The thing is, as far as anyone knows, the prayer had no effect
Exactly. To be fair to Skynyrd1977, it is perhaps understandable why people believe in the power of prayer in cases like these (such as they are) where alternate rational explanations are thin on the ground. However, in the case of Near Death Experiences generally, there is plenty of reason to believe that what is happening is perfectly explicable in terms of the
non-supernatural. As Danoff says, NDEs are not unique to people who are actually dying. Fighter pilots who experience extreme G report very similar things, as do people with psychiatric disorders. Tellingly, some people who simply believe they are dying (but actually are not) also report similar things.
Although I fully accept that NDEs are real, and that the unusual phenomena people report are generally accurate (i.e. people really do see a
tunnel of light, or see visions of their childhood etc.), most (if not all) also have possible/likely rational explanations, but I reckon that these phenomena are attributed a special significance that is probably undeserved, much like reading too much into one's own dreams. Despite the fact that NDEs tend to share common features, it is also a fact that individual reports vary widely from person to person, and even (indeed often) include visions of family members and circumstances unique to that person's history (even in the case of
Don Piper himself). This strongly suggests that NDEs have their origin in the minds and memories of the individual concerned, as opposed to the idea that what they are experiencing is a whole new 'spiritual realm' wholly independent of their physical existence.
I don't think that it is a coincidence that people report similar things after an NDE, but I also don't think that it is
just "common memes" either. The 'tunnel of light' idea may well be a common meme (it definitely is) - but I think there is a reason why this meme has come about, because it is based on what actually happens to alot of people when they have an NDE. And because NDEs are (by definition) associated with dying, it has become interpreted (albeit wrongly) as what 'ascending to Heaven' looks like in first-person mode.
However, after listening to Don Piper's testimony on what 'Heaven' (or atleast the meet-and-greet entrance to Heaven) is like, one can't help but think that his experience is a mixture of actual experience (i.e. phenomena linked to an actual NDE)
and pre-conceived memes.. indeed his description of Heaven is strikingly unoriginal (with many familiar memes, even to an atheist) but also strangely vague at the same time. Don Piper's conviction that "Heaven is real" is apparently based on his claim to have "been there". However, he also states "Hell is just as real as Heaven", despite the fact that he hasn't been to Hell (or atleast he has never mentioned it if he has). This statement alone calls into question what he defines as "real" or atleast how he comes to the conclusion that something is real. I would venture the guess that he was probably already convinced that heaven and hell are "real" places before he had his NDE and 'saw Heaven for himself'. His claim that Hell is real too - but without the first-hand experience of it - supports this view.
Does God exist? Maybe, since he's not telling us I guess it's not all that important to know for sure.
Good way of putting it, and it is kind of how I feel. Far from being "cynical" or so close-minded that I wouldn't recognise God even if I saw him, I consider myself very open to the idea that God might exist - indeed, my threshold of proof is very low - so low infact that the only reasonable explanation I can come up with for why I have not been shown one single piece of proof is that he/it really doesn't exist. As I've said before, it wouldn't take much to convince me. But as SuperCobraJet is alluding to, it seems that holding a 'belief system' that is rooted in rationality, reason, and the scientific method (i.e. hypothesis testing and evidence-based conclusion-building) is enough to have your name deleted from God's Rolodex.
