Deathbed Experiences as Evidence for the Afterlife, Volume 1: A Groundbreaking, Scientific Apologetic, Evaluating Death-Related Visions, Terminal Lucidity and After Death Communications

by J. Steve Miller

The thesis of this book is quite simple and If you want to look for evidence for the afterlife, observe the dying, to see if there’s any indication that they’re going somewhere. Researchers are finding that several experiences related to death are global and quite common, Deathbed Experiences, where over 80% of the dying in a hospice unit report vivid experiences with deceased relatives and angelsTerminal Lucidity, where people lose brain function over time, only to regain full consciousness to say their goodbyes before dyingShared Death Experiences, where healthy people experience a part of their loved one’s death experienceCrisis Apparitions, where people otherwise unaware of a person’s death somehow know of the person’s deathAfter Death Communications, where people claim to receive visits from deceased loved ones.To discover if these can be explained away as lies, exaggerations, or hallucinations, highly respected intellects, connected to many of our top universities, have studied phenomena at death for significant portions of their lives and assessed them for afterlife evidence. Dr. Miller, in a winsome, popular style, discusses many studies and documented reports that point towards an afterlife.Testimonies about His Book, From Both Volumes or the Original DissertationThis extraordinary book will set the agenda for future studies of the phenomena associated with “life after death” or “deathbed experiences.”....As a semi-retired scientist, a physicist/engineer with a long history of interest in not only science but also philosophy, I was privileged to receive a nearly final Advance Review Copy from Prof. Miller, an acquaintance through internet correspondence.I spent decades as an agnostic, only recently returning to the Christian faith. Professor Miller’s book is so well-argued that it has moved me from hoping there is a life after death to expecting that there is, being only somewhat short of certain....This profound and carefully researched book will encourage all who hope for a life after death in the presence of a just and benevolent God.Douglas Winslow Cooper, Ph.D.Formerly, Associate Professor of Environmental PhysicsHarvard UniversityWho knew that many of our most respected educators and scientists, teaching in our most highly respected universities, have been studying an experience that provides evidence for the afterlife? The implications for finding life's purpose, counseling the grieving, caring for the dying, and establishing a personal worldview are nothing less than astounding. this book may start by changing your mind, but end with impacting your heart. J. P. Moreland, Ph.D.Distinguished Professor of PhilosophyTalbot School of TheologyBiola UniversityAbsolutely outstanding! Your book is the best book on Deathbed Experiences anywhere. Jeffrey Long, M.D.Cofounder of the Near-Death Experience Research FoundationAuthor of Evidence for the AfterlifeThis is a groundbreaking book. Dr. Steve Miller offers a rigorous and insightful look at deathbed experiences and whether or not they offer evidence for the afterlife and the existence of God. Whether believer or skeptic, this is a book to read, digest, and discuss with others.Sean McDowell, Ph.D.

Genres: Christianity

311 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 6, 2021

Reviews

[Joey R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars — Wow. What a wonderful unexpected holiday gift this was. “Deathbed Experiences as Evidence for the Afterlife” by J.Steve Miller is written like a college textbook on the subject of deathbed experiences. It is VERY well researched and heavily footnoted with several scientific studies on the deathbed experience phenomena. I have read numerous books on the afterlife ( primarily “near death experiences”) and have never read a more compelling, well researched book on the afterlife than this one. What separates this book from the others is the author’s ability to organize the type of deathbed experiences while giving examples for each. The author does an excellent job of using the most compelling documented cases to prove once and for all that the mind and the brain are separate and that the idea of a soul is real. On each type of deathbed experience, the author tries to answer atheists’ potential objections to how this event could have a natural explanation and proves again and again that there is no natural explanation for the events that are described in the deathbed experience. I was most amazed and convinced that these were true encounters with the afterlife in the chapters in which children describe their imminent death and what they are encountering, and the chapter in which those with severe brain damage or mental incapacity ‘wake up’ to discuss the afterlife and are completely lucid for an hour or two before going back into a coma and dying. If these documented cases don’t convince you that there is life after death then you are so close-minded you wouldn’t be convinced by any evidence of life after death. However, if you are struggling in your faith or are needing some encouragement after a loved one’s death then this book is for you. The textbook style is a little less readable than a normal book; however, the cases that this book documents more than compensate for this, and the book is truly a spiritual experience that you won’t soon forget.

[Chris Snidow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read about near-death experiences before, so this subject immediately interested me. I was just concerned that I would not have the time necessary to read it. So I decided to just take my time with it, and I am so glad that I did. This book looks at death-related visions, after-death communication, children's experiences at death, and much more. For me, it was like a good mystery story, with lots of clues throughout. There is so much good information here. And it was very easy to read and understand. And with my lack of time these days, this is always a strong selling point for me. And of course, this subject is fascinating. Skeptic Michael Shermer's story was especially interesting for me.
There doesn't seem to be many books looking at such subjects. And that seems strange to me. However now, with Dr. Miller's book, perhaps there will be more. I hope so. Thank you Dr. Miller for such a well-done and fascinating book! I highly recommend it. Catherine Henon, RN

[Thomas Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Miller has taken on an intimidating subject. Deathbed experiences are difficult to study. In the West, such claims are generally regarded as suspect simply because of the subjective nature of these experiences. However, Miller lays out a thorough methodology, study, and argument for the validity of these experiences and what they might mean. This well-researched book will be valuable to anyone interested in learning more about deathbed experiences.

[Some Christian Lady · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish.

This author teaches that there are examples of “After Death Communications” that he believes are the actual deceased person communicating with their loved ones.

The Bible clearly teaches that upon death, human beings either go to Heaven or Hell. This being the case, we know it is not human spirits that are communicating with the living, but demonic spirits.

Just to confirm I wasn’t rushing to judgement, and perhaps he would explain later in the book that he didn’t believe these were the souls of deceased humans communicating with the living, I went to that section of the book dealing with this, and it got even worse.

He tells the story of a women who’s husband had passed away the week before, and she said he visited her one night, sat down on the bed, put his forehead to hers, and psychically communicated thoughts directly to her.

Divination and communicating with the dead are strictly forbidden in the Bible.

“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.” Deuteronomy 18:10-14

I would not recommend this book, or this author.

[Larry White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet Again Objective, Intriguing and Thorough

Like his other work, “Is Christianity Compatible with Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and Deathbed Experiences (DBEs)” J. Steve Miller’s “Deathbed Experiences as Evidence for the Afterlife” takes a rigorous, mostly dispassionate approach to the enigma of DBEs. These phenomena and NDEs have gotten a great deal of popular attention in recent years in books and, in the latter case, even in motion pictures. Infernally (no irony intended) provocative, the actuality of such incidents seems indisputable. This book, focusing on just DBEs, is actually the first volume in his series of analytical examinations of death-related phenomena, and specifically challenges explanations from the viewpoint of naturalism. It is more about evaluating the evidence than about describing the evidence, the incidents themselves, although he does include many examples. In that sense it is objective and thorough, yet readable and intriguing. Not all of Miller’s conclusions are compelling, but they are thought provoking and worth the journey.

In an effort to make his conclusions highly objective, Miller assigns a probability to the various types of DBEs of offering convincing evidence for afterlife. He invites the reader to do likewise. While this attempt at adding objectivity is in fact highly subjective (after all, he encourages readers to take an independent, and therefore subjective, view), I’m unsure that his conclusion about cumulative probability is statistically proper. An independent confirmation of the statistical significance would have been more convincing, even in a detailed footnote or appendix. However, the value of the categorical compilation and objective evaluation far exceeds the value of the mathematical conclusion. I don’t count the clarity of his mathematical conclusion, however convincing it aims to be, against this otherwise intriguing and thorough analysis. Miller promises another in his series of books on evidence for the afterlife in 2024, and I think I’ll read it.

[Benjamin Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty thorough review of studies people have made regarding deathbed experiences, which include visions of the world to come and visitations by deceased loved ones. There are a number of other unexplainable experiences included here, such as visions by the living of the dying saying goodbye.

It's all interesting and compelling stuff, but Miller is a numbers man, and although the book is peppered with examples of the experiences he's writing about—a couple seeing a distant aunt suddenly at their beside saying goodbye; Edison staring into space and saying, "It's very beautiful over there" before dying; dying children describing the (wingless) angels that have come to take them to heaven—it spends more time on describing the studies that uncovered these examples. Page after page examines studies on the topic, then elaborates if the studies are worth taking seriously. Although this does illuminate some surprising things—such as how studies into these kinds of experiences were once taken quite seriously, but then, around the turn of the century, were ignored by the scientific community—it also means reading more numbers and names than it does the evidence itself. While I appreciate Miller's angle and believe it is a worthwhile thing to examine, I'd rather have read 300 pages of stories about people reaching out to take someone's hand before dying, etc., than evaluations of the studies that examined them. But that's just me.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that much of the information was very good and I really enjoyed reading about the experiences that others have had. I do wish the book had more of the case studies the way that Raymond Moody's book on NDEs does.