Proof of heaven?
25 November, 2012
Reporter: PJ Madam
Producer: Mick O’Donnell
A world-renowned and Harvard-trained neurosurgeon, this former non-believer is now a convert.
When Dr Eben Alexander collapsed with meningitis four years ago, he spent seven days in a coma. When he finally woke up, he told an extraordinary tale of what he experienced while he was sleeping. His incredible story taps into the age-old question, debated over thousands of years and by hundreds of cultures: is there an afterlife, and if so, what is it like?
Thousands of people - among them Melbourne woman Carmel Bell, who spoke to Sunday Night - have reported similar near death experiences. Many tell similar stories of white lights, encounters with heavenly beings, and a sense of being outside their bodies. However, none have had the scientific credibility of Dr Alexander.
Sunday Night reporter PJ Madam takes you on a journey into the afterlife and examines the scientific basis of Alexander’s claims. We meet the scientists studying whether consciousness can live on despite the apparent death of the brain. Those who have ‘been there’ swear it’s real, while those who haven’t are sceptical. On Sunday Night, we’ll let you be the judge.
USEFUL LINKS
Visit Dr Eben Alexander’s websites, Life Beyond Death and Eternea.
Order his book, Proof of Heaven
The Skeptics Society and Michael Shermer
CONTACT SUNDAY NIGHT