Customer Reviews

Deceived by the Light

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(4)

 

 

One reviewer below stated, "When Mr. Groothius has a detailed near-death experience of his own that he can use for comparison to Betty Eadie's, then I will take him seriously."

Isn't this like saying, "If you've never experienced heroin, then you can't knock it"? Also, I wonder if that reviewer has had a NDE which he/she can use to determine if Eadie's experience is valid?

Are all subjective/existential experiences beyond evaluation? If so, then anyone could claim anything, and all others would be forced to believe.

Groothuis does a good job of cutting through this type of thinking and shows how truth-claims about NDE's can be tested, and evaluated.

Isn't it amazing, as Mr. Groothuis points out, the sheer number of NDEs that have cropped up in the past years? Why don't they occur evenly throughout time, instead of in convenient, sporadic clusters when such experiences are ... dare Groothuis say it ... popular?

Dramatic! Beautiful! Uplifting! Hopebound! The truth? Well, let's see. Eadie, no doubt, believes every word she says -- that doesn't mean the person listening and looking into her bubbly face has to. There are several problems with simply nodding your head as someone proclaims they have had a NDE, and Groothuis points them out in this particular case of Eadie.

He also highlights other issues in his book, including the subject of nirvana, new age cults, and other, in all fairness, a la mode movements that have gripped the "open-minded, yet gullible". Wrongfully accused of fundamentalism, Groothuis simply states the facts about the myriad of stories, cults, and various other paraphernalia barging down our doors.

This is the kind of arrogant approach that is intended more as an anti-"Mormon" title than a fair critique of Eadie's book. In it, Douglas R. Groothuis makes the absurd claim that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not Christian. Obviously he doesn't know the real name of the church or the fact that "Mormons" are Christian. (He also doesn't consider Catholics and Seventh Day Adventists to be Christian and who knows who else?) At any rate, being LDS myself, I know that the church is very Christ-centered. Groothuis chooses to use a very exclusive definition of "Christian" which is largely based on his view of the Trinity. In fact, he's unhappy with Eadie's observation that the Father and the Son are, in fact, two separate personalities. One can ask who Christ was praying to in the Garden, but that would be getting off point. Suffice it to say that this publication (which is quite small) is intended to criticize Eadie's religion. Now, having said all that, I, too, am critical of Eadie's book. It's small, poorly written and does present some theological problems. In her narrative, she meets Christ and reports, "And as our lights merged, I felt as if I had stepped into his countenance, and I felt an utter explosion of love." How does one step into one's countenance? Countenance has to do with the face, as an expression or smile. It's not something you can step into. I find Lance Richardson's book, THE MESSAGE, to be a much more detailed and theologically sound book. Of course Groothuis and evangelicals won't like it because it, too, speaks of man's premortal existence. (Jesus' disciples once asked him, "Master, who did sin, this man or his parents that he was born blind?" Jesus didn't say, "You do err, not knowing the scriptures...." Rather, he said it was for the greater glory of God.) Groothuis says premortality of the spirit was a "Greek" or "Gnostic" idea. Actually, the Greeks believed in reincarnation, so no, it's not the same. As for the Gnostics, yes, they too believed in premortality, but they also believed in a number of other Christian beliefs -- and at the time this idea was revealed (in 1830) the concept of premortality, Gnosticism was virtually unknown. Only with the discovery of crucial Christian texts in 1947 or 1948 in Egypt did we know anything substantial about the Gnostics. Just because they believed in premortality does not mean that the ancient Christians didn't believe in it. But getting back to Eadie's book, I can't say whether she saw what she claimed or not. I do find it suspicious that when she "died" in the hospital that she didn't report any alarms sounding. Even though she was hooked up to the medical monitors and what have you, she didn't say it attracted any attention when she passed. I find that suspicious. The book also doesn't tell us much that can't be taken out of a theological manual. Most of those whom she sees and interacts with are faceless beings with no personality. Even her description of Christ is very "New Age". Groothuis also blames Eadie's book for causing the death of a young lady who had read it. I saw nothing in Eadie's book that would encourage suicide, but many of the books in the life-after-life genre bring peace to those who fear death, and so any of them might cause unstable people to do rash things. That shouldn't be laid at Eadie's feet. It could have just as easily been any one of a dozen other books.

The wild success of books about NDEs (Near Death Experiences) in the last 20 years by medical professional like Raymond Moody and those, like Betty Eadie of "Embraced by the Light" fame, who claim to have experienced them - demands careful scrutiny and contemplation. Are these experiences real? And if so, do they tell us anything about the world that awaits us after we die? Or do these experiences only tell us what it's like inside a dying brain?

"Deceived By The Light" is the response to these books, especially Eadie's, from a conservative Christian perspective. The book is less a first-hand study of the phenomena, but a survey of the popular literature, such as it is, and a comparison of the "lessons" of NDEs to the lessons of the Bible as undertood by author Groothius's particular denomination. As such, the book does a creditable job of laying out a standard Christian rejoinder to Eadie. Groothius may surpise some by demonstrating that though it features "God" and "Jesus," Eadie's afterlife is a mutant thing that contains bits and pieces of many religious systems.

The book's greatest weakness is that in spite of its opposition to Eadie's theology, it takes the phenomenon of NDE much too seriously. This is partly due to the lack of original research into the claims. Nearly all quotes are taken from one of the NDE books, and little seems to have been done to dig deeper - to interview the subjects, or at least read the original transcripts of the interviews rather than the possibly-biased reports of their supporters. Groothius should have at least tried to verify whether those who experience NDE were reported accurately.

Groothius goes out of his way to deny the reality of the sinless, blameless land of love that NDErs supposedly tell of, which frankly is at odds with the moral system of either the Old or New Testaments. But when it comes to negative NDE experiences, in which a person finds himself in a land of torments or horror, the author becomes approving. Yet if the NDE "heaven," redolent of reincarnation and non-judgmental love-love-love, is a fantasy, why not the nasty "hell" as well?

All told, the book is valuable for raising questions about the reality of the phenomenon and the NDE theology that is part gnostic (learn this and be saved!) pantheistic (we are all God!) and monistic (all is One!). If the afterlife is truly a place where judgment is nonexistent, then perhaps we can relax a little down here. If it's not, then we are so screwed! Groothius also correctly points out that while NDErs experience existence after a certain definition of death, it could be argued that they really never died.

Groothius's book is an interesting paradox, for while it shows that Eadie's experience is at odds with much of Christianity, it also shows his version of Christianity as a rather bloodthirsty system that can be seen as excluding all but a certain subset of believers from its paradise. It's easy to see how some would experience a certain revulsion at a system that dooms so many to eternal torture. If you can tolerate Groothius's Christian bias, "Deceived by the Light" will at least get you thinking beyond the happy heaven they dangle before us.

When Mr. Groothius has a detailed near-death experience of his own that he can use for comparison to Betty Eadie's, then I will take him seriously.

Until then, he inhabits the ranks of fundamentalists that interpret the Bible in their own way, debunking anything that contradicts their interpretations.

We all interpret the Bible in different ways. We all have different views on the meanings of Scripture, and even each *individual* will have a different perspective on what, exactly, God is. That is why we have so many religions in this world, and so many hundreds of factions even within the realm of Christianity. Heck, I'm Lutheran, and there are factions of Lutherans (notably the Missouri Synod) that have viewpoints that don't mesh with mine.

So clearly, the interpretation of Scripture is an inexact undertaking. Any tome, such as this one, that debunks what I believe is a person's real account of a near-death experience, based upon the flawed premise that this is not "what the Bible says," is taking a narrow-minded view of reality.

Granted, Betty Eadie's account of her near-death experience is inevitably filtered through her *own* belief system, so some of her interpretations of what happened to her might be different than if the same events had happened to another person. But this, again, just goes to show how open to individual interpretation spiritual experience, and Scripture, really is. We won't *truly* know until we reach the other side, will we?

Douglas R. Groothuis (born 1957) is currently Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary. He is also the author of books such as Unmasking the New Age, Revealing the New Age Jesus: Challenges to Orthodox Views of Christ, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith, Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism, etc.

Here are some quotations from this 1995 book:

It is also important to understand that Betty Eadie is a Mormon, although this is veiled in the current edition of her book. Embraced By The Light was originally marketed in the heavily Mormon areas of Utah, Arizona, and Nevada as a Mormon testimony... The first edition also contained several obviously Mormon references that were altered in the mass-marketed version." (Pg. 22)
"In a television interview, Eadie used the idea of spiritual preexistence to explain the presence of evil in the world. She claimed that those who were tortured and killed during the Nazi Holocaust had chosen these horrific earthly situations before their birth. She seemed to think this somehow made the situation more tolerable. But the ethical implications of such thinking are astounding." (Pg. 26)
"Betty Eadie also claims to have seen her family in their home while her body lay in the hospital bed. But in typical Eadie fashion, she gives no corroboration." (Pg. 64)
"The original research of Maurice Rawlings (in his books Beyond Death's Door (ISBN#0-553-27142-3) and To Hell and Back: Life After Death Startling New Evidence) was critized by Kenneth Ring and others for not being scientific enough. Rawlings did not carefully detail how many people he had interviewed personally versus the number of secondhand reports he had reviewed. Nor did he specify the amount of time that had elapsed between the NDEs and the interviews." (Pg. 75)
"The results of an unofficial 1992 questionnaire ... indicated that of the 229 who claimed to have experienced the NDE phenomenon, only 23 percent had done so during clinical death... These findings contradict Melvin Morse's claim that one must clinically die in order to have the experiences associated with the NDE. Apparently his sample was too limited." (Pg. 110)
"(Carl Sagan claimed) the NDE is nothing but a reawakening during clinical death of the repressed memory of the birth experience. Sagan's cleverness aside, the dissimilarities between physical birth and the NDE are too great for his argument to work." (Pg. 169-170)

Although Doug Groothius is skeptical about the near-death experience (NDE) and it's
biblical interpretation, the author manages to keep a good balance on his views, the bible
and the NDE. His main focus is the authenticity of most NDE's and the after affects in
their lives, specifically Betty Eadie's account of her NDE in "Embraced by the Light."

Some pertinent questions are asked by the author.
1) Why did it take Betty Eadie so many years to tell her story?
One must have time to assimilate what has happened and not to react emotionally. This
is a very emotional experience as well as intellectual and spiritual. Knowledge comes at
a very fast speed, since most NDE's only last about 5 minutes. In 1974 I personally
experienced a NDE and after sharing the experience with my family and a few friends I
pretty much kept it to myself. In 2000 I put together my own personal website to share it
with others, I felt the timing was right.

2) What biblical response do the NDE's acquire? Most NDE's experience a great
love, an unconditional love that is God's love. If we respond to this love, isn't this what
Jesus has asked us to do? Most NDE's change their life's course after their experience.
Consider these bible quotations: JN 13:34 I give you a new commandment: love one
another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. JN 15:10 If you keep
my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's
commandments and remain in his love. JN 15:13 No one has greater love than this, to
lay down one's life for one's friends. JN 17:26 I made known to them your name and I
will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.

3) What about near-hell experiences? Although Betty Eadie does not go into detail
about her negative experience, she does recount the void and hopelessness that one feels
without the love of God. I personally experienced this void at the end of my NDE before
coming back into consciousness. One account of the near-hell experience comes from
Howard Storm. In his book "My Descent Into Death: A Second Chance at Life and the Message of Love which
Brought me Back". This is the story of a near-death, recovery, and transformation - of
lessons from spiritual beings about the future, the meaning of life, life after death, the
role of angels, and much more. But the Lord of Light sent him back with a message of
love. His life was so immensely changed after his near-death experience that he resigned
as a professor and devoted his time to attending the United Theological Seminary to
become a United Church of Christ Minister. JN 5:24 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever
hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to
condemnation, but has passed from death to life.


I leave you with one of my other book reviews by Carl Jung. "Memories, Dreams, Reflections". These writings come straight from Jung's own inner experience and it is
his last book before his death in 1961. I have read and re-read this work because at
different times in my life I needed to re-evaluate where I was and where I was going.
Other books by Jung are more intellectual and scientific, whereas, this autobiography has
the wisdom of a person in the later part of life and it was written not so much to teach but
to leave with us his legacy. Having myself had a NDE, I was especially
re-affirmed by Jung's own NDE and his dealings with this phenomenon.
His acceptance of his own humanity and his returning from this state to share with us his
knowledge and vision is a gift to all of us. It is not easy to return to our humanity and
deal with the sufferings we encounter but growth is the only evidence of life. We have to
come down from the mountain top and work in the valley.

This brings to mind two books
written by Hannah Hurnard called "Mountains of Spices" and "Hinds' Feet on High Places". Allegories about living our lives with others and not in solitude. Solitude is a
wonderful place but if we stay too long we become self-centered, afraid to reach out to
others. Another author who gives a good perspective on life is Henri Nouwen and his
books "Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life" and "Reaching Out".

This book will enlighten you about nothing. It is extremely clear for anyone reading the Bible: God doesn't let you in on everything that He is doing in the universe. Groothius' viewpoint isn't only uniformed about NDE's, he lacks ANY firsthand experience with the phenomenon. I'm a born again Christian and yet I don't believe her book verbatim. But it is clear she is a Christian who has Christ as her savior. What makes Groothius believe like he's some incredible expert. The tight, unforgiving, fundamentalist views he clings to just doesn't hold water.

As for the person who reviewed the book and thinks NDE's are all some new-age pyscho-babble, the person has absolutely zilch knowledge about the subject. NDE's have been RECORDED throughout history in various ways, not just in our time. Get off the couch and do some research. Groothius doesn't seem to get any of this and just appears to be working to make money from his book.

I read with great interest Embraced by the Light, it had beed loaned to me by born again believers in Jesus Christ. I considered NDE as new age and occultic and as I had loved and embraced the beliefs of Shirley MacLaine, the book drew me in. However, I was pleasantly surprised how I was drawn toward Jesus Christ and gave my life to Him.

I read Deceived by the Light as I was looking for answers to some of my doubts about Betty's experience. The book appeared to offer some answers although I reckon they were rather extreme. I have not read any where else about Betty being a Mormon yet this book claims she is and that her experience were typically Mormon mythology.

I can't completely dismissed the book as ramblings, but rather an invitation to debate.

My friends dismissed the book as extreme, but he had a right to his opinion.

While I found this book well written and an interesting read, it is basically a waste of time. While I have tremendous respect for Doug's intelligence and appreciate his obvious passion for his subject matter, his inability to perceive a world that does not conform to his fundamentalist Christian world view, in my opinion, voids his entire argument. He neither successfully refutes the NDE experience as a physiological phenomenon of a dying brain, nor deals with the validity of the spiritual claims Mrs. Eadie makes in her "afterlife travels". He simply ascribes everything to either fantasy (the materialist objection) or as demonic deception (the fundamentalist approach) without ever really managing to merge the two contradictory perspectives.

Of course, he is writing from a purely Christian perspective, so such is to be expected. Obviously, his target audience is Christian as well, so it works when one considers the context from which he wrote it. As far as learning anything useful from either a scientific or spiritual perspective, however, it is a disappointment. It is essentially an evangelizing tool (there's an entire section on giving one's life to Christ sandwiched in between the 'science') designed for both the nominal Christian who might yet be scared into Heaven as well as the more mature Christian who feels their faith sliding down the slippery slope of doubt. To those folks, he does provide reassurance (while managing to castigate the helpless Mrs. Eadie in the process) that should sit well with the average church goer and earn him some points within the evangelical community. For the rest of us, however, I'm afraid there's not much of value.

Actually, that's not entirely true. It is, at least, a good example of the Christian mindset and how it manages to interpret reality exclusively through the 66 books of the Bible. In that respect, it is a good case study on how not to examine a subject in a dispassionate, objective manner. I will give it two stars for the writing, however.