To Hell and Back

by Maurice S. Rawlings

Book Overview

Many near-death experiences are not blissful, but terrifying. Dr. Rawlings, a cardiologist and resuscitation specialist, offers dozens of firsthand accounts as evidence. You'll come away from this book understanding why faith in Christ is imperative.

Explore near death experiences that are not the joyous, peaceful, moving-to-the-light scenes that most of us are familiar with. As surgeon, Cardiologist Dr. Maurice Rawlings...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0840767587
• ISBN13: 9780840767585
• Release Date: September 1993
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Satisfying Intellectual Discussion

"It now borders on the fantastic to realize that clinical death experiences have become the only experimental link between ancient prophesies and modern science." ~ Dr. Maurice Rawlings To Hell and Back goes beyond a casual discussion of near-death experience (NDE) and takes the topic of life and death to engaging spiritual levels, even to discussions of out-of-the-body experiences (OBEs). Dr. Maurice Rawlings highly entertaining writing style is infused with biblical research and comparisons between religious experiences. Verses and quotes are well placed and do not take over the topics, but seem to enhance the research. Initially skeptical himself, the author encounters experiences that are too real not to be believed. As he discusses why negative experiences are not discussed, we start to realize the true reasons people are not talking as much about the visions of hell as the peaceful vistas of heaven: "The typical description involves a beautiful light at the end of a very dark tunnel...others saw the same tunnel and the apparent light turn into a horrible ring of fire..." This book contains both experiences and goes beyond drug induced OBEs and convincingly explains why people not on any drugs experienced NDEs. As a doctor, the author enters this arena from a position of strength and deftly describes experiences that read like an ER reality show. The descriptions of Hell are not overly detailed, but enough is told that you get the general idea. What does death feel like? What percentage of people encounter a positive experience? Do people of different faiths experience NDEs in basically the same way? Is it too late to come back to earth when you realize you have ended up in the wrong place? Surprising answers... Do atheists sometimes go to heaven and confessing religious people to hell? Do some people go to neither place? How can you ensure that you will have a good life after death? The authors' life experience truly enhances the stories in this book and his first-hand knowledge brings a sense of trust to the topic. He not only viewed sudden deaths for three and a half decades, he also spent two year in nursing homes studying the experiences of terminally ill patients. Some of the main topics discussed in this book include: Reincarnation, Suicides, Beings of Light, Typical NDE situations, Main Religions, Past Lives, New Age Consciousness, Freud & Jung, Spirits, Astral Travel, The Kundalini, Esotericism, Pantheism, Relativism, Popular Culture (movies, etc.), Current Cultural Phenomena (still seems very relevant even years after publication), The Education System, Unexplained Phenomena, Demonic Possession, Demonic Oppression and The Fight between Good and Evil. A good understanding of these Life and Death issues will enable a more complete understanding of your current reality. This book answered many of my questions and will help me as I make decisions in the future. If you have delved into any of the spiritual areas the

The Moment of Truth

I highly recommend reading this book. After a close brush I had with death, I read many books on near death experiences. All were very optimistic about death. They essentially gave the general impression that no matter what I did in my life, all my experiences and actions were either just learning experiences for my spiritual growth, or I was not going to be held accountable for my actions because in the big scheme, they did not matter. Then I read "To Hell and Back: Life After Death Startling New Evidence, by Maurice Rawlings". While I found this book very upsetting, I also find it to be one of the most important books I have ever read. It provides very strong evidence for the existence of a very real hell. Like most people, I'd prefer there was no hell, but if there is one, I want to know about it NOW, not find out after I die when it is too late. The most compelling concept that gives his patients' hell accounts such credibility is the very well documented psychological phenomenon of humans forgetting (repressing) memories of severe experiences, to protect their sanity. I know personally that severe experience memories are repressed because my mother has told me of severe experiences she has witnessed me go through while I was awake but of which I still have absolutely no conscious memory. Since the author was an objective observer, he was able to recall the patient's pleas for help to be saved from hell. While later, these very same patients only remembered the "good" part of the experience that usually proceeds entry into hell. They had to repress the hell experience because the certainty of going to hell is so overwhelming. They HAD to block it from their conscious memories to go on with life, otherwise they would go insane. The very best part of reading this book for me is that it has helped me keep ever aware of how ultimately important it is to develop and pursue a genuine integrity-filed relationship with God. I must with all my might answer the God question now, while I am alive, and not wait for death to find out the truth. As the author says in the book (paraphrasing) "the most important day of your life is the day you die". That is the day all negotiations and opportunities for escape from hell end; The moment of truth.So read the book to get a balanced look at near death experiences, and to increase your sensitivity to the personal implications of the existence of a very real hell after death.

A Must Read

Anyone who is interested in near death experiences, or who doesn't believe in the viability of hell should definately read this book. New Age thinking, and near death experiencers such as Dannion Brinkley tell us that God is non judgemental, and we only judge ourselves. Though they may be well intended this is a dangerous message, as we are all accountable for our deeds. This book explains the diabolical force behind the messages so often misleading the well intended at this critical time. Straighten out your hearts and minds, please read the book.

It is probably the most objective book on this subject.

Dr. Maurice Rawlings is a cardiologist and explains much data from first hand experience. He does not delete data, though it may be hard to explain, and has even offered data to other authors on the subject who have rejected it because it threatens already made conclusions. He addresses the subject and its potential impact on Christianity, New Age, Freudian and Jungian psychology, and other viewpoints.

A truly great book (it proves hell is real).

To Hell and Back is not a religious book, even though it is about life after death. Dr. Rawlings (the author) is not a theologian or a pastor, but a cardiologist. Dr. Rawlings writes of the experiences of his own patients brought back to life. Here are some excerpts from his book. With the advent of new resuscitation techniques people can now be brought back to life after being dead several minutes. Just what happens after death. Eleven million Americans have reported near death, or out of body experiences. The typical description involves a beautiful light at the end of a tunnel. Many Christians are convinced that the light is Jesus Christ, because they often saw a figure on a cross. Some others perceive a heaven conforming to their own particular faith. Remarkably, others see the bright light turn into a ring of fire (pg 10). Among the resuscitees who claim to have had a spiritual experience, the experience becomes so real that the victim is transfixed by every detail. While there are many positive experiences, there are also, as we shall soon see, many negative experiences (pg 32).WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE SEE LIGHT? Why do people almost always report seeing a light and feeling only peace & serenity after a near death experience? Many religions associate their leader with light, and as mentioned in the Christian faith, both God and Lucifer claim to be light. It is crucial in near death experiences to identify this source of light -- whether the light is a true representative of God, or a luring mirage of evil that imitates God as an all forgiving force (pg 59). Christians often perceive the light as Jesus, while a Jewish person might perceive the light as a representative of Johva God, yet a Hindu might envision Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiva, etc... (pg 61). But misrepresentations do in fact occur. One day I (Dr. Rawlings) performed CPR on a man who had been shot in the chest during a bank robbery. During CPR this man told me that he had an out-of-body experience, during this time he said he encountered the heavenly light, he was surprised at what surrounded him. There was no ridicule or rejection, the sordid parts of his life were not examined, and no mention was made of the couple he had killed three years before during a robbery. (pg 61). I (keith mason) think that many of the experiences which seem to be positive, are positive only because it is a trick from Satan himself tricking people into believing that there only is peace and serenity after death (regardless if a person is Christian, Moslem, Atheist, Hindu, Jewish, or whatever); in this way people of all faiths are tricked into believing that there is no accountability, or no judgment. The book is full of people who have had near death expe