an be "either rueful and fatalistic or optimistic" (Foos Graber, 1984, p. 16). As novelist Don De Lillo writes, "Once we stop denying death we can proceed calmly to die and then go on to experience . . . uterine rebirth or Judeo-Christian afterlife" (De Lillo, 1984, p. 38).
In the late 1970's, Dr. Raymond Moody studied hundreds of cases of "near death" experiences. He found many similarities in the accounts told by people who had "died" and returned to life. For example, most of the people reported the experience of "leaving the body." In this experience, the people claimed that they still had a "body" but "one of a very different nature and with very different powers from the physical body... left behind" (Foos Graber, 1984, p. 8). It was also commonly reported that previously departed friends or relatives came to "meet" and "help" the dying person (Foos Graber, 1984, p. 8). A striking similarity in the accounts of "near death" can be seen in the reports of a "Being of Light." This Being seems to act as a guide, particularly in terms of helping the dying person review his or her previous life. The purpose of this life review is apparently to help the dying people judge for themselves whether they lived a good life or an evil life. The "Being of Light" does not judge the people; rather, as Moody (1977) notes in his Reflections on Life after Life, the Being is "totally loving and forgiving," and loves the people "despite their many shortcomings" (p. 41). Other researchers, such as Dr. Kenneth Ring, have provided further evidence for the survival of a soul after death (Foos Graber, 1984, p. 17). In this regard, Kubler Ross has claimed that the research of Moody and others provides confirmation "that there is life after death" (Kung, 1984, p. 12).
This scientific research tends to support the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church regarding the meaning of death. For example, Moody's report on a spiritual "body" whic...