A pastor who once doubted both God and the Bible now says his deep dive into near-death experiences led him straight to faith in Jesus Christ.

John Burke, co-author of Imagine the God of Heaven Devotional: 60 Reflections on the Heart of God from the Bible and Near-Death Experiences, told CBN News that he began his journey as a skeptic—both of near-death experiences (NDEs) and of Christianity itself.

“Not only did I not believe in near-death experiences, I didn’t believe in Jesus or God,” Burke said. His curiosity was sparked decades ago while his father was dying of cancer, when someone gave his family one of the earliest research books that helped coin the term “near-death experience.” Burke decided to read it, searching for evidence rather than comfort.

What he found surprised him. The accounts described people who had been clinically dead, resuscitated, and who claimed to have encountered a reality beyond this life—often involving Jesus. “That really began my whole faith journey,” Burke explained. “So many saw Jesus. I was like, ‘I better be open to the Bible.'” That openness eventually led him to read and study Scripture, and ultimately to embrace Christian faith.

Burke’s initial curiosity grew into a long-term investigation. Over time, he studied roughly 1,500 near-death experiences, looking for patterns and consistency. His earlier book, Imagine the God of Heaven, drew widespread attention for examining how common themes in NDEs align with biblical descriptions of heaven, hell, and the nature of God.

“What I write about is how the commonalities really do relate to the Bible and what the Bible’s expectation is,” Burke said, stressing that he sees alignment rather than contradiction.

His wife and co-author, Kathy Burke, came from a very different background. She said she has always believed in God and relied on Scripture as the foundation of her faith. Still, studying NDEs alongside her husband has strengthened her spiritual life. While she believes the Bible alone is sufficient, she said these stories have given her “a fresh perspective” and revitalized her faith in powerful ways.

One of the most compelling aspects of Burke’s research, he said, is who is sharing these experiences. Many of the people he interviewed were professionals—CEOs, surgeons, airline pilots, lawyers—individuals with little to gain from fabricating such stories. “They consistently say it was the most real thing that ever happened to them,” he noted.

Though NDEs remain controversial among skeptics and even within some Christian circles, Burke believes God works beyond human categories. “God operates in more mystery than we’re sometimes willing to allow,” he said, adding that these experiences, in his view, don’t contradict Scripture but instead point people back to it—and ultimately, back to Christ.