Heaven is for Real is a true story about a boy named Colton who had to have emergency surgery. Colton was four years old at the time of his surgery. During his surgery, while unconscious, he entered into Heaven. He survived the life-threatening surgery and later told about some of what he saw while in Heaven, how he was able to look down and see the doctors as they performed the surgery, as well as how he watched his Dad pray in the waiting room during his surgery. Initially his family was unclear about what to believe. But as Colton began to share about meeting his miscarried sister (whom he had never been told about), and details about his great-grandfather (who had died 30 years before Colton was born), they soon realized that Colton's experiences were very real. Heaven is for Real is told by Todd Burpo, Colton's father, but is often in Colton's own words.
Recently in class we discussed the "material" and "immaterial" parts of a person. Dr. Corsini shared stories about "cooberating evidence" and how research has shown the validity of deathbed experiences in which people were pronounced dead, or flat-lined, but were revived and later shared details about their out-of-body experiences. During these experiences they were very aware of their surroundings and were often also aware of remote events.
To me, from a purely rational or logical perspective, Colton's experience, as well as similar experiences of others, is difficult to fully comprehend. But as a Christian that believes that a person consists of a material part as well as an immaterial part, and that Heaven is indeed a very real place, I find these stories extremely fascinating and incredibly exciting.
