Near-Death Experiences & Gnosticism

Evaluating subjectivity of NDEs with the objectivity of Scripture

Photo by Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash

I was watching an interview with actor Jeremy Renner and was intrigued by what he said in relation to his horrific snow plow accident in January 2023. Renner “broke more than 30 bones after being crushed by a 14,000-pound snowplow while attempting to save his nephew at his Nevada home.”¹

It is truly miracle he is still alive. There’s no doubt about that. But there is doubt, in my understanding—and some thoughts!—about his comments regarding his near-death experience (NDE). Renner interviewed with Us Weekly, he explained: “I know I died — in fact, I’m sure of it.” He also mentioned that the EMTs on the scene said his “heart rate had bottomed out at 18” and he was “basically dead.”

Renner continued: “When I died, what I felt was energy, a constantly connected, beautiful and fantastic energy,” Renner added. “There was no time, place, or space, and nothing to see, except a kind of electric, two-way vision made from strands of that inconceivable energy.” He also described an “exhilarating peace” and felt something compelling him to not “let go.”

His experience—along with other stories—is another example of an NDE, where someone comes extremely close to death—or actually dying—and comes back to life to explain what he or she felt, saw, heard, etc.

Are NDEs real? It’s hard to give a definitive No to that question, simply because we can’t really know what people experience when they come close to death, but Scripture is abundantly clear: when a person dies, then comes judgment (Heb. 9:27). When a person truly dies, they meet God and either experience his warm embrace as his children in Christ, or they experience his righteous wrath in Hell.

This is part of the problem with NDEs—the inconsistencies with what Scripture teaches. Renner claims he experienced “exhilarating peace…a constantly connected, beautiful fantastic energy” and yet he’s certainly not a Christian. No unbeliever will experience peace upon their death. I don’t mean to condemn Renner—God obviously granted him more time on earth, so I hope and pray he comes to Christ—but his story doesn’t align with the biblical narrative. Whatever he felt, whatever he saw, whatever he heard—it wasn’t of God, to say the very least. (His story really coincides with the cultural narrative of what RC Sproul called “justification by death.”)

Now, to the other issue. These stories are fascinating—so fascinating to the point that people believe them simply because of the experience the person had. I don’t believe people who experience NDEs claim to have a secret knowledge, but that’s what they convey—even ones that attempt to confirm what Heaven is like. Those who have an NDE and explain what they saw are functioning as Gnostics, claiming a secret knowledge only they have because of their subjective experience. They have authority because of what happened to them. And then who are we to deny their experience? Who are we to tell them what they saw isn’t true?

But this is why we must stack everything—and I mean everything—against Scripture. The Bible doesn’t teach that people die, return to life, and tell everyone about it. Paul had a version of that but was forbidden to speak a word about it, and even had a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble. And yet we see many stories of people claiming they’ve been to Heaven, met Jesus, gone to Hell, and come back. Believe none of those stories.

This is less about claiming anyone is lying—though that has certainly happened—and more about sticking with the objectivity of Scripture. The heresy of Gnosticism still runs rampant, even among those who have NDEs. We must plant our feet firmly in the ground of sacred Scripture, and never apologize for it. We must be gracious to people, and ensure our speech is seasoned with salt. But may we reject any from of Gnosticism. Instead, let’s embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ according to Scripture and let that shape how we view everything.

1. https://www.christianpost.com/news/jeremy-renner-describes-moment-he-died-after-tragic-accident.html