Scientific research has discovered that after a person stops breathing for five minutes, the brain cells begin to die due to oxygen deprivation. If a person stops breathing for eight minutes, it would not be easy to ensure a person would survive.
It has been said that death occurs when the soul leaves the human body for a period of time, but if the soul leaves and returns, the reversal of death occurs, and the dead come back to life — a phenomenon known as the “Lazarus effect.” There have been numerous exceptional and bizarre cases of the “Lazarus phenomenon,” also known as the “raising from the dead,” worldwide. Modern science cannot explain why it happens.
The “Lazarus phenomenon” is a term derived from the biblical account of the resurrection of Lazarus of Bethany. Lazarus, a disciple and good friend of Jesus, died of illness and was buried in a tomb. Four days later, Jesus called him out of the tomb, and he walked out, miraculously coming back to life.
The Lazarus phenomenon
The Lazarus phenomenon was first reported in medical literature in 1982 and revisited in 1993. In recent years, such cases have been reported in the news. According to the U.S. media company ABC, a South African woman was thrown out of the vehicle in a traffic accident and was pronounced dead at the scene by the medical staff. The woman and two other deceased passengers were sent to the morgue with refrigeration equipment. The medical personnel returned a few hours later and found she was breathing. The medical examiner confirmed she was alive and sent her to the hospital for medical treatment.
Other cases of the dead coming back to life
In 2014, a Kenyan man, Paul Mutora, died of poisoning after swallowing insecticide. He woke up 15 hours later and began to breathe, scaring the morgue staff.
Mutora’s father had viewed the body that morning and went home to prepare for the funeral. He then received news that his son was alive. After Mutora woke up, he apologized to his father for committing suicide.
In the same year, Janina Kolkiewicz, a 91-year-old Polish woman, suddenly moved in the body bag after being refrigerated for 11 hours in the morgue; a mortuary staff discovered her. After she went home, she ate a meal.
On February 17, 2012, Li Xiufen, a 95-year-old woman from Liulou Village, Liuma Town, Beiliu City, Guangxi, was found dead by her neighbor, Chen Qingwang. Two days later, Chen and his son put her body in the coffin, but did not nail the lid in place. A bowl of rice with burning incense was placed in front of the coffin
On the 23rd, Chen and his son noticed the coffin lid was open, and the body was missing. They were shocked to see Li Xiufen cooking porridge in the kitchen. “Why did you put me in the coffin?” asked Li. She was hungry after waking up, and upon spying the rice in the incense bowl, she used it to cook some porridge for herself.
The soul exists
The ancient Chinese believed people had souls and could reincarnate 49 days after death. The last day of the “first seven days” is called “The night of the returning souls,” and legend has it that the dead will return to see their family for the last time. Because the Chinese believe that people may come back to life after death, many keep the dead for seven days before burying it to ensure the person is dead and allow for the “Lazarus effect.”
Translated by Elaine and edited by Maria
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