"I Thought: Lord, Here Am I – And Wanted to Face the Judgement" (SD) | Werner Barz' NDE
What Researchers Found
The Story
Werner Barz, a master craftsman from Bavaria, had a near-death experience in 1986 during a holiday in Italy. He suffered from severe hepatitis masked as flu, with a high fever of 40 degrees. While driving home, he collapsed in the car near a petrol station, fell out, and stopped breathing. A diving instructor resuscitated him. Barz felt he was dying and expected God's judgment. Instead, a curtain lifted like a gentle spotlight, bringing total security and vast, omniscient knowledge. Time vanished; everything was in the present. He expanded beyond Earth, the solar system, the universe, and further into boundlessness, which frightened him at first as his body seemed to grow. He then returned and woke in the ambulance, knowing the instructor's name without being told. After the NDE, Barz changed from an authoritative boss to a humble, empathetic person. He treated employees and clients with kindness, boosting his business. His family did not understand, leading to divorce and depression, but he explored religions, seeing them as one force of love. He founded and leads an NDE self-help group in Munich, counsels addicts, aids end-of-life care, and views death as a fearless transition.
“He addressed me like that and I was afraid he was going to send me home again. And then he said, “Go to your room.””
The account features one strong veridical claim of knowing the diving instructor's first name while unconscious and post-collapse, with the instructor's puzzled reaction providing some corroboration; however, it lacks multiple verifications, detailed sensory impossibility beyond the immediate scene, and evidence of prompt pre-verification reporting.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.
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What Researchers Found
The account features one strong veridical claim of knowing the diving instructor's first name while unconscious and post-collapse, with the instructor's puzzled reaction providing some corroboration; however, it lacks multiple verifications, detailed sensory impossibility beyond the immediate scene, and evidence of prompt pre-verification reporting.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.