A doctor who studies near-death experiences says that there is now a strange overlap between the Christian vision of hell and the theory that the world is a giant simulation.
Dr Orson Wedgwood is a New Zealand-based scientist and author who works in healthcare research. He told the Daily Mail that dark experiences involving visions of the afterlife often have many things in common, such as a stench, dark figures described as demons and violence.
According to Wedgwood, these similarities point to hell-like near-death experiences being more than just hallucinations: they could be real experiences that occur within a God-created ‘simulation,’ serving as warnings for those who have rejected God.
In Wedgwood’s view, as a scientist and devout Christian, NDEs are directly connected to the controversial simulation theory because the simulation’s purpose is to sort out souls based on their life choices.
The doctor said: ‘We are in a created environment, or a “simulation” in which we are being tested. Our consciousness, how we behave, and the experiences we have are real, but the rest is not.’
‘The simulation is designed to sort us into those who will be with God after the simulation is over versus those who won’t, all in a safe environment where we can’t do any damage.’
The simulation theory suggests that what humans perceive as reality is actually a computer-generated ‘video game’ of some sort – a premise which was depicted in the blockbuster film series The Matrix.
Believers have claimed that humans are unknowingly being fed this simulated consciousness either for their own good or for nefarious means, with the world’s first trillionaire, Elon Musk, suggesting a creator being of the universe runs the simulation.
Pictured: A common depiction of hell, inhabited by demons and fiery landscapes (Stock Image)
In December, Musk appeared on The Katie Miller Podcast and speculated that our world could be an ‘alien Netflix series,’ saying that the purpose of life would therefore be to keep humanity excited to increase our ‘ratings’ and prevent our creator from turning the computer off.
As for the link between this theory and the claims of many who said they saw a vision of hell instead of heaven, Wedgwood claimed that those who do not show interest in God either lose the eternal part of themselves and die or find themselves in a dark place.
‘Most of this is in line with the Bible, and it is also somewhat in line with simulation theory expounded by people like Elon Musk who have concluded that life is not a random act of nature,’ Wedgwood explained.
However, the NDE researcher noted that human souls in this alleged simulation can still be rescued if they find themselves in a hellish realm, but only if they call out to God.
‘One of the ones that I heard about years and years ago, and it resonated because I’m a Christian, was Ian McCormack; he was a New Zealander who was surfing.’
In 1982, McCormack had been stung by a jellyfish and claimed he descended into hell, saying: ‘I could feel the evil; it was all around me.’
McCormack said he had a vision of his mother, who told him to cry out to God and he would hear and forgive the surfer.
He was reported as saying: ‘I felt like a speck of dust being drawn up into a radiant light and delivered out of the kingdom of darkness.’
In the blockbuster movie The Matrix, protagonist Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, discovered the human race lives in a simulated reality hundreds of years from now (Pictured)
Dr Orson Wedgwood (Pictured) is a medical scientist who works in healthcare research and says that ‘dark’ near-death experiences often have many things in common
Wedgwood said the feeling of hopelessness is typical in NDEs involving visions of hell, which are also among the rarest sorts of near-death experiences reported.
Studies have suggested that only 14 percent of patients claiming they had an out-of-body experience said it was negative. Of those, around half featured demonic imagery in a realm they suspected was hell.
However, a study published in 2019 in the journal Memory, which compared positive and negative near-death experiences (NDEs), claimed there is little difference between these events and that they basically display the same type of brain activity, just with varying emotional tones.
Study authors said this helps explain why some people come back from the brink of death with terrifying stories that feel just as vivid and life-changing as the peaceful ones.
Wedgwood’s book, ‘Near Death Experience and AWARE studies: Proof Of The Soul and God?’ explored the controversial world of negative near-death experiences, including some truly horrifying testimonials.
In one account by a 42-year-old woman, cited in a 2019 study, she described entities surrounding her as she neared death.
‘I am beginning to distinguish forms in this incredibly thick fog. Human, bestial, monstrous. I am swimming in a stinking stench filled with horrible and furtive creatures and I am feeling overwhelmed with pain,’ the woman recalled.
Wedgwood said his research has revealed that people who have such experiences often become acutely aware that they are in hell, adding that scientific research often dismisses such experiences as not genuine NDEs.
‘Many colleagues I’ve worked with over the years, PhDs, doctors, and many of them will agree, perhaps more privately than publicly, that they cannot provide explanations of the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and where consciousness comes from,’ the doctor said.
‘A lot of them now are adopting this simulation theory that we’re living in a simulation, and this is like serious PhDs.’
