LEE STROBEL Investigates SUPERNATURAL Mysteries of the UNSEEN World

Lee Strobel, New York Times bestselling author and popular apologist, investigates the mysteries of the spiritual realm in his book, Seeing the Supernatural: Investigating Angels and Demons and Near-Death Experiences Other Mysteries of the Unseen World. Strobel’s investigation is timely, given the intense cultural fascination with the paranormal, multiverses, and demonic activities.

The motivation behind the book is to create a bridge from popular culture’s general curiosity about the supernatural—including interests in Ouija boards, The Exorcist, and the occult—into a biblically solid and biblically based perspective. Eight out of ten Americans believe there is something beyond the physical realm. Strobel, who identifies as a journalist, lawyer, and evangelist, aims to use this curiosity as a pathway to lead people to faith in Christ.

Strobel’s Evidence-Based Methodology for the Supernatural

In today’s skeptical world, Strobel emphasizes the need for corroboration and documentation to validate supernatural claims. His journalistic standard requires evidence beyond mere personal stories.

Key Validation Criteria for Supernatural Events:

1. Documentation: Evidence should be documented, such as cases published in peer-reviewed secular medical journals.
2. Corroboration: There must be external confirmation of the event, ensuring it is not merely a hallucination, subconscious conjuring, or a mystical dream conjured in someone’s mind.
3. Eyewitnesses: Multiple eyewitnesses who have no motive to deceive (i.e., no kickback or agenda) must confirm the event.
4. Life Change: The event must result in radical life change that transforms the person. For example, the transformation of motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, who was previously a drunk, womanizer, and gambler, after an internal voice spoke to him about Jesus.
5. Atmosphere of Prayer: Strobel often looks for whether the event occurred in an atmosphere of prayer.

Strobel’s research reveals that 38% (almost four out of ten) of American adults claim to have experienced at least one event they can only explain as a miracle of God. Even if 99% of these claims were dismissed as coincidence, millions of true miracles would still exist in North America alone. He cites the documented case of a woman who was blind for 12 years and instantly recovered perfect vision after her husband prayed for her. This case was researched by four medical researchers and published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, remaining intact 47 years later.

The Biblical Basis for the Supernatural

Strobel affirms that belief in the supernatural is not inconsistent with science or history. If one accepts Jesus as the unique Son of God who returned from the dead, then they must also accept that miracles, demons, and exorcisms occurred in the first century.

• Biblical Examples: The Bible records 200 cases of supernatural dreams and 300 references to angels. Jesus frequently cast out demons and healed the sick.
• Credibility of the Gospels: Since miracles are documented today, this provides credibility to the Gospels as “actual historical accounts” of the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Furthermore, skeptics fundamentally cannot explain the origin of the universe, the origin of life, or the origin of human consciousness. Believing that everything came from nothing is, in a sense, believing in a crazier, farfetched miracle than believing in an all-powerful, loving, all-knowing Creator who made us in His image and is outside the universe.

Investigating Deathbed and Near-Death Experiences

Strobel distinguishes between two forms of end-of-life spiritual experiences:

1. Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)

An NDE occurs when a person is clinically dead (no brain waves, respiration, or heartbeat) but is subsequently revived and returns to describe what they experienced.

• Consciousness Continues: NDEs align with the biblical assertion that our consciousness continues to live on and the spirit/soul separates from the body upon death.
• Corroborated Details: People in NDEs report seeing and hearing things they otherwise could not, often corroborated by external facts. For instance, a woman bleeding to death after an abortion observed her resuscitation efforts from the ceiling of the emergency room and accurately described a red sticker on the upper part of a fan blade, which was invisible from the floor.
• Scholarly Study: NDEs are a well-studied subject, with 900 scholarly articles published in peer-reviewed scientific medical journals over the last 50 years. Analysis shows that NDEs are not hallucinations and there is no alternative explanation that can account for them.
• Biblical Consistency: There are 47 points of correspondence and consistency between NDEs and scripture, regardless of how the person interprets their experience.

2. Deathbed Experiences (DBEs)

A DBE occurs when a person is literally about to die and receives a glimpse of the afterlife but does not return.

• Angelic Escorts: DBEs have biblical precedent (e.g., Stephen seeing the Father and Son before being stoned). People often see angels coming for them, echoing the story in Luke 16 where angels carried the beggar to a place of bliss.
• Child Witnesses: Dying children frequently describe angels coming for them, often noting that the angels do not have wings, contradicting the typical cartoon caricature that they would have imagined.
• Foreknowledge of Death: DBEs often involve external corroboration, such as people seeing deceased relatives whom they had not been told died (e.g., Dora seeing her sister Vita, or Strobel’s father-in-law, Al, talking to his sister Marge).