Encouraged by the Light: 1965 Olds Dynamic

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KIRKUS REVIEW

Kirkus Review

Debut author Edwards describes a near-death experience following a traffic accident, asserting that the Bible confirms what he saw on the other side.

Evangelical testimony of life after death told in a calm, thoughtful and rational voice.

In 1966, Edwards, then a teenager in Fort Smith, Arkansas, was pinned under a car wreck. While in the hospital in critical condition, he had what he now claims to be a near-death experience. He writes that recovering from a traumatic brain injury and sorting out his memories has been a long process, one with lingering neurological aftereffects, such as narcolepsy and a tendency to wander off topic (although the latter never impairs his prose). However, Edwards insists upon the authenticity of his out-of-body testimony. Despite the fact that his eyes were grotesquely swollen shut and that his hospital room afforded no view of the corridor, he claims that he still clearly “saw” events on the ward. Moreover, he says that his contraveled to a walled “City of Light,” a description not unlike those of the New Jerusalem in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation. He says that there, he watched his life play out on a curious array of monitors (stacked like Pez candy, he adds) as part of a divine evaluation or judgment. However, for a man who uses so many Scripture citations to buttress his case, he’s not a stereotypical Gospel witness. For example, he writes that he’s disappointed that some Christian conservatives refute NDEs on the grounds that non-Christians have reported them as well. Edwards’ gently reasoned response is that non-Christians may get to see heaven, but it doesn’t mean they’re able to stay there. The author avidly reads scientific journals and has widely studied the subject of NDEs; he even provides an answer for nonbelievers who say they saw nothing but blackness during clinical death. Overall, his arguments provide inspirational and intellectual manna for religious and secular readers, although the faithful will likely be more acclimated to the frequent Bible verses.