P. Craffert

2 papers in the library · 29 citations · publishing 2019

Papers

Making Sense of Near-Death Experience Research: Circumstance Specific Alterations of Consciousness

Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 2019 P. Craffert 28 citations

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are reported by many people, but researchers disagree on what an NDE actually is. The term currently describes at least three distinct phenomena: experiences during the process of dying, experiences in life-threatening or fear-of-death situations, and experiences occurring without any life-threatening circumstances. Different researchers hold nested assumptions: some view NDEs as a single entity with one explanation, while others restrict them to life-threatening events and see them as composite experiences. The analysis argues that what is labeled an NDE should be modified to circumstance-specific alterations of consciousness.

DOI: 10.1111/anoc.12111 Psychology

Towards a Post-colonial Reflection on Shaman and Shamanism as Conceptual Tools in Biblical Studies

Religion and Theology December 10, 2019 P. Craffert 1 citation

Biblical scholarship has largely avoided the terms shaman and shamanism due to historical prejudice rooted in colonial ethnocentrism and Christian superiority. Yet shamanism—defined as a practice where a practitioner alters ordinary consciousness to serve a community—is one of humanity's oldest religious patterns, now widely studied across disciplines. Applying shamanic analytical models to biblical texts can explain anomalous features such as prophecy, divination, healing, exorcism, heavenly journeys, and spirit possession, which comparative research in shamanism illuminates.

DOI: 10.1163/15743012-02603004 History Philosophy