Jesus Personage in Near-Death Experiences
Journal of Anomalous Experience and Cognition November 27, 2024 DOI: 10.31156/jaex.26134 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 79 |
| Population | Accounts of near-death experiences involving encounters with a Jesus personage, drawn from Western experients |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Key findings | Argues that encounters with a Jesus personage during near-death experiences vary greatly in manifestation and appearance but serve functions such as interacting on a return to life, conveying an unfulfilled purpose, providing comfort or affection, instilling virtues, and divulging theological or prophetic insight. The author proposes such encounters may increase experients' desire to live and enhance psychological wellbeing. |
Abstract
Objective. The near-death experience (NDE) is an altered state of consciousness in which experients generally perceive that they are out of and/or away from their physical body during real or presumed life-threatening incidents and/or near-death circumstances. While this is occurring, experients can also sometimes encounter a presumed deity that usually relates to their cultural and/or religious background. The objective of this study was to explore such encounters with the Jesus personage as commonly occurs in Western NDEs in order to generate thematic elements and determine if such encounters are purposeful. Method. This study qualitatively analyzed 79 such encounters by means of a reflexive thematic analysis with an inductive approach exploring the manifestation, appearance, and function of such a personage. Results. Six themes were generated based on identified patterns in the data. The first theme was that the manifestation and appearance of the Jesus personage can vary greatly, whereas the other five themes were relevant to the personage function toward the experient, which can include interacting on a return to life, conveying an unfulfilled purpose, providing comfort and/or affection, instilling virtues, and divulging theological insight or prophetic revelation. Conclusions. An implication of these themes is that an encounter with the Jesus personage can result in beneficial effects by increasing the experients’ desire to live and enhancing their psychological wellbeing. Additional research is needed to explore exactly what occurs when experients from different cultures and/or religious backgrounds encounter other presumed deities and personages, and whether an analysis of such encounters generate comparable themes with the possibility of similar beneficial effects.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative thematic analysis of the phenomenology of near-death experiences Cardiac arrest survivors | 2018 | Qualitative study | n = 34 |
| Do Suicide Survivors Report Near-Death Experiences? Persons who had been close to death as a result of a suicide attempt | 1982 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| The evolving self: finding meaning in near-death experiences using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Female participants who had near-death experiences | 2008 | Qualitative study | n = 3 |
| Investigation of the phenomenology, physiology and impact of spiritually transformative experiences - kundalini awakening. Persons having a spiritually transformative experience (e.g., spontaneous energetic... | 2021 | Qualitative study | |
| Near-death experiences and religion: A further investigation Near-death experiencers | 1984 | Qualitative study | n = 40 |