An edition of Otherworld journeys (1984)

Otherworld journeys

a comparative study of medieval Christian and contemporary accounts of near-death experience : a thesis

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Otherworld journeys
Carol Zaleski
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Last edited by MARC Bot
December 22, 2022 | History
An edition of Otherworld journeys (1984)

Otherworld journeys

a comparative study of medieval Christian and contemporary accounts of near-death experience : a thesis

  • 0 Ratings
  • 11 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

Dozens of books, articles, television shows, and films relating "near-death" experiences have appeared in the past decade. People who have survived a close brush with death reveal their extraordinary visions and ecstatic feelings at the moment they died, describing journeys through a tunnel to a realm of light, visual reviews of their past deeds, encounters with a benevolent spirit, and permanent transformation after returning to life. Carol Zaleski's Otherworld Journeys offers the most comprehensive treatment to date of the evidence surrounding near-death experiences. The first to place researchers' findings, first-person accounts, and possible medical or psychological explanations in historical perspective, she discusses how these materials reflect the influence of contemporary culture. She demonstrates that modern near-death reports belong to a vast family of otherworld journey tales, with examples in nearly every religious heritage. She identifies universal as well as culturally specific features by comparing near-death narratives in two distinct periods of Western society: medieval Christendom and twentieth-century secular America. This comparison reveals profound similarities, such as the life-review and the transforming after-effects of the vision, as well as striking contrasts, such as the absence of hell or punishment scenes from modern accounts. Mediating between the "debunkers" and the near-death researchers, Zaleski considers current efforts to explain near-death experience scientifically. She concludes by emphasizing the importance of the otherworld vision for understanding imaginative and religious experience in general.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
312

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Book Details


Edition Notes

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1983.

Bibliography: ¡. 246-312.

Microfiche. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms International, 1984. 6 fiches ; 11 x 15 cm.

The Physical Object

Pagination
2, vi, 312 ¡.
Number of pages
312

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL44759513M
OCLC/WorldCat
505755082

Source records

marc_columbia MARC record

Excerpts

THE RECORD OF human origins is the record of human attitudes toward death.
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December 22, 2022 Created by MARC Bot Imported from marc_columbia MARC record