often interpreted as evidence of post-mortem survival or transcendent realities, influencing personal faith journeys and contributing to larger discussions about consciousness beyond the physical.

💬 Quotes from the book

«The persistent echo of 'dying' testimonies across millennia suggests not a modern anomaly, but a fundamental human encounter with the veil.»

«To truly grasp the transformative power of a near-death experience, one must first appreciate its rich and often surprising lineage within recorded history.»

📜 Historical context

While modern interest in near-death experiences surged in the late 20th century, Schlieter's work masterfully re-situates them within a much longer, often overlooked, historical tradition. By examining accounts from over 150 years, the book connects contemporary NDE studies to a rich tapestry of pre-modern and early modern reports, revealing enduring patterns in human encounters with death's threshold.

📚 Glossary

Near-Death Experience (NDE)
Post-mortem Survival
Ineffable

📔 Questions to reflect on

{'question': "How might a personal encounter with the edge of death fundamentally alter your current life's priorities and fears?"}
{'question': 'Considering historical accounts, what common threads or significant divergences do you perceive in how different cultures or eras interpreted NDEs?'}
{'question': 'If NDEs offer a glimpse beyond the veil, how does that perspective challenge or reinforce your existing spiritual or philosophical beliefs about existence?'}