The Ben Breedlove Video and Near-Death Experiences

The Ben Breedlove Videos and Near-Death Experiences (NDE’s):

Is the Touching Story Evidence of Life After Death?

12/31/2011

Part 2: Do Ben’s videos provide evidence in favor of God, Angels, and an Afterlife?

Part 3: A list of sources on Near-Death Experiences and similar phenomena

Part 1: About Ben Breedlove and his Video.

Ben Breedlove was an 18-year-old young man from Austin, TX, who died on Dec 25, 2011, from a life-long heart condition. About a week before Christmas, he posted a YouTube video in two parts called “This is my story” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmlTHfVaU9o). In the videos, he uses note cards to tell how he cheated death three times in his life, including two near-death experiences (NDE’s), one in which he saw a bright light and was peaceful, and another in which the rapper Kid Cudi (a.k.a. Scott Mescudi, who is still alive) appeared to him in a white room with no walls. In the second NDE, Ben’s favorite Kid Cudi song, “Mr. Rager,” started playing, the lyrics being, “When will the fantasy END… When will the heaven BEGIN?” And when the rapper told him to “Go now,” Ben woke up to EMS workers doing CPR.

The videos went viral and have been re-posted by others with parts 1 and 2 combined. Altogether, as of Dec 31, the videos have been viewed more than 5,000,000 times.

Ben Breedlove. "This Is My Story" [Part 1]. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmlTHfVaU9o.

Ben intended to promote faith and religion by his videos. He ended them with the words, “Do you believe in Angels or God? I do.”

Many people are sharing the videos as something that confirms their religious views of an afterlife. Other individuals tend to be more cautious or even bothered when people jump onto such bandwagons.

For many people, wanting strongly enough to believe in god(s), angels, or heaven will be sufficient for them to believe, regardless of evidence or anything anyone writes.

For others, evidence matters.

Part 2: Do Ben’s videos/experiences provide evidence in favor of God, Angels, and an Afterlife?

The following facts should be noted:

The rapper Kid Cudi, whom Ben reported seeing in one of his NDE “visions,” is still alive, and he is not a mystic who purposefully travels in a spirit realm delivering messages to people.
Kid Cudi had no idea that a teenager living far away was having a vision of him, which shows that the rapper had no conscious message to deliver to the young man.
Kid Cudi is not exactly a “spiritual” model.
- “Rapper Kid Cudi gets two days community service and potential dismissal of cocaine possession charge,” by Oren Yaniv, NYDailyNews.com, Sept 27, 2010. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/rapper-kid-cudi-days-community-service-potential-dismissal-cocaine-possession-charge-article-1.441268.
- “Rapper Kid Cudi busted after booze-filled tantrum in young women's Chelsea apartment,” by Joe Kemp, NYDailyNews.com, June 12, 2010, http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/rapper-kid-cudi-days-community-service-potential-dismissal-cocaine-possession-charge-article-1.441268.
Kid Cudi was one of Ben’s favorite musicians,
“Mr. Rager,” the song that played in his “vision,” was Ben’s favorite Kid Cudi song (and for fairly obvious reasons, if you consider the lyrics and Ben’s condition).
The particular lyrics that came to Ben in his “vision” concerned death and heaven, topics that we would expect to be on the mind of a dying teenager.
- The song begins, “I'm off on a adventure ... This here is dedicated to all of the kids like me, I'm on my way to heaven, Wherever you are … Now." The “ clause, “I'm on my way to heaven,” is repeated multiple times in the song. (Lyrics copied from MetroLyrics.com, KID CUDI - MR. RAGER LYRICS, http://www.metrolyrics.com/mrrager-lyrics-kid-cudi.html#ixzz1iA6kJcfh ).
- The lyrics Ben heard were, “When will the fantasy END… When will the heaven BEGIN?”
It is not that unusual for people, especially young people, to see living persons during NDEs. However, the mere fact that the person is alive and somewhere else ought to be a clue that this is a hallucination/dream in the brain, not an experience of a “spiritual realm.”
Millions of Americans and people from all around the world have reported NDEs. With the exception of certain common features, like light and feelings of peace, the actual content of a NDE depends upon one’s culture and the ideas in one’s mind. Christians may (but do not always) claim to see Jesus or angels. Muslims have claimed to see light or angels, which are part of the Islamic tradition as well. People from east Asia often see flowers and rivers. Thai people often think they meet Yamatoots, messengers of the god of death Yama. Hindus have thought they encountered gods from their own pantheon. Native Americans have believed they have met their grandfathers/ancestors in the sky. In cultures that believe in reincarnation, people have NDEs, OBEs (out-of-body experiences), and visions that lend support to those beliefs. In the 4th century BCE, the Greek philosopher Plato wrote about a man named Er who shared his NDE concerning the afterlife and reincarnation (Republic 10.614-10.621).
Similar or comparable NDEs, OBEs (out-of-body experiences), and visions can be induced by Ketamine, DMT, and other chemical and physical means. See, e.g.,
- Rick Strassman. DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences. 2000.
- Karl Jansen. Ketamine: Dreams and Realities. 2004.

All of these facts taken together should be sufficient to suggest that Ben’s experience was a dream or a hallucination, not a “spiritual experience” in some alleged realm outside his brain.

Concerning the white light and feeling of peace, it would be nice for Christians to realize that non-Christians and non-believers have had similar experiences. In other words, the white light is no more evidence of Jesus’ angels than of Allah’s angels, Hindu gods, or cosmic energy. It is a neurological phenomenon. One does not need to believe in Jesus to have a good death, to be happy or peaceful, or to feel at one with the universe at death.

Conversely, a person can believe very much in Jesus, God, angels, etc., and still have quite a disturbing death. For example, my own paternal grandfather was a happy, loving, dedicated Catholic man who read the Bible daily, helped strangers, and taught both family members and strangers about God, Jesus, and Bible stories on a regular basis. Yet I saw my grandfather die of Alzheimer’s disease. His brain deteriorated until there was not that much left of his old/usual personality.

My maternal grandfather's mind also deteriorated significantly before his death, due to several strokes. He, likewise, was a very dedicated Christian man -- in this case, Southern Baptist.

I grew up as a believer myself and even wanted to be a minister, until my education brought me information I could not deny. I believe it is healthier to face the truth and learn to cope with reality in a positive way than to continue supporting old superstitions, no matter how pleasant those superstitions may seem.

I have elsewhere addressed questions of souls, the mind, and what happens when we die.

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If you are interested in exploring NDE’s further, you could chase these rabbits for a long time with simple internet searches.

Quick Sources on the Skeptical Side:

“Hallucinatory Near-Death Experiences” (2003, updated 2008), by Keith Augustine, http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/keith_augustine/HNDEs.html. A well-written inquiry with numerous sources cited.
Near Death Experiences Explained? Bright lights, angelic visions products of too much CO2 in the blood, study says, by James Owen, National Geographic News, April 8, 2010, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/04/100408-near-death-experiences-blood-carbon-dioxide/.
G.M. Woerlee. “Darkness, Tunnels, and Light.” Skeptical Inquirer, Vol 28.3, May/June 2004. http://www.csicop.org/si/show/darkness_tunnels_and_light/.
“near-death experience (NDE).” The Skeptic’s Dictionary. http://www.skepdic.com/nde.html. Good article with links and resources.
“Decoding The Mystery Of Near-Death Experiences,” by Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR: All Things Considered, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104397005.
“Near-Death Experiences Explained.” by Benjamin Radford, Discovery News, Sep 23, 2011. http://news.discovery.com/human/-neuroscience-explains-near-death-110923.html.
Jill Bolte Taylor, “How it feels to have a stroke.” A 20 min. TED lecture, now on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU.
- This scientist talks about the feeling of oneness with the universe that she experienced during her stroke.
- “Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.”

Then there’s always Wikipedia:

“Near-death Experience,” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near-death_experience.

Quick Sources Offering Supernatural Interpretations:

There are so many web sites out there with supernatural interpretations of NDEs. Here are two or three I found interesting.

Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife. http://www.near-death.com/. Web-Master: Kevin Williams, who describes himself as “middle-aged, computer scientist, cable news junkie, manic depressive, universalist Christian with Gnostic and Tibetan Buddhist leanings, former Montana cowboy, U.S. Army veteran, social liberal, economic conservative, single Californian, internet addict, and last but not least, NDE evangelist.” He has also written a book, Nothing Better Than Death.
- His study of NDEs led him away from fundamentalist Christianity into universalism, because he found that it is a cross-cultural phenomenon. I obviously think he is too credulous.
Near Death Experience Research Foundation. http://www.nderf.org/. Jeffrey P. Long and Jody A. Long operate this site. “Dr. Jeff is a physician practicing the specialty of radiation oncology (use of radiation to treat cancer) in Tacoma, Washington. Dr. Jeff serves on the Board of Directors of IANDS (International Association for Near-Death Studies), and is actively involved in NDE research. Dr. Jeff developed this web site.” … “Jody Long is an attorney and has worked in the areas of family, health care, business, and intellectual property law. Jody has several decades of experience researching paranormal and related phenomena. She was on the board of directors for Seattle Friends of IANDS group, a member of IANDS and supports IANDS (International Association for Near-Death Studies)... the oldest organization devoted to NDE experiencer support & research. Jody is the webmaster.”
“Near-Death Experience.” How Stuff Works.com. http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/extrasensory-perceptions/near-death-experience.htm. Covers both supernatural and scientific theories.