A family member recently told us, “When you’re dead, you’re dead. There’s nothing after this life.”

Everyone has their own opinion, but that surprised us considering all we’ve written about the subject, and since she hadn’t told us her true views before.

We strive for impartiality, so maybe we need to consider her viewpoint further. After all, there is so much confusion surrounding the issue of life after death.

For hundreds of years, radical religious leaders have warned people they’ll go to “hell” for not being of a certain faith, homosexuality, divorce, and other sins like any type of sex other than in the missionary position, in the dark, strictly for procreation with a spouse.

Is it any wonder, with all the talk of behavior deemed to be sinful, atheists and others reject religious notions about the afterlife? (To be fair, not all religious leaders use the sin/fear tactic, and some don’t believe in hell.)

Then there are the woo-woo New Agers who talk about “ascension” and other captivating concepts, but there’s little corroboration in any form to back them up. The New Age has a bad name for a good reason.

We agree that when you die, that’s it for your physical body. And why should anyone believe in souls or the afterlife, especially if they’ve never experienced anything to indicate otherwise?

Well, lots of people have, and it’s important to consider what they say because their insight can explain so much about not only the afterlife, but this life too.

While we cannot physically prove life after death, there are countless people who have been pronounced clinically dead, experienced life after death, and then came back to life and reported what they perceived. Incredibly, most credible descriptions have similar threads.

Some skeptics refuse to look at the evidence, sometimes out of fear of the unknown. Others don’t like the idea of absolute personal accountability that coincides with reincarnation, karma, and life after life.

But for those who are open to exploring more about life after death, below is a partial list of people who share some fascinating information.

Life after death:

— Life After Life: The Bestselling Original Investigation That Revealed “Near-Death Experiences” by Raymond A. Moody Jr., M.D.

— The Afterlife Unveiled: What the Dead are Telling Us About Their World, by Stafford Betty PhD.. Click here for a summary of some of the fascinating findings from his research.

— Pam Reynolds’ near-death experience, during a brain operation, is one of the most interesting and best documented in NDE research. Watch the BBC documentary here.

Countless others have shared their near-death experiences (NDE), ghost sightings, encounters with loved ones who had already died, and readings with credible mediums who act as a conduit between the living and dead. With a little research, you will find plenty of examples that are difficult to reject as imagination or fiction.

Past Lives:

— Return to Life: Extraordinary Cases of Children Who Remember Past Lives, by Jim B. Tucker M.D.. Read about four cases from the book here.

— A police captain who found evidence of one of his past lives.

— Finally, the work of Dr. Stevenson, former head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia. He spent over 40 years researching over 3000 cases of past life memories of children from all over the world. Many skeptics and scholars agree these cases offer the best evidence yet for reincarnation.

We understand the fear of the unknown about life after death. We also understand the skepticism since countless preachers have warned of the fiery pits of hell if you don’t live up to their opinion of morality. But the more you investigate the subject of life after death, the more it becomes clear there is nothing to fear, this life is a precious opportunity, and death is a transition, not the end.

“The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd; indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.” Bertrand Russell

“All great truths begin as blasphemies.” George Bernard Shaw

“The universe is wider than our views of it.” Henry David Thoreau

Related Articles: 

Reincarnation– 9 Signs You Have Not Lived Before

The Truth About Reincarnation & 9 Common Arguments Against it

Copyright © 2016 Stephen Petullo, Scott Petullo