With modern advances in medical technology and emergency lifesaving procedures, many people who clinically “die” are resuscitated. Some of those who have gone to the brink of death and lived to tell about it have described strange and remarkable near-death experiences (NDEs). The typical NDE, as depicted by experiencers, involves traveling through a tunnel toward a bright light, feeling warm and peaceful, and encountering deceased loved ones or a religious figure or “being of light” who reassures the experiencer and tells him or her to return to life. Many of those who “come back” believe that they have had a glimpse of the afterlife and feel spiritually transformed by the experience.

In 1975, researcher Raymond Moody wrote Life After Life, an influential book that pioneered the field of near- death studies. Moody studied the phenomenon for more...