Huffpost Media The Blog   Greg Carey Headshot  How Do We Know
About Heaven?  Posted: Updated:  In his bestseller Proof of
Heaven, Dr. Eben Alexander recounts his journey to heaven during
a near-death experience. But a recent blockbuster Esquire story
by Luke Dittrich casts profound suspicion upon Alexander's
account. Alexander, Dittrich reports, has a documented history
of altering patients' records when facing malpractice
litigation. Moreover, several details of his dramatic story seem
(forgive me) "doctored up" as well. The Esquire story portrays
Eben Alexander as a troubled man who had much to gain, both
materially and psychologically, by marketing his story. The
magazine cover presses the non-question, "Is Heaven a Scam"?
None of us, biblical scholars included, possesses the inside
scoop on a question like heaven. But I can offer this: tours of
heaven (and hell) represent prevalent features of ancient near
eastern religion. Those accounts strongly suggest what
neuroscientists and anthropologists alike te