Begun in 1994, The Atlanta Study is the first comprehensive investigation of its kind into near-death experiences (NDEs). The study's name hardly captures what lies behind it: life-and-death dramas played out in operating rooms and hospital beds--and simultaneous events unseen by medical personnel but reported with astonishing clarity and conviction by nearly 50 individuals who returned from death's door. Now the founder of The Atlanta Study, Dr. Michael Sabom reveals their impact on the people who have experienced them. From both medical and personal perspectives, he shares the electrifying stories of men and women from all walks of life and religious persuasions. He explores the clinical effect of the NDE on survival and healing and discloses surprising findings. He questions some common conclusions about NDEs. And he scrutinizes near-death experiences in the light of what the Bible has to say about death and dying, the realities of light and darkness, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Begun in 1994, the Atlanta Study is the first comprehensive investigation of its kind into near death experiences (NDEs). The study s name hardly captures what lies behind it: life-and-death dramas played out in operating rooms and hospital beds and simultaneous events unseen by medical personnel but reported with astonishing clarity and conviction by nearly 50 individuals who returned from death s door. Now the founder of the Atlanta Study, Dr. Michael Sabom, shares his findings. A leading authority with over twenty years in the field of NDEs, Dr. Sabom reveals their impact on the people who have experienced them. From both medical and personal perspectives, he shares the electrifying stories of men and women from all walks of life and religious persuasions. He explores the clinical effect of the NDE on survival and healing and discloses surprising findings. He questions some common conclusions about NDEs. And he scrutinizes near death experiences in the light of what the Bible has to say about death and dying, the realities of light and darkness, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- Publisher Combining scientific research and dramatic narrative, Light and Death is the first book to seriously explore the relationship of near-death experiences and traditional Christian faith. Dr. Michael Sabom is a cardiologist in private practice and on staff at Northside and Saint Joseph's hospitals in Atlanta, Georgia. His first book, Recollections of Death: A Medical Investigation, is considered to be a benchmark in the field of near-death research. He is a member of East Cobb Presbyterian Church in Atlanta Begun in 1994, The Atlanta Study is the first comprehensive investigation of its kind into near-death experiences (NDEs). The study's name hardly captures what lies behind it: life-and-death dramas played out in operating rooms and hospital beds--and simultaneous events unseen by medical personnel but reported with astonishing clarity and conviction by nearly 50 individuals who returned from death's door. Now the founder of The Atlanta Study, Dr. Michael Sabom reveals their impact on the people who have experienced them. From both medical and personal perspectives, he shares the electrifying stories of men and women from all walks of life and religious persuasions. He explores the clinical effect of the NDE on survival and healing and discloses surprising findings. He questions some common conclusions about NDEs. And he scrutinizes near-death experiences in the light of what the Bible has to say about death and dying, the realities of light and darkness, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Michael Sabom is a cardiologist in private practice and on staff at Northside and Saint Joseph's Hospitals in Atlanta, GA. His first book, Recollections of Death: A Medical Investigation, is considered to be a landmark in the field of near-death research. He has been featured on ABC's 20-20, NBC's Dateline, CBS's 48 Hours, CNN-TV, and in Focus on the Family's Physician magazine and major newspapers nationwide. It shouldn't shock the Christian when people undergoing clinical death and being revived come back with certain recollections. I've tried to keep an open mind, and I hope that this interesting phenomenon will get the benefit of further research, analysis, and evaluation. Too many of these experiences have been reported for us to simply dismiss them as imaginary or hoaxes.--- Dr. R. C. SproulProfessor of Systematic TheologyReformed Theological SeminaryChapter OneThe Atlanta Study:A Second Look at the Near-Death ExperiencePete Morton, a 53-year-old Air Force veteran, climbed into the military-issue hospital chair the way a cowboy mounts a horse. Pete was a handsome, rugged-looking man with black hair, sun-browned skin, and a deep, raspy voice tinged with a Louisiana bayou drawl. He didn't look like a man in frail health. But he was. Sitting backward in the gray steel chair, he leaned his chest against the vinyl-padded backrest and lit up a cigarette.