Christophor Coppes - The Essence of Religions: A Glimpse of Heaven in the Near-Death Experience

Copyright 2013 by Christophor Coppes

All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher.

This edition published by SelectBooks, Inc.

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First Edition

ISBN 978-1-59079-245-2

eISBN: 9781590799680

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Coppes, Christophor.

The essence of religions : a glimpse of heaven in the near-death experience / Christophor Coppes.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

Summary: "Author compares essences of the five mainstream religions to revelations during near-death experiences when people have a glimpse of heaven as our birthright. He argues that while near-death encounters encompass beliefs of world religions, people emerge with messages about greater universality, largely a feeling of our interconnectiveness with a being of comprehensive, unconditional compassion and love "--Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-59079-245-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Near-death experiences--Religious aspects. 2. Future life. 3. Heaven. I. Title.

BL535.C67 2012

202'.3--dc23

2012013615

Interior book design by Janice Benight

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedicated to The Light:
B RAHMAN, THE B UDDHAS , YHWH, G OD , A LLAH

A Review of The Essence of Religions:
A Glimpse of Heaven in the Near-Death Experience

By Eben Alexander III, MD

The phenomenon of near-death experiences (NDEs) is relatively new, having originated in large measure because of the advent of medical techniques, over the last few decades, for resuscitating those who have suffered a cardiac arrest. Sporadic cases of those who had apparently "died" and then come back to life go back for millennia, but the vast majority of such cases have occurred in the last half-century. The initial professional view of these elaborate journeys as hallucinations or dreams has given way to a widespread scientific recognition that the similarities of these extraordinary recollections across a wide range of medical conditions, personal and cultural backgrounds, and prior belief systems (religious, scientific, etc.) suggest a common underlying reality as their basis. The consensus among those scientists who study them is that they are not simply "tricks of the dying brain," or brain-based phenomena at all. In fact, they often share similarities with the stories of religious mystics and prophets over millennia. I suspect that much of our religious literature elaborating on the spiritual realm originated in "near-death" and similar mind-states.

Christophor Coppes, chairman of the Dutch branch of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), has provided a scholarly assessment of the similarities and differences found in the world's five major religions when compared with the prominent lessons learned from near-death experiences. Although the real essences of each of the five main religions can be found in NDEs, not all essences of NDEs can be found in each of the religions separately. He rightfully concludes that the NDE seems more comprehensive than each of the religions individually.

As we move away from worn-out dogma from both the religious and scientific realms toward a contemporary synthesis of understanding about our existence, Christophor's refreshing and comprehensive analysis of major religions in light of the profound lessons from numerous NDE journeyers offers a rich new tapestry of understanding that I find most valuable.

Eben Alexander III, MD
Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
January 28, 2013

This book is written to discourage any kind of misuse of religions. It is meant to provide the much-needed tools to reconsider some of the dogmas of the five major world religions that are detrimental to human beings and to the world at large. It is also meant to replace these detrimental dogmas with something more uplifting to greatly benefit us all. This can be described as a true alignment with the unconditional love that we call God, Allah, YHWH, Brahman, or the Buddhas, or The Light that appears in the visions of those who have had near-death experiences.

People who have had a near-death experience are convinced that they had a glimpse of heaven. Although each near-death experience is unique, we find recurring messages in them. I have become convinced that by acknowledging the wonderful messages from those who had these experiences, people can become happier. In addition, the messages relayed to them from The Light can make our world a better place. Therefore, it is interesting to compare the essences of the five religions with the essences of NDEs. I compare what people have related about these experiences, in which they reveal their profound beliefs about life and afterlife, with the essential spiritual beliefs about the meaning of life and afterlife in the five mainstream religions.

In the essences of each of these religion's spiritual beliefs there are some wonderful characteristics. I explain what these are and what their parallels are with NDEs. At the same time I explain where the religions go astray. My conclusion is that while the essences of the beliefs in these religions can be found in NDEs, not all essences of NDEs can be found in each of the religions. Consequently, the beliefs and spiritual insights of those who have had near-death experiences seem to be more universal than each of the religions individually.

I first discuss the essences of NDEs. The most important characteristic of this experience is the feeling that we are being surrounded by a comprehensive and unconditional love. This feeling is there for many who have been in this state of being, but they are convinced that in principle it is there for everyone. Essential is also the feeling that we are all profoundly interconnected, and that everyone is important; there are no lesser souls. And there is the insight that from the moment we are born we have the right to eventually return to the place of The Light. In other words, heaven is our birthright. The fact that some people have distressful NDEs is also discussed, and a resolution for this is explained within this context.

Next, the essences of the five mainstream religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are evaluated. Many interesting parallels with NDEs are discovered, but there are also some remarkable differences. At the end of each chapter examining a specific religion there is a section called "foolish fixations," in which terrible excesses of that religion are discussed. These excesses demonstrate that in all religions one can find developments away from their core and from the most important thing there is: comprehensive and unconditional love. Religions are only good when they really bring people closer to God, Allah, JHWH, Brahman, or to enlightenment represented by the Buddhas. And religions start to be harmful when they are used by people to demean others, or when their content is adjusted by some to impose their will on others.

In the last chapter some of the most important topics of the near-death experience are summarized and compared with spiritual insights from the five religions. These topics involve the belief that God or The Light is indescribable, that God or The Light is in all of us, that love and compassion are the most important things there are in our existence, that each person has a task to fulfill in life, that there is free will, that everything in our life is recorded, and that there is no final judgment of us or a punishment for our earthly transgressions.