I think that a lot of Christians struggle with what to do with the testimony of a person who claims to have gone to heaven and come back. How do you respond to someone who makes such a claim? You can’t call them a liar, can you? How do you argue with someone’s experience?
Tim Challies has a brief answer to that question that may be helpful if you don’t know what to say or think. The whole post is worth reading, as well as this conclusion:
How do I respond to a Christian who has read these books and who finds great joy or comfort in them? You point that person to what is true. You will need to be careful with tone and timing, but ultimately, it will be a blessing for any Christian to direct his faith to the worthy object of faith. Faith will be strengthened by reading the Bible and believing it. Faith will be weakened by reading the Bible and believing it only after reading 90 Minutes in Heaven. You can serve any Christian by directing him to the Bible and helping him to see that we are called to believe God on the basis of what he says in his Word, not on the basis of another person’s experience. 90 Minutes in Heaven and Heaven Is For Real and all the rest are not books that beautify the doctrine of heaven, but books that attack the doctrine of Scripture. The Bible insists that it is enough, that it is sufficient, that we have no need for further special revelation from God; these books insist that it is not.
He has a follow-up post that addresses biblical passages that may seem to be similar to Near Death Experiences but are not.
Great reminder that we need to point people to Scripture as The Sufficient source for all things spiritual. I’ve asked people who have read these books how the stories have strengthened their faith. And depending on their answers, asked them how that relates to what is in the Bible. If there are inconsistencies, I’ve encouraged them to stick to the Bible.