by Carlos L. Diaz
In the last few years there have been several best-selling books that make extraordinary claims about the existence of heaven. These books have titles like 90 Minutes in Heaven, Heaven is for Real, and, most recently, Proof of Heaven. I find the popularity these books reach in the twenty-first century troubling–it makes me feel as if Copernicus, Galileo, Darwin, and Einstein worked in vain to help us understand our surroundings. The three titles I mentioned have sold more than six million copies combined.
A recent article in Esquire magazine takes direct aim at the author of Proof of Heaven, Dr. Eben Alexander. A significant difference between Dr. Alexander and the authors of the other two books is the honorific title that precedes his name. He is a neurosurgeon, they are Christian pastors. Mr. Alexander does not miss an opportunity to let the public know that he is an “accomplished practicing neurosurgeon”–he mentions it in the cover of his best-selling book–who taught at Harvard Medical School. Understandably when someone with the credentials he claims to have (more on this in a moment) makes an extraordinary and ridiculous claim he receives a lot of attention.
The article identifies many holes in Alexander’s story. For example his coma was not caused by a bacteria, as he claims, it was chemically induced. He was not, and is not, a practicing neurosurgeon. When he went into a coma he had not practiced neurosurgery for more than a year due to the many malpractice lawsuits that had been brought against him–the second highest number in the state of Virginia. At the time of his hospitalization he owed $3 million to a patient because he fused the wrong vertebrae and then changed the records to make it look as if he had done the correct operation.
The book Heaven is for Real seems to me like an unscrupulous exploitation of a child by his parents, similar to the infamous Marjoe case. The book is the story of a four year old child who, like Dr. Alexander, visited heaven and came back to tell us about it. In this case the descriptions of heaven are extremely laughable. One of the scenes describe when the child is taken to heaven by Jesus and a few angels. There are more than a hundred deaths every minute around the world which means that Jesus needs to move very fast to accompany each of these individuals in their trip to heaven.
In 90 Minutes in Heaven, a Christian pastor tells the story of visiting heaven for 90 minutes. This book is also full of outrageous claims. The author asserts that miracles are real but only happen to people who are expecting them. This gentleman says he saw God and, like Alexander, heard some magnificent music and saw people he had met on Earth.
There is one thing all of these authors have in common, they have found their heaven tales to be extremely profitable. Dr. Alexander has a movie contract, he will be replicating the music he heard while in heaven, and is taking customers on a healing journey through Greece. The Burpo family is selling all kinds of Heaven is For Real paraphernalia–DVD’s, kids apps, and kids books. The Burpos also founded the Heaven Is For Real Ministries to maximize their profits. The author of 90 Minutes in Heaven writes a newspaper column and hosts conferences and retreats around the globe.
I would love to ask any of these individuals one question: Is heaven as amazing as making a fortune on Earth? But I think the answer to the question can be easily deciphered from their current place of residence.
Eclectic Affinities 