A neurosurgeon visits Heaven - so what?
His medical credentials shouldn't bear on the story.
The latest Newsweek cover story is causing quite a stir: it features a hand reaching up to the sun, with the headline "HEAVEN IS REAL: A DOCTOR'S EXPERIENCE OF THE AFTERLIFE."
Here is my first reaction to this story: just because the dude is a neurosurgeon, that doesn't mean he knows any more about Heaven than the rest of us. This story is hitting the "neurosurgeon" angle pretty hard, as well it might. Can you think of anyone more respected than a neurosurgeon? What a reporter's dream.
This is a logical fallacy, that the source of the information is as important - even more important - than the information itself. You usually see it happening in the other direction, when people try to discredit the source of the information. But the reverse is just as true.
Should we value the opinion of a neurosurgeon more than some random person off the street? When it comes to cerebrospinal surgery: yes. But that expertise doesn't translate across all fields. Are all neurosurgeons master-level painters? Expert-level guitarists? Accomplished architects? Race car drivers? Gardeners? Knitters? City planners?
