Customer Reviews

Beyond Death's Door

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The stories in this book will give you the chills. These people came back from near death experiences knowing things that they could not have known if they had been in their bodies. The author is a respected physician, not a wacko. The things his patients told him convinced him that there is a God, a heaven, AND a hell. At a critical moment of my life, this book convinced me not to commit suicide

A study of near-death experiences written by a (then) atheist doctor who was "scared straight" after recessitating a patient who claimed to have been in hell while clinically dead.

The Good:
* Based on first-hand experiences of a doctor who actually recessitated patients who then recounted near-death experiences, some of them bad.
* He comes across as honest in his concern for people's souls. He doesn't want to "convert" people, but is genuinely concerned that some of us are headed for a hell-ish destiny. So it's not written from the same New Age "We're all going to Heaven" standpoint as most of todays NDE stuff.
* Purposely avoids drawing widespread conclusions based on incomplete information. Many NDE books extrapolate wildly about the after-life just because someone saw a bright light and felt loved.
* He genuinely wanted to warn people that not everyone has a good experience. He tries to gently compel the reader to consider Christianity - and does it in a non-judgemental, sensative way without bashing other faiths.

The Bad:
* Too short, - and half of the book is padding (historical views of death and even instructions for how to recessitate someone!)
* I appreciated that he didn't try to stuff answers down my throat, but the main drawback was that he didn't delve into the questions raised by these experiences. For example, he points out that even some who considered themselves Christians had hell-ish experiences - but he doesn't try to explain why or what was lacking in their faith or life.

This isn't one of those books written by some quack out in left field, this one is written by a doctor, and one who has brought the dead back to life on more than one occasion. Here in this shocking book, people who have died and been brought back to life give their accounts as to what happened to them on "The Other Side". There is a Heaven, and there is a Hell, and once you read the true accounts from these ordinary people, you'll understand why you need to make a decision concerning Jesus Christ. Many of the folks in this book detail the horrors of Hell , and many share the warm loving and peaceful experience of Heaven. I have bought a number of copies of this book, and each time I lend a copy to a friend, it is never seen again. After one reads it, they share it with another , and then another and so on. This book will make you stop and think about death and about the after life. Get a copy today ! I welcome anyone who wants to write me and I will answer all inquiries when possible.

I remember going through a period in my life many years ago when I had developed a very serious interest in the New Age movement. At the time, I had been dabbling with out of body experiences, the Tarot, Numerology and Astrology, among others. I had all but become convinced that life after death had more to do with traveling the astral plane than going to Heaven or Hell.

I was brought up as a Christian, although at that juncture in my life I had lost my way. I was about 23 at the time and suffering from chronic depression. I had tried many anti-depressants to no avail. I decided, based on the experiences of those whose books I had been reading at the time, that suicide would most likely be the best solution, and life after death would be a much happier journey than the one I was currently experiencing.

After attempting suicide (unsuccessfully) shortly thereafter, I ran across this book at a local, used bookstore, and the name of the book caught my interest. After reading it, I decided then and there I would never try suicide again. I decided that even in the worst of times, it was better to try and suffer through it with God's help than what I believe would have lead to my suffering in Hell.

This book honestly saved my life, and I can't recommend it enough to those who can, in any capacity, relate with my story.

This is a short book written by a highly credentialed cardiologist. He also was a self-described atheist . . . until he stumbled onto the information which comprises the theme of this book: Life continues after bodily death, and a few people have a had a peek behind the curtain and have described what they saw.

Dr. Maurice Rawlings compiled the stories of the post-resuscitation experiences of his own, and other physicians', patients. CPR is a relatively young technique that has become widely familiar to even lay people during the last 30 years or so. Rawlings goes into possibly a little more detail on CPR than most of us are interested in. I suspect that is what some of the other critcal reviewers are referring to as "filler". I also found it boring.

The recountings of the "beyond death's door" experiences were riveting. They have great entertainment value, however when one considers the real life implications (or end of life, as it were), the result is profound and terrifying.

Make no mistake -- Dr. Rawlings is now what is referred to in American culture as a "Born Again Christian". He believes what he has written and he offers a simple, available solution: Belief and trust in the Jesus of the Bible. Rejection of Jesus results in passing on to hell after physical death. Rawlings is quite clear about this, and supports his belief using references from the Bible. I found his previous atheistic position, his systematic compilation of "experiences" for the book, and his subsequent conversion to a STRONG Christian position to be compelling.

Obviously, this talk of Christianity and such repels most unbelievers, and leaves many in a frothing at the mouth rage (see other reviews). However, the author has written transparently. Take it as you will, but as Rawlings presents it, THIS IS VERY SERIOUS BUSINESS.

He is not the best of writers, but he is adequate. He is apparently a competent scientist, and has done readers a great service by putting this book together.

I note criticisms from other reviewers that Rawlings did not fully develop some of the resuscitation stories, or did not explain why some "good" people, or churchgoers, seemed to have been headed to hell. Perhaps the answer is that the author did not attempt to embellish, or judge, but just report. By his own description, the survivors' memories of these experiences (especially the hellish ones) are fleeting and evaporate completely rather quickly.

Rawlings wrote a subsequent book, To Hell and Back. It contains much recycled material, is a little preachy, and contains perhaps MOSTLY filler. I do not recommend it. I do however highly recommend this book for anyone interested in examining and thinking about the life after death phenomenon . . . and shouldn't we all.

For those that believe that everyone who dies will "go to the light" MUST read this book! Not everyone goes to Heaven! These are actual testimonies of people who have died and have gone to Hell and those that have gone to Heaven. Not sure where you'll go? This book reveals the Truth about where you go and why. It's not how good or how bad you've been - there's more to it than that. Have a friend that's not sure where they're going? This book could be the key to revealing death's truths that can save souls and take away some of the fears of death so that a fuller life can be lived. I've given a number of copies away and everyone has expressed sincere gratitude for showing them "The True Light".

I had what we now refer to as a near-death experience in 1972. I was 12 years old. I told my parents about it, and they tried to calm me and told me that it was "just a dream." They were not familiar with N.D.E.s because nothing had been written about them at the time, no movies or videos, and the term "N.D.E." hadn't even been invented.

The experience did not exactly fit into the concept of death that I held at the time...that God was an old man with a white beard and angels with bird-like wings. No, there was a tunnel of light, BEing of Light, and door-like portal, that I, incidentally, decided not to go through.

The BEing of Light told me that if I went through the portal, then "You won't get to see your mommy and daddy again." In a nutshell, Love for my parents brought me back to my physical body.

I repressed the memory to a certain extent for many years but always realized deep inside that it was a very important event! In 1984, while attending college, I was miraculously led to discover "Beyond Death's Door" in a used bookstore. Something "told me" in my mind (intuitively) to look behind another pile of books on a bottom shelf, and voila, there it was!

It was a wonderful revelation because for the first time, I realized that other people had undergone an experience similar to my own, I wasn't alone! Bottom line, there truly is a "spiritual" level of existence beyond this "physical" world, and I was given a choice about whether to "come back" or not!

Dr. Rawlings' book is excellent, but so are many others by such authors as Dr. Raymond Moody, Jr; and Dr. Melvin Morse. For believers, and especially skeptics, please note that all three of these authors are medical doctors, men steeped in the traditions of "rational" inquiry and the "scientific method." I'm guessing, however, that some of you may think that they must be quacks. Yea, and they've held down life-and-death positions in hospital emergency rooms!

Everyone reading this book eventually will know that spiritual existence after physical death is a reality. For nonbelievers, I'm confident that, one day, you will be glad that you were wrong! Smile.

If you are a christian, this book is a must. The author says he's a christian and I found the book powerfully moving. I could not put it down. It's thought provoking, easy to read, in plain and simple english...and best of all a brief look at the "other side".

I have not read this book. I am considering it therefore I read the reviews with interest. I must say that I am apalled at some of the criticism leveled against the author.

Here is an atheist cardiologist that shares information from his own experience which changed his belief system and he is being attacked by people that don't want to believe what he is saying.

Listen folks - the guy was an educated atheist. He was not some rabid fundamentalist from the backwoods of Arkansas. He did not have any preconceived ideas that caused him to blindly accept what he was experiencing. Neither does he have an agenda.

You atheists that are distrusting of theists - fine, that is your choice. But when members of your own belief system present counter evidence at least be big enough to listen and not attack the messenger. He goes on to say that he knows of NO agnostic or atheist that has experienced an NDE that remains an agnostic or atheist. This is further testimony for you to consider from your like-minded brethren.

Or is all of this talk about being open to truth just a lie??? What will it take for some of you to even CONSIDER the possibility of a God or life after death?

My sister read this book back in 1980. A few months after she read it, she died from a blood clot at the age of 19. At her funeral I heard stories from her co-workers, friends and family members about how Sandy had changed after she read this book and that she told everyone that she was going to go to heaven when she died and that she believed in Jesus. She had been into a lot of trouble and had a hard time finding her way in life until she read this book. A friend of mine came to see me after my sister died and she couldn't believe how calm and peaceful my family was after losing Sandy. She had recently moved out from he husband and was having a hard time with her life. I told her to read this book and she did and it changed her life. She went back to her husband and they are still married to this day. They started going to church together and even ended up teaching couple classes in the church together. GET THIS BOOK! IT WILL BE WORTH IT!