The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven

The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven
Author Kevin and Alex Malarkey
Country United States
Language English
Publisher Tyndale House Publishers
Publication date
 July 2, 2010
Media type Print (Hardcover)
Pages 240

The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven: A True Story is a best-selling 2010 Christian book that was purported to tell the story of Alex Malarkey's experiences in a Christian version of heaven after a traffic accident in 2004.[1][2] The book, published by Tyndale House Publishers in 2010,[3] lists Alex's father Kevin Malarkey as an author along with Alex, although in November 2012 Alex described the book as "one of the most deceptive books ever."[4] The book was adapted into a TV movie in March 2010.

Almost five years after the book was published and more than a million copies were sold,[5] Alex forcefully disavowed the book in an open letter to Christian bookstores and described his near-death experience as a fabrication. As a result, Tyndale House removed the book from print, and Christian bookstores removed it from their shelves.[6]

In the accident, Alex suffered various injuries, including a severe spinal injury, severe neck injuries and brain trauma,[7] and was left a quadriplegic.[8]

Summary

According to his own account, Alex Malarkey says that he and his father were driving on a highway near Rushsylvania, Ohio when his father turned onto another road, and was hit by a car, which he did not see behind a blind hill. After the automobile accident, he says he saw his father fly out of the window of his car, only to be caught by an angel and carried to safety. He says he was out of his body while he saw this happen.[9] His body was taken to a hospital in an emergency helicopter. The book says that soon after that he felt an angel take him through the gates of Heaven, which he describes as being "tall," to meet Jesus and Satan, who appears through a "hole in heaven".[10] After he woke up in the hospital, he told his family his account of his near-death experience. Tyndale House promoted the book as "a supernatural encounter that will give you new insights on Heaven, angels, and hearing the voice of God."[11][12]

Reception and aftermath

Books about visits to Heaven make up a popular and highly lucrative genre of religious books in America.[13] The 2004 book 90 Minutes in Heaven spent over five years on the New York Times best-seller list, and sold over six million copies,[14] while the book Heaven Is for Real has sold over 10 million copies[15] and the film adaptation earned $101 million at the box office.[16] The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven sold 112,386 copies in its first year of sale,[17] and received a platinum award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 2013 for over a million sales.[5]

A review of the book stated, "Alex’s story of meeting God and interacting with angels is inspirational and amazing," and "descriptions of this journey seem very real and believable".[18] Another review described how Alex "surprised them all when he awoke with stories of Heaven and Jesus and angels" and had "miraculous spiritual encounters".[19] The bestseller received largely positive reviews from its audience,[10] averaging 3.9 stars on Goodreads,[20] 3.9 stars at Barnes & Noble[21] and 4.2 stars at Amazon.[22]

In November 2012, Alex's mother, Beth Malarkey, wrote several blog posts saying that her family is not in agreement with the content of the book. She expressed frustration with several people calling and visiting their home over the years, saying, "[Alex] is just a boy not a statue to be worshipped or person with some supernatural gifts," and, "He does not go to Heaven, have conversations with supernatural beings, and whatever visions/experiences he has had or had not had, is up to him as to what he will do with those."[23] Later that month, she claimed the book's account had been embellished, adding that, "The truth is getting twisted, distorted, and packaged to be sold to the highest bidder." She also revealed that Alex himself had written a comment on the book's Facebook page in November 2011 calling the book "one of the most deceptive books ever." That comment was deleted, and Alex was banned from commenting after the moderators suspected he was an imposter.[4] Beth and Kevin Malarkey have become estranged since the book was published.[24]

On May 9, 2014, Beth Malarkey appeared on the Christian radio show The Bible Answer Man and said that the book is deceptive and embellishes the story of the accident. Beth Malarkey said Alex is still a quadriplegic and cannot legally receive any money from the book.[25] She also began communicating with Phil Johnson, the executive director of John F. MacArthur's media ministry, Grace to You, in hopes of getting her story out. Johnson said that Beth had told him she and Alex had been trying to get the word out for some time that the book was "an exaggeration and an embellishment."[6] Johnson subsequently revealed in his blog, The Spurgeon Archive, that Beth Malarkey had sent Tyndale "a stack of correspondence" in which she stated that Alex not only received no royalties from the book, but that Kevin "neglects his duties as a husband and a father," and was "not even adequately supporting his family financially."[26] She had also revealed this to apologist Justin Peters, who proceeded to e-mail LifeWay leaders Ed Stetzer and Thom S. Rainer. Despite the fact that they responded, the book would not be pulled from LifeWay stores for another eight months [27]

On January 13, 2015, Alex Malarkey released an open letter to Christian publishers and bookstores via the Christian Apologetics blog known as Pulpit and Pen, confessing that the entire account of his journey to Heaven was fictional, and implored them to remove the book from their stores. His letter is as follows:

"Please forgive the brevity, but because of my limitations I have to keep this short. I did not die. I did not go to Heaven. I said I went to Heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible. It is only through repentance of your sins and a belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for your sins (even though he committed none of his own) so that you can be forgiven may you learn of Heaven outside of what is written in the Bible... not by reading a work of man. I want the whole world to know that the Bible is sufficient. Those who market these materials must be called to repent and hold the Bible as enough.

In Christ, Alex Malarkey.”[28]

On January 15, 2015, Tyndale House confirmed it would be pulling the book from shelves and would no longer distribute it.[11]

According to psychologist and paranormal researcher Benjamin Radford, part of the reason that the story was so well received and accepted among its American Christian audience is that it reinforced their existing narratives and beliefs. By sticking closely to a widely accepted interpretation of heaven, God, and demons, Malarkey was assured that his story would meet his audience’s expectations and be popular.[29]

Recovery

In 2009, Alex Malarkey, aged 10, became the youngest person to have the surgical procedure first carried out for Christopher Reeve to allow him to breathe on his own without a ventilator.[30] Later in 2009, he was able to stand upright in a supporting frame and, with helpers moving his legs, to walk on a treadmill.[31]

Retraction

Alex Malarkey later retracted his story, saying he made up his alleged visions.[32] This contrasts with Colton Burpo of Heaven Is for Real, who stands by his visions.[33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mark Woods (15 Jan 2015). "'The boy who came back from heaven' Alex Malarkey says best-selling book is false". Christianity Today.
  2. ↑ Vencent Funaro (15 Jan 2015). "Boy Who Claimed He Visited Heaven Reads Bible and Recants Story; LifeWay to Pull Book From Stores". Chrsitian Post.
  3. ↑ Kelly Faircloth (15 Jan 2015). "Kid Named Malarkey Lied About Going to Heaven". jezebel.com. Gawker Media.
  4. 1 2 Alex Malarkey, as quoted by Beth Malarkey "Alex's post on the Boy Who Came Back from Heaven fanpage". blogspot.com (self published). 20 Nov 2012. Archived from the original on 17 Jan 2015.
    as quoted by Phil Johnson (16 Jan 2015). "Setting the record straight". Grace to You. Archived from the original on 17 Jan 2015.
  5. 1 2 "'The Harbinger' marks a million in sales with two Evangelical Christian Publishers Association awards". Christian Retailing. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 17 Jan 2015. Tyndale also garnered two Platinum Awards for sales of more than 1 million copies for... The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven by Kevin and Alex Malarkey (more than 1 million sold).
  6. 1 2 Ron Charles (15 Jan 2015). "'Boy Who Came Back From Heaven' going back to publisher". Washington Post Style Blog.
  7. ↑ "Eric Westacott Foundation Raises Over $30,000 to Help Young Quadriplegic Boy | News". Spinal Cord Injury Zone. 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  8. ↑ Arturo Garcia (15 Jan 2015). "10 Year-old Author of Best-selling Christian Book Admits He Never 'Came Back from Heaven'". Rawstory.
  9. ↑ Mark Furler (2011-02-12). "The boy who 'went to heaven'". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  10. 1 2 Ed Mazza (15 Jan 2015). "Alex Malarkey, 'The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,' Admits He Made It All Up". Huffington Post.
  11. 1 2 Bill Chappell (15 Jan 2015). "Boy Says He Didn't Go To Heaven; Publisher Says It Will Pull Book". NPR.
  12. ↑ "The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven". Tyndale House Publishers. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
  13. ↑ Robert Gottlieb (23 October 2014). "To Heaven and Back!". New York Review of Books.
  14. ↑ "Piper's '90 Minutes in Heaven' Back on 'New York Times' Best-seller List". Christian Retailing. 25 April 2014.
  15. ↑ Christine D. Johnson (11 Dec 2014). "'Heaven Is for Real' hits major sales milestone". Christian Retailing. Archived from the original on 18 Dec 2014.
  16. ↑ "Heaven Is for Real". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  17. ↑ Claire Swanson (16 Jan 2015). "Tyndale Pulls 'Boy Who Came Back from Heaven'". Publishers Weekly.
  18. ↑ "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven – PBR review". PrincetonBookReview.com. Archived from the original on 14 Jan 2012.
  19. ↑ Amber Dobecka. "[BOOK REVIEW]: The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven". Faithvillage.com. Archived from the original on 16 Jan 2015.
  20. ↑ "The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A Remarkable Account of Miracles, Angels, and Life Beyond This World". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 19 Apr 2012.
  21. ↑ "The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A Remarkable Account of Miracles, Angels, and Life beyond This World". Archived from the original on 16 Aug 2014.
  22. ↑ "The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A Remarkable Account of Miracles, Angels, and Life beyond This World". Amazon.com. Archived from the original on 28 Sep 2014.
  23. ↑ "Alex Malarkey: Author of The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven says He Made Up Story". Sydney Morning Herald. 17 Jan 2015.
  24. ↑ Public statement from Beth Malarkey after book was pulled
  25. ↑ Hank Hanegraaff (June 5, 2014); The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven; The Story Behind the Story; The Bible Answerman, at the Christian Research Institute
  26. ↑ Johnson, Phil. Tyndale House Publishers Knew the Malarkey Book Was A Fraud; The Spurgeon Archive, 2015-01-16.
  27. ↑ Emails Suggest Lifeway President Knew of Heaven Scam, Chose Not to Act; Pulpit and Pen; 2015-01-15
  28. ↑ ""The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven" Recants Story, Rebukes Christian Retailers". pulpitandpen.org.
  29. ↑ Radford, Benjamin. "Why People Believed Boy's 'Visit to Heaven' Story". news.discovery.com. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  30. ↑ "Boy, 10, Is Youngest Person to Get 'Christopher Reeve' Breathing Device". Fox News. Associated Press. January 9, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  31. ↑ Loehr, Many (April 4, 2009). "Worlds away from 'sheer survival'". Bellefontaine Examiner. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  32. ↑ untitled
  33. ↑ un-formatted reference
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